TASTE TEST BY THE UNITED STATE VENISON COuNCIL ENDS DEBATE
Controversy has long raged about the taste of venison compared to beef.
Some people say venison is tough, with a strong "wild" taste, while others insist that venison's flavor is delicate.
An independent food research group was retained by the United States Venison Council to conduct a taste test to determine the truth of these conflicting assertions once and for all.
First, a grade A, USDA choice Angus steer was chased a mile and a half from the road into a swamp, then shot several times.
After some of the entrails were removed, the carcass was dragged back over rocks and stumps, and through mud and dust to the road.
It was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and driven a hundred miles through rain and snow before being hung in the sun for 10 days.
With the "aging" completed, it was then lugged into a garage, where it was skinned and rolled around on the floor for a while.
Strict sanitation precautions were observed throughout the test, within the limitations of the butchering environment. For instance, Dogs and cats were allowed to sniff and lick the carcass, but were chased away when they attemted to bite chunks out of it.
Next, a sheet of plywood left over from last years buthchering was set up on two sawhorses in the basement.
The dried pieces of blood, fat and hair from last year were scraped off with a wire brush, which was last used to clean out grass stuck under the lawn mower.
The skinned carcass was then dragged down the steps into the basement where a half dozen inexperienced but enthusiastic intoxicated men worked on it with meat saws, cleavers, and dull knives.
The result was 375 pounds of soup bones, four bushel baskets of meat scraps, and a couple of steaks which were an eighth of an inch thick on one end, and an inch and a half on the other.
The steaks were then seared on a glowing, red hot skillet to lock in the flavor.
When the smoke cleared, rancid bacon grease, along with 5 pounds of onions were added, and the whole conglomeration was fried for two hours.
The meat was gently teased from the pan and served to three blindfolded taste panel volunteers.
Every member of the panel thought it was venison, with one volunteer saying it tasted exactly like the venison he had been eating in hunting camps for the last twenty seven years.
The results of this scientific test show conclusively that there is NO DIFFERENCE IN TASTE BETWEEN VENISON AND BEEF !
