CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Deer meat was made available on store shelves this week for the first time in West Virginia.
Saturday marked the first official day when the Wild Ramp in Huntington introduced the product.
On Tuesday, Safari Meats delivered Venison Snack Sticks to Charleston’s Bluegrass Kitchen.
“It’s a very exciting adventure for us,” said Anita Cobb, owner of Safari Meats, located in Jackson County.
A bill that would allow for deer farming in West Virginia was signed into law last year. Regulatory control of the deer farming industry was transferred from the state Division of Natural Resources to the state Department of Agriculture.
Cobb said they’ve waited 15 years to sell the meat, which comes from licensed deer farmers.
“Ours has gone through a long testing process. We’ve had inspectors from start to finish,” she said. “The best positive thing about it is there’s no drugs involved, so when you get your venison it is all natural and, to me, that’s very important.”
Beginning Friday, Bluegrass Kitchen will begin offering a venison meal on their menu.
“We’re running it for our Valentine’s menu,” said Bluegrass owner Keeley Steele. “We’re actually doing sort of an Appalachian surf ‘n’ turf plan with it, so we’ll be doing a trout cake with the venison loin.”
The meal will also be on their features menu after Saturday night.
Steele said they’re looking forward to the response from customer as her chefs get ready to work with venison.
“We’ve had great success with rabbit and goat and we expect to have the same great success with venison,” she said. “Any time that we can help support local agriculture is a big boom to us because that’s really the philosophy that we built our food business on to begin with.”
Industry officials have said they believe the change will result in future economic growth. Cobb said the demand for venison is already high.
“I’ve got messages that just keep piling up — people wanting the venison, wanting me to ship it,” she said. “We’re hoping to process again soon.”
Customers looking to buy deer meat can purchase ground venison, loins and soup bones. A wider variety will be available as the season continues.
For more information, visit the Safari Meats Facebook page.