Big Game Meat – – Part 2.

 

Many decades ago, I heard someone state very authoritatively that wild meat has very little, to no, food value. Apparently, it is a widespread belief, as fellow biologists from both U.S. and Canada have said that they have heard the same statement. Usually, it was said regarding the meat of deer or moose, but sometimes caribou were mentioned.

How such a ridiculous rumor ever got started, or that so many people believe it, should be considered amazing. Of course, wild meat has nutritional value; people and predators have been living on, and doing very well on, it for far longer than on domesticated animals. Domesticated animals are merely wild animals that were taken into captivity and selectively bred to yield characteristics that humans found to be desirable.

The main difference between the meat of deer, moose and other ungulates and that of cattle is fat content and distribution. Cattle have been bred to have meat with high fat content whereas the meat of deer, moose, etc. has very little. Deposition of fat in deer and moose is mainly as a layer between the hide and meat where it can be easily trimmed away from the meat and also within the body (gut) cavity. Fat deposition in cattle is also found in those locations, but much of it is also marbled through the meat where it cannot be removed. Beef is often graded by its fat content. How thoroughly the fat is marbled through the meat, the better the desirability rating it is given. However, fat is hard to digest and is very high in calories. Too much fat consumption is a leading cause of obesity and other health problems.

We consume both saturated fat and unsaturated fat. But not all fats are equal, saturated fat is high in cholesterol which can lead to hardening of the arteries which reduces blood flow and can lead to heart disease. Saturated fat in beef is several times higher than that found in deer and moose meat.

The marbling of fat within beef meat makes cooking it, without the meat becoming dry, much easier than is the cooking of wild meat. It can often be desirable to modify ones cooking techniques to prevent dry meat. There are many ways to accomplish this; but since this is not a cooking column, I will not attempt to cover such a wide topic. However, well-trimmed of fat game meat for hamburger often has a small amount of beef or pork fat added during grinding to help prevent dryness. One pound of fat per 10 pounds of meat is common, less is even better.

Protein content of the meat of deer, moose, and cattle is similar. Deer and moose meat are also good sources of calcium and vitamins B-1 and B-2. Levels of all 3 are one and a half to twice as high as in beef.

Deer, moose, and other wild cervids have rather high levels of a fatty acid named eicosatetaenoic acid (epa) (no, I cannot pronounce it). It is an omega-3 fatty acid that is also found in cold-water fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, herring, lake trout, shellfish, etc., but not (or at much lower levels) in domestic animals like cattle. Epa improves the flow of blood and, in humans, is thought to protect against heart attack, hardening of the arteries, and some forms of arthritis.

Many of the dead deer and moose I handled were fit for human consumption and were sold to the public (all money/checks went into the D.N.R. Game & Fish Fund). I kept waiting lists of people wanting to buy deer and moose. However, I kept separate lists for people who really needed the wild meat because of health reasons. Many people were told by their doctors to avoid eating beef and other fatty meats because of their high fat and cholesterol levels. Other people were allergic to beef or to the high levels of chemicals and preservatives in the feed of cattle and other domestic animals. Wild meat does not have them as these animals live on natural wild vegetation. Living on natural wild vegetation is also thought to be the reason for the rather high levels of epa in wild ungulates.

So far, I have not mentioned bear meat. Many bear were also fit for human consumption as most had been shot as destructive nuisances and far fewer were vehicle kills. I also kept a list of folks wanting/willing to buy bear; it was a much shorter list. Unfortunately, many people are turned off by the thought of eating bear meat. Perhaps they associate it with bear often eating garbage. I have heard (but have not verified) that bears which have fed on fish all summer do not taste good).

The biggest problem in trimming up bear carcasses and meat is that the fat melts at a low temperature and one has to deal with very oily, and perhaps drippy hands. Paper towels are very useful. It is advisable and easiest to trim off the fat while the meat is still quite cold from refrigeration. Bear meat is not marbled with fat and is no more greasy than pork, bear has 8.3% fat (lean beef has 20.7% fat), has no natural cholesterol, and is high in iron.

A few friends have said they had served bear to dinner guests without telling them it was bear meat. Upon being told what it was, the reactions varied from being surprised at how good it was to the person very suddenly not feeling well. My personal favorite is to use bear in place of pork in sweet and sour recipes; we typically par boil it for a short time to remove any remaining oily fat. Bear roasts smell and taste very much like beef roasts. Bear is also very good as Swiss steak and when made into a variety of sausages.

Rendered bear fat has had many uses in the past, but is seldom mentioned now. It used to be considered the best oil for cooking doughnuts, making pastry crusts, and other cooking uses. It also has a long reputation for use as waterproofing of leather boots. I used it for this for many years with satisfaction. Only problem was that dogs do not like bears and would either cower or give low-level threat growls upon smelling bear oil, even if they had never encountered a bear.

I have already mentioned the bogus tale regarding nutritional value of wild meat. Other folk tales include the need to cut off the testicles of bucks and bulls immediately after death and to remove the scent glands from the hind legs of both sexes. The tale has it that the contents of these will somehow flow throughout the body and taint the meat. There is absolutely no way this can happen. Pure fantasy.