The best possible taste

From muntjac to reds, the six species of British deer provide some of the highest-quality venison in the world, insists game chef Jose Souto

- ANDREW SYDENHAM; RICHARD FAULKS; CALLUM MCINERNEY-RILEY; DARREN ROGERS

Here in the UK, we are extremely lucky when it comes to our ability to hunt and source wild venison. Not only can we harvest one of the most healthy, sustainable and ethical meats available, but we also have six different species within our countryside.

We have come a long way towards having a better understanding of the nature of the beast — through the education of our chefs and the general public at county shows, game fairs and events — but we still have a long way to go. Historically, Britain doesn’t have a strong tradition of the masses eating venison, mainly because it was considered a meat of the wealthy. Woe betide any commoner who tried to eat venison, especially in the Middle Ages.

Royalty

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert both loved stalking and eating venison; they made it an even more popular pastime for the gentry. Back then, most of the venison coming to table was from large trophy animals. The chef would then be presented with the carcass and asked to work his magic — looking at how best to cook the beast, taking into account the problems presented by an old or rutting animal.

If we look at old recipes, we can see that strong flavours and acidic marinades were used to tone down the unpleasant taint and tenderise the meat. These recipes became iconic and passed on from household to household so that even if the animals were younger they were treated the same way. At this time, people liked the stronger flavours, so this way of cooking sat well with them.