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Venison Cuts & Butchery

Because First Light yearling venison is young and tender there are a wide number of cuts you can use to create some magic. This is your opportunity to get to know the cuts so you can make the most of every piece.

Humans have been eating venison for as long as we have been out of the trees — they were the original ‘fast food’. Venison became the food of kings for good reason, it has the magic formula of being nutrient dense, super lean and ultra-tender. Not enough people know venison is actually four times more tender than beef. At First Light we decided good wasn’t enough, we made it our mission to take venison to the next level. So we process our deer young. The result is delicious, delicately flavoured meat that wants to be cooked quickly and served rare. Your first mouthful of First Light venison will be the first day of the rest of your life, you will live longer and be much more interesting to be around.

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Tenderloin

Tucked away up under the ribs the tenderloin or fillet is super tender and delicate. Always in hot demand because they are as scarce and hens teeth, if you do manage to get one roast or pan fry and eat it really quickly.

Striploin

There are 2 ways of dealing with a venison saddle, the most common is to prepare a venison backstrap, which in the trade is called a venison striploin. Venison striploin is the perfect cut to make into steaks, cook it as you would a beef fillet steak - like a beef fillet venison striploin steak is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Short Ribs

Venison short ribs aren’t well advertised because there aren’t many to go round and those in the know aren’t sharing. Slow cook in a sticky sweet salty sauce, they are absolutely delicious.

Flank

A go-to choice for many restaurant chefs, Venison flank steak are both tender and packed with flavor. Marinated or sprinkled with a little sea salt, you simply can’t go wrong with this one.

Neck Fillet

This little treasure is perfect for long slow cooking. Caramelise in a hot pan, add your favorite ingredients and slow simmer until all the connective tissue has melted to become a sticky, flavor explosion.

Shoulder Fillet

Dice it, mince it, cook it any way you would beef chuck or mince. The beauty of First Light venison shoulder is that it is super lean and gentle flavoured. First Light venison ground shoulder makes the best gourmet burgers ever.

Foreleg

Venison shanks are typically a cut of meat that is below the knee, it’s really a piece of leg meat. A lot of people tend to toss them aside, or use the small amount of meat for more ground meat. However, they're incredibly packed with flavor!

Sirloin

The wonderful thing about First Light yearling venison is the fact all four muscles are tender enough to be used as steaks. The four main cuts are the Topside, Knuckle, Silverside and Rump.

To cook First Light venison leg steaks, cook hot and fast and match with one of First Light venison’s great friends — earthy like mushrooms, sweet like blueberries.

Rump

The wonderful thing about First Light yearling venison is the fact all four muscles are tender enough to be used as steaks. The four main cuts are the Topside, Knuckle, Silverside and Rump.

Cook First Light venison leg steaks cook hot and fast and match with one of First Light venison’s great friends — earthy like mushrooms, sweet like blueberries.

Shank or Osso Bucco

Osso Bucco — Red deer can jump a 10-foot fence without breaking a sweat so it stands to reason their shanks are going to need some cooking. The good news is the outcome of 10 hours in a crock pot is a gelatinous, juicy stew that will keep them coming back.