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Chris Hughes

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    http://www.brokenarrowranch.com

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  • Location
    Ingram, TX
  1. I think the theory works best when decisions can be made by property owners based on how to most efficiently use their property. It seems to break down a bit when the species is on communal property, like the oceans. There is no one "in charge" to make a decision based on individual profit. Fishermen should realize that over fishing is not in their best long-term interest - and I think that many responsible fishermen do realize that. Unfortunately it does not take many uncontrolled, short-sighted outfits to deplete a limited supply. The only way to combat that problem is to control demand. Tough job when you consider how tasty bluefin tuna is! There are many sustainable seafood organizations out there trying to educate the public on “good” seafood vs. “bad” seafood, which is a start.
  2. It is often said that the best way to preserve a species is to make it valuable. Creating a viable market for endangered plants and animals should encourage landowners to produce more of those "products." Ideally, a successful market is self-regulating/self-preserving. For plants/animals the grower will not sell ALL of his stock, but will save enough to grow more the next year. As long as it is profitable to do so the species will be preserved. In a best case, the population will steadily grow since then the producers will then have more to sell. American bison and alligator are a couple of success stories here. I’m sure Rancho Gordo will have something to say here, as well. The flip-side is a situation where the market is completely banned. If you are banned from selling products from endangered species then they have no (monetary) value to the landowner. If they have no value then the landowner is not motivated to preserve them - he will direct his time, money, efforts elsewhere. The species will be killed off to use the land for other purposes or just allowed to die off on its own. Any demand for the species’ products will just move underground long enough for the animal to become extinct. Think of the rhino here. Limited monetary value to the landowner since all rhino products are banned. Some tourism dollars, but it must pale in comparison to what the poachers are making from illegal ivory sales. Throw in the added effort/money spent to enforce a ban and it becomes an inefficient proposition real fast. Don't get me wrong here... the Endangered Species Act certainly has its place and every effort should be made to preserve our Earth’s remaining species – including regulation if necessary. I'm just saying that one approach actively promotes the independent growth of a species by making it valuable to have around. The other approach forces the species to fight for its survival based mainly on its nostalgic value.
  3. They're just so easy! And good, too. I still like to make homemade biscuits every now and then, but really it's more for the "event" of making them. Most Sunday mornings it's: 1) Heat oven 2) Move biscuits from bag to oven 3) Sip coffee 4) Enjoy hot, "fresh" biscuits. Every now and then there's a product that comes along that makes you go wow... this is one of them.
  4. Chris Hughes

    Venison

    Good point. I think that is definitely part of it. Part is probably "different than beef" but part of it is poorly handled venison (overly gamey). “Taste of the woods” vs. “tastes like liver.” Venison should and does have a slight gamey element to it... otherwise, it’s just another nice piece of meat. However, many of the “too gamey” comments I hear are from people who have had poorly handled/cooked venison. There is a world of difference between properly harvested/processed/cooked venison and meat from a deer that was wounded, tracked for hours, thrown on the hood of a truck and driven 200 miles back home. If you harvested a cow that way you’d probably have some pretty sorry steaks – no different with venison.
  5. Chris Hughes

    Venison

    “Gamey” flavor, or lack of it, comes from some inherent qualities of the animal as well as some that is induced from the harvesting/processing techniques. Some of the inherent qualities include: Species – some species produce milder meat, other more gamey Diet – the varied diet of wild animals adds a subtle complexity to the meat vs. a milder flavor for farm-raised animals eating primarily one type of grass/feed. Age/Size – older and larger are gamier than younger and smaller Some of the induced (and preventable) causes of gamey flavor are: Stress – animals that are stressed prior to or during harvest will have a strong gamey flavor. Stress can come from running an animal, not making a clean kill, or, as snowangel mentioned, lack of food. Quick/Proper Processing – thoroughly bleeding an animal and cooling the meat temperature down as quickly as possible will reduce the gamey flavor Aging – moisture evaporates from the meat as it dry ages. The longer it dry ages the more concentrated/intense the flavor will be. Minimizing stress and proper processing are the best ways to prevent an overly gamey flavor. The flavor you pick up from the inherent qualities of the animal will be just enough to let you know you’re eating good wild game meat.
  6. Chris Hughes

    Venison

    That all sounds good - especially the curry. IMO too many people believe that venison tastes like Worchester sauce or only comes fried or in sausage. Deer and antelope are native to almost all parts of the world so it stands to reason that there are many delicious "ethnic" recipes for venison. Borscht, goulash, and of course curry are a few that come to mind. Does anyone else have any favorite ethnic/global preparations?
  7. Chris Hughes

    Venison

    My apologies for being a dweeb and a nerd, but are you talking about Oslo, Norway, and if so, how'dya end up with New Zealand venison? ← Hello fellow venison lovers... first post here on eGullet and since I know a bit about the venison industry I thought I'd jump in right here. New Zealand supplies most of the world's commercial venison. Most of Europe's and about 80% of the US's comes from NZ. It's from the red deer (very similar to elk) that is raised on deer farms throughout NZ. So, it would probably be more surprising to find native venison in Oslo than it would be to find NZ venison.
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