Kosher venison available in the UK for the first time in over a century

As described on the Kosher Rare Meat Company website, venison — meat from a deer — is the healthiest of all red meats, containing less than two per cent fat (less than skinless chicken) as well as fewer calories, more protein and high levels of iron and other key vitamins.

Hannah said the company had been “overwhelmed by the response. We have filet mignon, steaks, shoulder, stewing joints all selling well.” She confirmed that a second shecht took place at the beginning of September, with the meat almost selling out just a few days after becoming available.

The plan, she says, is to “hopefully have another shecht after Yomtov — October or November time — and then we go from there.

“It’s important to make clear that it’s a very seasonal product — it’s not beef, lamb or chicken, you can’t go and suddenly shecht 500 of them.”

In an article for the Federation’s magazine, Hamaor, Dayan Yehoshua Posen, director of operations for the Federation Beth Din, described the differences between the meat of a deer (which is considered a chayah, a wild animal) and more commonly available types of meat, such as from a cow or sheep (each of which is considered a behemah, a domesticated animal). For example, while it is forbidden to eat some parts of a behemah, similar sections of a chayah can under certain circumstances be permitted.

The article also described some of the hurdles which needed to be overcome before the animal — in this case, a fallow deer — could be shechted.

Some animals, which are technically kosher because they fulfil the requirements mentioned in the Torah, nonetheless require the existence of a mesorah (a transmission of knowledge) before they can be approved for eating — which means their slaughter can be identified as part of an ongoing, living tradition.

In his piece, Rabbi Posen mentions how at the beginning of the 19th century, shochtim [religious slaughterers] would shecht deer on the Rothschild family estate for this exact reason.

Although a clear mesorah for fallow deer was found, there are other difficulties. As Dayan Posen told the JC, “our biggest challenge is going to be supply, because it’s very limited.”

Under UK agricultural regulations, deer can only be shot in the open field, not in an abattoir, ruling out religious slaughter of the animal there.

Even in countries where such slaughter is permitted, deer can only be shechted at certain times of the year. And animals with a blemish are not meant to be slaughtered — hard when animals are wild.

Hannah described how “extra care and caution needs to be taken when dealing with them [deer]. The way the shechita is planned has to reflect that and therefore we are subject to conditions on the day — that’s nature!’’

The meat is being sold directly by the company, rather than via kosher butchers or supermarkets. Hannah describes the venison as “glatt and mehadrin”, meaning it is at the highest level of supervised meat.

“The Federation have been amazing — they’re really helping us with this. It’s very exciting for them”, she said.

Dayan Posen confirmed he was waiting until Yomtov to try the venison for the first time but said people who had tried it described the meat as being “excellent; it melted in their mouths, but you have to be careful how you cook it.”

Hannah concurred.

“One customer said, ‘I just don’t know how to describe it — it’s not beef and it’s not lamb’. And it’s exactly that, it has its own taste — very meaty, very flavoursome, you don’t need to add salt.

“I think sometimes people have had venison in the past and found it to be rubbery and dry. This is usually a reflection of how it’s been cooked.’’

But while venison may soon be gracing more and more British Shabbat tables, Hannah made it clear that other rare kosher meats may follow. “There are other rare meats that we are investigating — interesting animals and birds. Watch this space.”