Healthy, delicious and home-produced: Rothiemurchus venison

Health benefits of venison

At Rothiemurchus we have long known about how great venison is, however it is just recently that the rest of the nation have caught on with sales of the meat soaring over the past few years.  So why the sudden increase in popularity? Well, it’s extremely healthy for starters.  With just 2% fat (that’s less than skinless chicken), more protein that any other red meat and more iron and vitamins than beef, it’s considered to be one of the healthiest red meats.

So what does venison taste like?

We’d say it’s similar to our Highland beef but leaner and with a slightly richer taste, in fact our venison is so tender and moist you can treat it just like beef.  Venison like most game goes well with sweet flavours like blackcurrant, redcurrant and rowan berry.  It’s also fantastic with earthy, Autumnal flavours like mushroom, or root vegetables like parsnip, beetroot and turnip and is frequently paired with Juniper.

Home-produced venison

All our venison is sourced from right here on Rothiemurchus, the meat is totally traceable from ‘Estate to plate’ and we don’t clock up any food miles as the whole process happens onsite.  The process begins with our Head Stalker, Peter who ensures that our deer live peaceful and healthy lives grazing the grasses of our forests and hills before carefully selecting the very best beasts which are handled with great care and respect. According to Peter ‘every stage of the process is meticulous with great attention to detail ’.

Rothiemurchus Deer Stalker, Peter Ferguson

In-house butchers

With over 30 years experience at Rothiemurchus alone, our in-house butchers Brian and Fraser prepare our venison to the highest of standards.  Once prepared and packed, our venison is sold from our butchery counter in our own Farm Shop at Rothiemurchus Centre along with our own Highland Beef and Rainbow Trout from our fishery.  We have a variety of cuts from haunch, rump and fillet steaks to casseroles, burgers and sausages. We also have frozen venison mince rounds that you can pop in the oven.

Rothiemurchus Butcher, Brian Dey

Rothiemurchus Farm Shop

Our Farm Shop Manager Janet has these tips on what do with your Rothiemurchus venison.

“With venison of this quality, cooking it simply is the best way. Whether you go for the fillet, butterfly loin or haunch steaks, all are best brought to room temperature before putting into a hot pan for a few minutes each side.  Pink in the middle is best and leave to rest while you add a teaspoon of rowan or redcurrant jelly to the pans juices, season and simply pour over your steak.

Casserole when cooked in red wine and herbs is a real winner, best cooked in advance and reheated to bring out the richness of the dish. Roasting a  joint is also very simple, 10 minutes per lb and leave to rest for 15 minutes for a rich tender Sunday lunch.  ”

Venison Casserole Recipe

For a simple yet delicious meal to try here’s our recipe for Rich Rothiemurchus Venison Casserole. We recommend trying Janet’s tip of making in advance and reheating to make this tasty dish even more delicious!

Rich Rothiemurchus Venison Casserole

Ingredients:

1lb / 450g Venison Casserole

1 large onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 stick of celery, diced

300mls Red Wine or Port

1 tbsp Tomato Puree

1 tbsp Rosemary or thyme

seasoning

1 clove garlic

6 juniper berries, crushed

1 pint of stock

Method:

Brown the venison all over in a tablespoon of oil.  Once browned remove from pan and set aside.  Add vegetables, garlic and juniper berries to the same pan and brown.  Put the venison back in the pan with the veg and add wine or port, tomato puree and 1 pint of stock.  Simmer for 1 hour at Gas mark 4 (180C, 350F) or until tender.

Enjoy.