With beef prices expected to rise this year, and the brief stretch of meat shortages we saw in grocery stores last year, a lot of folks are taking more interest in venison as their primary red meat. And this trend had been happening well before COVID-19 as health-conscious consumers from Seattle to Brooklyn were demanding “grass fed” and “free range” fare.
The flaws in beef supply only seem to highlight the qualities of venison. With the latest (and strongest) trend in dining being all about eating organically and locally, there should be no meat trendier than deer right now. Not to mention that the whitetail deer population, approximately 15 million in the U.S., has never been larger than it is today.
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As hunters, we like to brag about the qualities of wild venison: “Most people can’t even tell the difference between a beef steak and a venison steak;” “It’s way healthier than beef is;” “I haven’t bought beef from a grocery store in years;” and on we go.
But in the venison vs beef debate, is eating wild venison truly better than eating beef? Or is that just something we say when we feel the need to justify killing deer? I conducted an objective (and partially subjective) investigation to find out.
Beef and Venison Nutrition Facts
This one is pretty straightforward. Deer are leaner and wilder animals than cattle. Venison—even taken from a slob, cornfed buck in the Midwest—has less fat than beef does. Three ounces of lean beef contain, 247 calories and 15 grams of total fat. Three ounces of venison contain 134 calories and only 3 grams of total fat. Most importantly, venison contains about one sixth the amount of saturated fat that beef does. Venison has more protein: 26 grams to 23 grams in beef. The only category in which venison loses is cholesterol: 95 mg to 76 mg in beef, according to Livestrong.com.
Venison also has more vitamins and minerals per serving than beef does. It has advantages in iron, vitamin B6, niacin, and riboflavin.
But there is a wild card in this debate: a compound called L-carnitine, which is found in venison, beef, seafood, lamb, and dairy. A recent study published in the journal of Nature Medicine found “significant dose-dependent associations” between levels of L-carnitine and the risk of heart disease. Bacteria in the human stomach breaks down this compound to produce trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) which prior research has linked to heart and artery damage. Venison has a slightly higher level of L-carnitine than beef does, but this research is still very new and ongoing. Advantage: Venison
Venison vs Beef Taste Test
To tackle the most subjective category, I conducted a blind taste test pitting backstraps and steaks from a 2 1/2-year-old Catskill Mountains buck against ribeye steaks bought from the best butcher shop in south Brooklyn. Ten friends with discriminating palates served as the test panel. Both beef and venison were seasoned evenly and cooked on a charcoal grill to medium rare. The meat was cut to bite-size portions and served on color-coordinated toothpicks (white for venison, black for beef). Venison crushed beef 8 to 2.
Venison just might be experiencing its glory days in the culinary world. It has a rich flavor (don’t call it gamy) that hunters have appreciated forever and foodies have finally seemed to discover.
Beef is generally more tender, fattier, succulent, and versatile.
Even though I was raised on venison, I personally would still take a thick ribeye or T-bone over a whitetail tenderloin when given the option.
However, the test panel has spoken. Advantage: Venison
How Much Does Venison Cost?
The cost of beef is on the rise and it’s always changing due to farming conditions. Years ago, an epic two-year drought in Texas had ranchers struggling to keep their cattle grazing while drought across the Great Plains drove feed prices sky high. Retail beef prices have risen on average by about $1 per pound since 2007.
“We can’t let beef turn into lobster,” Ed Greiman of Garner, the president of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, recently told USAToday.com. Experts say beef prices could rise another 10 percent by grilling season.
In February 2021, USDA choice steak and sirloin had a national average retail cost of $9.08 per pound, with more expected increases on the way. Ground chuck cost a national average of $4.25 per pound retail, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But how much does wild venison really cost? It’s impossible calculate a perfect figure. The farmer who shoots three deer off the back 80 acres spends significantly less money than the nonresident hunter who flies to Kansas for an outfitted hunt.
But we can at least get a close estimate…
The average cost of a deer hunting license is about $21 across the top 10 whitetail states in the country. But a lot more goes in to the cost of venison than license fees. A 2006 survey conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that deer hunters spent $885 per year on hunting and trip expenditures. The survey also found that only about 50 percent of the deer hunters across the country killed one or more deer in a season. This isn’t perfect math, but we can figure that deer hunters take an animal about every other year. This means it would cost $1,770 per animal. Factor in about 60 pounds of venison per deer and you get $29.50 per pound. Even if you take a deer every season, the cost per pound still runs $14.75. Advantage: Beef
https://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/hunting/2013/05/ultimate-red-meat-venison-vs-beef/