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Game Meats Delivery or Pickup
The Instacart guide to game meat products
Game meat is any type of animal meat that's hunted for food. When you're stuck in a protein rut, game meat can be a nice change from the typical beef, pork, and chicken rotation that you're probably using for your daily meals. It's not only higher in protein and lower in fat and cholesterol than domesticated meat, but it's also packed with vitamins.
About game meats
Although they represent a small part of the U.S. market, game meats are growing in popularity. Keep in mind that due to U.S. food laws, the type of game meat sold at grocery stores doesn't come from animals hunted in the wild. Instead, you'll get meat from animals raised on a farm.
Some common types of game meat available include the following:
- Caribou: With a very mild flavor, caribou isn't as gamey as deer. It's a very lean meat with little fat.
- Bison: One of the most common and widely offered game meats, bison is available in steaks, burgers, and short ribs. It's very lean and dense with a rich flavor. Bison works well in stews, while its tenderloin is one of its best cuts.
- Buffalo: Compared to beef, buffalo meat is tender and packed full of vitamins. It's high in protein and low in cholesterol.
- Elk: This meat has a clean and slightly sweet flavor. It's extremely tender and dark red in color, almost resembling beef.
- Pheasant: This type of meat is low in fat and high in protein. Pheasant has a rich poultry flavor and half the fat compared to the same serving of beef.
- Rabbit: Rabbit meat tastes similar to chicken, and it's extremely versatile to prepare.
- Venison: Also known as deer meat, venison is similar to elk and has almost no saturated fat or carbohydrates. It also has less fat and fewer calories than beef.
- Wild boar: Compared to pigs, wild boar has a similar pork flavor and has almost the same texture. Boar meat has a richer flavor than pork. Since it has more fat than pork, wild boar gives you more flexibility in how it's prepared. Its shoulders, belly, and chops give you the best cuts.
Game meat cooking tips
The main rule to remember when cooking game meat is to determine how lean it is. Although there are a few exceptions, most game meat is leaner than farmed meat because the animals aren't bred for their flavor. As a result, it's easy to overcook game meat, so you may want to focus on recipes that concentrate on the meat's tenderness. Consider recipes that have marinades, low and slow cooking times, and stews. You could also add more fat to the dish by mixing it with fattier types of meat, such as sausage or bacon.
When preparing game meat, remember that it has a richer and more intense flavor than domesticated meat. You can think of the comparison between grass-fed and grain-fed beef. Some people enjoy the flavor of game meat, while others may find it off-putting. Again, you can always combine game meat with another type of meat or use it in a spicy dish with many seasonings, so the flavor isn't as prominent.
If you're looking for something different for your next meal, order through Instacart to make your day a little easier. Open your Instacart app and add some game meats to your cart, and an Instacart shopper will fill your order. You can receive your meats in as little as 2 hours, saving you time!
FAQs about game meats
Just like any meat, game meats need to be cooked properly. Don't expect to cook a venison steak the same as you would a rib-eye steak. That's because the fat content isn't the same in the two types of meat. Do a little research and find recipes that cater specifically to game meats, and the meat should be easy to chew.
If you're still apprehensive, choose one of your favorite meat-based recipes and swap out the old protein for a new one. This way, you know what the flavor should taste like, and you can make seasoning adjustments to get it as close to the original as possible.
This depends on how the meat is prepared. The game meats sold at the grocery store are extremely safe to consume, as long as they're prepared correctly. Previous research showed some concern about pregnant women consuming game meats regularly. Certain health agencies recommended that pregnant women and children avoid consumption of game meats harvested with lead bullets. However, these types of meat are not sold in grocery stores, so there's no need to worry about the possibility of lead.