Game On Venison and Duck Rub

Game meat. The seller describes it as a blend for venison, duck and other wild meats. Like the rest of this range it is pointed at a particular kind of protein rather than restricted to it.

Because it is very lean. Farmed beef and lamb carry intramuscular fat that keeps them forgiving well past medium; most cuts of venison have almost none, so there is nothing to disguise overcooking and very little margin between rare and grey. Cook to temperature with a thermometer rather than to a clock, and take it off earlier than instinct suggests.

Yes, on backstrap and loin. It is the shiny membrane along the outside, it does not break down with cooking, and it contracts in the pan — which curls the meat and makes it chewy. Slide a thin blade underneath and take it off in strips.

Score the fat in a crosshatch without cutting into the meat, season both sides, and start it skin down in a cold dry pan with no oil. Bringing the pan up from cold renders the fat out slowly rather than sealing it in. Pour the rendered fat off as it collects, flip for a minute or two at the very end, then rest it and slice across the grain. It is served pink.

Generally yes. Game has a stronger flavour of its own, and a rub aimed at it is doing real work rather than simply adding seasoning — particularly with older or stronger meat. Braising cuts like shoulder and shank take the most, because the seasoning distributes through the whole pot.

That is one of the better uses for it. Tough, worked cuts want hours of low moist heat, and seasoning heavily and early means the flavour ends up right through the dish rather than only on the surface.

Around two level tablespoons per kilogram as a starting point, more for a braise, less for mince that has already been seasoned by whoever made it. Season to taste rather than to a number.

It is a seasoning, so there is nothing stopping you. A game blend on beef will taste like a game blend on beef — which some people want and some do not. The range has a separate blend for beef if that is what you are after.

The ingredient and allergen statement printed on the pack is the only answer to that, and it is the maker's to give. This listing does not publish an ingredient list, and anything the seller's own description says about what the blend contains or is free of is their statement rather than ours. If you are avoiding an allergen, read the pack and ask the maker if anything is unclear.

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Free delivery applies on orders above $69 in the Auckland region — the delivery fee is confirmed at checkout. There is no minimum order value.

Photograph it as it arrived and contact the store the same day. Returns are handled by the store that sold the item, and nothing in a store's policy limits your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.