Wayne in BC
New member
VENISON VERSUS BEEF
> THE TASTE CONTROVERSY ENDS
> FROM THE UNITED STATES VENISON COUNCIL
>
> Controversy has long raged about the relative quality and taste of
> venison
and beef as gourmet foods. Some people say that venison is tough, with a
strong
"wild" taste.
> Others insist that venison's flavor is delicate. An independent food
> research group was retained by the Venison Council to conduct a taste
> test to determine the truth of these conflicting assertions once and for
all.
> First a Grade A Choice Holstein steer was chased into a swamp a mile
> and a half from a road and shot several times. After some of the
> entrails were removed, the carcass was dragged back over rocks and
> logs, and through mud and dust to the road. It was then thrown into the
back
of a pickup truck and driven through rain and snow for 100 miles before
being
hung out in the sun for 10 days.
> After that it was lugged into a garage, where it was skinned and
> rolled
around on the floor for a while. Strict sanitary precautions were observed
throughout the test, within the limitations of the butchering environment.
For
instance, dogs and cats were allowed to sniff and lick the steer carcass,
but
were chased away when they attempted to bite chunks out of it.
> Next a sheet of plywood left from last year's butchering was set up in
> the
basement on two saw horses. The pieces of dried blood, hair and fat left
from
last year were scraped off with a wire brush last used to clean out the
grass
stuck under the lawn mower.
> The skinned carcass was then dragged down the steps into the basement
where a half dozen inexperienced but enthusiastic and intoxicated men worked
on
it with meat saws, cleavers and dull knives. The result was 375 pounds of
soup
bones, four bushel baskets of meat scraps, and a couple of steaks that were
an
eighth of an inch thick on one edge and an inch and a half thick on the
other.
> The steaks were seared on a glowing red hot cast iron skillet to lock
> in
the flavor. When the smoke cleared, rancid bacon grease was added along with
three pounds of onions, and the whole conglomeration was fried for two
hours.
> The meat was gently teased from the frying pan and served to three
blindfolded taste panel volunteers. Every one of the members of the panel
thought it was venison. One of the volunteers even said it tasted exactly
like
the venison he had eaten in hunting camps for the past 27 years. The results
of
this scientific test show conclusively that there is no difference between
the
taste of beef and venison.
> THE TASTE CONTROVERSY ENDS
> FROM THE UNITED STATES VENISON COUNCIL
>
> Controversy has long raged about the relative quality and taste of
> venison
and beef as gourmet foods. Some people say that venison is tough, with a
strong
"wild" taste.
> Others insist that venison's flavor is delicate. An independent food
> research group was retained by the Venison Council to conduct a taste
> test to determine the truth of these conflicting assertions once and for
all.
> First a Grade A Choice Holstein steer was chased into a swamp a mile
> and a half from a road and shot several times. After some of the
> entrails were removed, the carcass was dragged back over rocks and
> logs, and through mud and dust to the road. It was then thrown into the
back
of a pickup truck and driven through rain and snow for 100 miles before
being
hung out in the sun for 10 days.
> After that it was lugged into a garage, where it was skinned and
> rolled
around on the floor for a while. Strict sanitary precautions were observed
throughout the test, within the limitations of the butchering environment.
For
instance, dogs and cats were allowed to sniff and lick the steer carcass,
but
were chased away when they attempted to bite chunks out of it.
> Next a sheet of plywood left from last year's butchering was set up in
> the
basement on two saw horses. The pieces of dried blood, hair and fat left
from
last year were scraped off with a wire brush last used to clean out the
grass
stuck under the lawn mower.
> The skinned carcass was then dragged down the steps into the basement
where a half dozen inexperienced but enthusiastic and intoxicated men worked
on
it with meat saws, cleavers and dull knives. The result was 375 pounds of
soup
bones, four bushel baskets of meat scraps, and a couple of steaks that were
an
eighth of an inch thick on one edge and an inch and a half thick on the
other.
> The steaks were seared on a glowing red hot cast iron skillet to lock
> in
the flavor. When the smoke cleared, rancid bacon grease was added along with
three pounds of onions, and the whole conglomeration was fried for two
hours.
> The meat was gently teased from the frying pan and served to three
blindfolded taste panel volunteers. Every one of the members of the panel
thought it was venison. One of the volunteers even said it tasted exactly
like
the venison he had eaten in hunting camps for the past 27 years. The results
of
this scientific test show conclusively that there is no difference between
the
taste of beef and venison.
