Game Time

Day 21

I'm game for game.

The last time I remember having venison was in January 2006, when I attended a close friend's rehearsal dinner in South Carolina. She and her now husband are from a small town where you're probably not considered a real man until you've gone hunting. (Before the two got married, he begged her to go with him. After much pleading, she obliged—and killed a deer on literally her first shot. She doesn't have the desire to ever go again, but I think that sealed the deal for him.)

Anyway, I decided to have the true Southern experience at the rehearsal dinner and opted for the venison. It was served in a large martini glass over grits and topped with a brown gravy. Amazing. It tasted like nothing else I've ever had, and I still think about it to this day.

Today I was reunited with vension, both wild and farm-raised. (Here's a tidbit for you: According to the USDA, "venison" refers to meat from deer, elk, moose, caribou, antelope and pronghorn.) The wild venison I ate today and at the rehearsal dinner was whitetail deer; the farm-raised venison was elk.

The class agreed: Wild venison has so much more flavor than farm-raised. It's a shame animals hunted for sport are banned from commercial use.

We sauteed the farm-raised elk loin and then finished it in the oven. It was served with Bordelaise sauce and pommes darphin (a potato pancake). Good stuff, but I preferred the chef's deer, which he personally hunted with a bow and arrow, grilled and served up with just salt and pepper.

I'll be on the hunt for game meat that wasn't raised in captivity.