You may have wondered how healthy is venison compared to beef? Well, venison is significantly lower in fat and higher in protein, isn’t that some double win for you! While three ounces of beef packs about 17 grams of fat and 14.5 grams of protein, venison boasts only 7 grams of fat with 22.5 grams of protein. However, the lower fat content renders venison is a little tougher in texture and a little less rich in flavor.
Deer meat also beats its bovine counterpart in the iron department. Iron is a mineral that helps your body promote healthy red blood cells, according to Harvard Health, and being deficient can cause fatigue or grogginess throughout the day.
Venison can be refrigerated or frozen as cuts of meat or in the form of sausage, according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation. However, if you’re harvesting the meat yourself, you want to use extreme care not to contaminate the meat while field dressing and you’ll want to cool the meat as soon as possible. Store venison in the fridge for no more than three days, keeping the meat sealed and separated from other food.
Trimming the fat from venison will significantly improve the flavor of the meat, preventing that gamey flavor that usually accompanies this protein, according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Aging the meat will also help dissipate the gamey flavor and cause the meat to grow more tender.
How to Cook Venison
There are a few factors to keep in mind while cooking venison. Unlike other meat sources, color and texture are not safe ways of determining whether or not your venison is sufficiently cooked, according to Michigan State University. When cooking venison, it’s advised that you use a food thermometer to verify the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160° Fahrenheit.
When it comes to cooking your venison, game meats typically taste best when prepared on low, moist heat for extended periods of time, recommends Michigan State University. You can also marinate your venison before cooking to add tenderness to this typically tough meat.
Read Also: Why Turkey is Good for You?
How Healthy is Venison Compared to Beef?
Despite that it’s considered a form of red meat, venison is low in fat and calories. A three-ounce serving of ground venison has just 159 calories, whereas a same-size serving of beef contains 215 calories total. This at least should answer the question of how healthy is venison compared to beef?
Nutritional Differences in Beef and Venison
- Calories: beef – 32% more than venison
- Fat: beef – 292% more than venison
- Protein: venison – 39% more than beef
- Water: venison – 3% more than beef
- Less protein in beef
It is also easy to see see that in beef is less protein than in venison .
There is 36.08g per 100g of venison and 25.93g per 100g of beef so using simple math we can see that difference is about 39%.
- More fat in beef
In beef is more fats than in venison .
The tables above show us that there is 3.93g/100g of fats in venison and 15.41g/100g in beef. In this case difference is about 292%.
Their Vitamins and Minerals Comparison
- Vitaminium B1 (Thiamine): venison – 230% more than beef
- Vitaminium B2 (riboflavin): venison – 271% more than beef
- Vitaminium B3 (Niacin): venison – 37% more than beef
- Vitaminium B6: venison – 25% more than beef
- Vitaminium B9 (Folic acid): venison – 22% more than beef
- Vitaminium E: venison – 525% more than beef
- Vitaminium K: venison – 100% more than beef
- Calcium: beef – 200% more than venison
- Iron: venison – 92% more than beef
- Magnessium: venison – 33% more than beef
- Potassium: beef – 2% more than venison
- Sodium: venison – 272% more than beef
| per 100g | Beef | Venison (deer meat) |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 250 | 190 |
| Fat | 15.41 g | 3.93 g |
| Protein | 25.93 g | 36.08 g |
| Water | 57.98 g | 59.45 g |
| Calcium | 18 mg | 6 mg |
| Iron | 2.6 mg | 4.98 mg |
| Magnessium | 21 mg | 28 mg |
| Potassium | 318 mg | 311 mg |
| Sodium | 72 mg | 268 mg |
| Vitaminium B1 (Thiamine) | 0.046 mg | 0.152 mg |
| Vitaminium B2 (riboflavin) | 0.176 mg | 0.653 mg |
| Vitaminium B3 (Niacin) | 5.378 mg | 7.389 mg |
| Vitaminium B6 | 0.382 mg | 0.478 mg |
| Vitaminium B9 (Folic acid) | 0.009 mg | 0.011 mg |
| Vitaminium E | 0.12 mg | 0.75 mg |
| Vitaminium K | 0.001 mg | 0.002 mg |
