The word “venison” is taken from the Latin venari, meaning “to hunt”. It was originally used to refer to the meat of any wild animal. Game is incredibly versatile and can replace farmed meats in most recipes for a tastier, healthier, and more sustainable meal.

 

The most straightforward swaps are wild venison in place of beef or lamb. The “gamey” flavour of wild meat is the result of the animal’s natural, varied diet. Farmed animals eat a bland diet based around grass or grain, resulting in bland meat. Wild animals, on the other hand, enjoy a variety of grasses, berries, grains and insects, and this is what makes their meat so flavoursome.

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‘Boerewors’, an Afrikaans word, literally means ‘farmers’ (‘boere’) and ‘sausage’ (‘wors’). Boerewors is made from coarsely minced beef that is combined with dry-roasted coriander as a main ingredient. No South African barbecue or ‘braai’ is complete without boerewors.

 

‘Biltong’, from the Dutch ‘bil’ (‘rump’) and ‘tong’ (‘strip’), is a kind of meat preserved through a technique that was used by the Khoikhoi. The Khoikhoi sliced meat into strips first and then cured it with salt before hanging it up to dry. When the Dutch, German, and French settlers arrived in the 17th century, they added vinegar to the curing process. The Dutch spiced the biltong by adding cloves, pepper, and coriander.