Despite my advancing years I realised that I’ve never tried venison, despite being a fan of steaks since the Berni Inn days at The Imperial in Stroud in the 80s.
I visited Country Quality Meat in Old Market, Nailsworth, and sought advice from owner Paul Dowdeswell who admits he is passionate about game. He recommended I tried two seven-ounce venison loin steaks: “It’s the equivalent of sirloin or fillet steak, or lamb cannon cut, but at about half the price, plus it’s a nice easy cook. Basically, it’s the best piece of the animal.
“At Country Quality Meat we try to sell venison 52 weeks of the year because we are passionate about deer and game. All deer have a season to shoot (this is to protect females with young and males during the mating season). We nearly always have stock of locally shot fallow, roe and muntjac,” added Paul.
The two steaks I tried cost £10, so represented great value. Paul recommended I marinaded the meat before cooking, so I found an online recipe consisting of red wine, olive oil, garlic powder, diced onion, lemon juice and fresh rosemary, mixed the ingredients and left the meat in the fridge for four hours.
Paul suggested serving the steaks with salad or new potatoes, but I instead opted for chips as a nod back to the Berni Inn era. I boiled some of the liquid from the marinade and ticked it with flour to make a flavoursome sauce.
Following Paul’s advice, I put a non-stick frying pan on a high heat and fried each side for four minutes. The result was a succulent, tender pair of steaks that were as good or better than the best fillet steaks I’ve eaten. Highly recommended.
