On wild venison, free range and foraging
I have had the great pleasure recently of enjoying some chats with the lovely Rachel Hammond of Hammond Charcuterie. She mentioned in one of those chats she was experimenting with wild Roe venison and making a wild venison chorizo. I am a huge fan of venison and of chorizo so Rachel was kind enough to post me two when they were done (for the avoidance of doubt, I paid for them and the postage – so this is an unbiased review).
In due course they arrived – beautifully wrapped and labelled.
Now I love venison because its a lean, healthy meat. Its also important to say that I like my animals free ranged – and it doesn't get any more free ranged than wild. Deer numbers are rocketing in the UK, and most estimates say there are more wild deer in the UK than at any time in the last 1,000 years. They are at problem levels in many areas. Since there are no apex predators here that take deer, it makes complete sense that these number be controlled so that they don't overwhelm their food sources. This controlled cull also provides a source of ethical, healthy meat for us.
Cutting into the chorizo revealed a fine grain and firm almost hard texture. The sausage had survived the rigours of Royal Mail with no damage at all. This would be an ideal meat to take camping or bushcrafting, being cured properly by an expert it will be fine unrefrigerated for days.
My initial plan had been to try out the meat with my young apprentice as part of my role with him is to get him to try new things, unfortunately the weather kiboshed my plans for some campfire cookery. Undeterred though we used my workshop stove for a fry up whilst drilling logs for mushroom dowels. He has never tried venison before – but you can see his verdict.
To do a “proper” review, I wanted only simple, fresh ingredients and nothing that would overwhelm the flavour of the chorizo, so I got two of this morning's eggs and a handful of the “domesticated” wild garlic that I planted a few years ago.
I roughly chopped the Ramsoms and cracked the eggs.
Oh – the tools were from two friends – big shout out to Ash for the knife which I use all the time and Mark for my favourite small spoon
I would like you to note the colour of those eggs. Eggs get rich and yellow like that when chickens free range and eat plenty of green leafy material. That's what eggs should look like!
I mixed the beaten eggs with most of the chopped wild garlic and fried a simple omelette
I sliced the venison chorizo thinly and fried it lightly – just a minute each side. Because venison is so lean, I wiped the pan with some rapeseed oil just to keep thing lubricated.
That was it, I added a splash of our own “liquid sunshine” lemon chilli sauce and added a few more ramsoms and flowers. Please note chef types, there is no “jus” no “reductions” and not a “soupçon” in view. Three ingredients and one simple home made sauce is all thats needed.
So then I ate it! My conclusion is that the wild venison chorizo is outstandingly good. It has a very firm texture that I like, but it wants slicing fairly thin. I believe I detect both chilli and paprika in the spices – but neither overwhelm the delicate wild Roe meat.
I am very grateful to Rachel for letting me try this fantastic, ethical, flavoursome chorizo and I heartily recommend that anyone near Eyemouth look Rachel up – she is a superb butcher and charcutier and runs courses too. For those of us further away (like me), drop her an email – the cured meats travel really well and would make an ideal bushy meal
http://www.hammondcharcuterie.co.uk/
Red
I have had the great pleasure recently of enjoying some chats with the lovely Rachel Hammond of Hammond Charcuterie. She mentioned in one of those chats she was experimenting with wild Roe venison and making a wild venison chorizo. I am a huge fan of venison and of chorizo so Rachel was kind enough to post me two when they were done (for the avoidance of doubt, I paid for them and the postage – so this is an unbiased review).
In due course they arrived – beautifully wrapped and labelled.
Now I love venison because its a lean, healthy meat. Its also important to say that I like my animals free ranged – and it doesn't get any more free ranged than wild. Deer numbers are rocketing in the UK, and most estimates say there are more wild deer in the UK than at any time in the last 1,000 years. They are at problem levels in many areas. Since there are no apex predators here that take deer, it makes complete sense that these number be controlled so that they don't overwhelm their food sources. This controlled cull also provides a source of ethical, healthy meat for us.
Cutting into the chorizo revealed a fine grain and firm almost hard texture. The sausage had survived the rigours of Royal Mail with no damage at all. This would be an ideal meat to take camping or bushcrafting, being cured properly by an expert it will be fine unrefrigerated for days.
My initial plan had been to try out the meat with my young apprentice as part of my role with him is to get him to try new things, unfortunately the weather kiboshed my plans for some campfire cookery. Undeterred though we used my workshop stove for a fry up whilst drilling logs for mushroom dowels. He has never tried venison before – but you can see his verdict.
To do a “proper” review, I wanted only simple, fresh ingredients and nothing that would overwhelm the flavour of the chorizo, so I got two of this morning's eggs and a handful of the “domesticated” wild garlic that I planted a few years ago.
I roughly chopped the Ramsoms and cracked the eggs.
Oh – the tools were from two friends – big shout out to Ash for the knife which I use all the time and Mark for my favourite small spoon
I would like you to note the colour of those eggs. Eggs get rich and yellow like that when chickens free range and eat plenty of green leafy material. That's what eggs should look like!
I mixed the beaten eggs with most of the chopped wild garlic and fried a simple omelette
I sliced the venison chorizo thinly and fried it lightly – just a minute each side. Because venison is so lean, I wiped the pan with some rapeseed oil just to keep thing lubricated.
That was it, I added a splash of our own “liquid sunshine” lemon chilli sauce and added a few more ramsoms and flowers. Please note chef types, there is no “jus” no “reductions” and not a “soupçon” in view. Three ingredients and one simple home made sauce is all thats needed.
So then I ate it! My conclusion is that the wild venison chorizo is outstandingly good. It has a very firm texture that I like, but it wants slicing fairly thin. I believe I detect both chilli and paprika in the spices – but neither overwhelm the delicate wild Roe meat.
I am very grateful to Rachel for letting me try this fantastic, ethical, flavoursome chorizo and I heartily recommend that anyone near Eyemouth look Rachel up – she is a superb butcher and charcutier and runs courses too. For those of us further away (like me), drop her an email – the cured meats travel really well and would make an ideal bushy meal
http://www.hammondcharcuterie.co.uk/
Red
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