Cooking with the seasons: venison

The vision of craggy Scottish lairds stalking the noble Monarch of the Glen is either reassuringly traditional or woefully anachronistic, depending on your point of view. Either way, it doesn’t represent our modern relationship with venison, at least not entirely. A favourite with sustainable farming fans, low-fat agitators and epicureans alike, you’re much more likely to encounter it today in the context of leather-aproned hipsters discussing sous vide techniques. It’s a protein source having its time in the sun, but it could hardly have a longer and more venerable history. Herding and enclosing deer seem to go back at least to the ancient Egyptians. Simple hunting can trace its roots even further as recorded in the cave paintings of Lascaux about 20,000 years ago.