TN: 89 CdP Beaurenard

Happy New Year and thanks for the notes Emery. For my own edification does a gigot de chevreuil translate to a leg of venison (deer) in English? Is the deer farm raised or wild? I've found that the leg of wild deer here in Ohio are just too tough to roast even though we have very fat and healthy wild deer due to the large amount of high quality feed available to them in farm country. We usually cut the leg into what is known as "round steak" which is the top of the leg and that is used in braised dishes such as "Swiss Steak" or stews. I generally find CdP is a wonderful match with venison as are some of the California style Syrah's.

Hi Bill,

I usually "go to" CdP with venison too. Chevreuil is a roe deer, a very small, delicate (and tasty) animal not much larger than a big dog. There are a huge number of these beasts here in the bocage, where they have a strong penchant for ornamental garden shrubs.

Chevreuil is more tender than its larger cousin, biche (or cerf, tougher still) and we have often roasted the leg from the wild version, marinated or not. We are neighbors to a large hunting domain, and they keep us sweet with several donations throughout the season (as well as mushrooming rights).

This leg though was so tender it practically melted in the mouth, so although it had very good flavour I'd wager it was farm raised. Also, I got it from a butcher, although sometimes you get hunted game there too, but in this case I didn't inquire.

Best wishes to you and family for 2008,

-E

Thanks for the info Emery. We have a large population of White Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) which are said to me more numerous now that when the pilgrims landed due to their affinity for suburban landscaping and the "Bambi" factor brought on by the PETA people. I thought PETA stood for "People Eating Tasty Animals".....