Venison can be an extremely tasty dish to add to your table, but if you don’t hunt, where do you get it? Sourcing venison can sometimes be hard. As an Austin culinary arts student, you’ll learn how to cook all kinds of meat, but before your cooking can begin, you have to have the meat on hand. Finding good venison will prove to be harder than finding a perfect cut of beef, but if you look hard, you should be able to find a source.
Local butcher shop
Your neighborhood butcher shop can sometimes have some unusual offerings. Usually, these rarer offerings are seasonal. Venison may be one of the seasonal options that the shop offers. Go in or call and ask the butcher if they ever get in venison. If they don’t, consider asking them to carry it when they can. Venison can be easily frozen, and your local butcher may be open to finding you some if you’re willing to buy in bulk. Small, local shops are more likely to be able to help you find what you need, and if they can’t get it for you, they might be able to point you to someone who can.
Farms, ranches and farmer’s markets
Local farms, ranches or farmers markets are also sources of venison. Some farms and ranches raise deer for slaughter or preform meat processing for hunters, so you may be able to find what you’re after. If they don’t provide people with venison, ask if they know someone who will.
Farmers markets are going to be the best place to get fresh vegetables and fruits, but they can also be a useful source of information. Ask around to see if the vendors know of anyone who sells venison and try to find out how to get the proper contact information.
Meat suppliers
If all else fails, make some calls and do some research on the Web. There are a number of meat suppliers like Lobel’s of New York, Creekstone Farms and Omaha Steaks that sell a number of different types and cuts of meat. You should be able to find one that supplies venison. See if you can get some meat delivered right to your door or sent to a butcher shop near you. In some cases you’ll have to buy a certain amount of meat, but if you have a decent sized freezer, this shouldn’t be a problem.