It is a mystery

You're welcome!

(You've been a big help about gluten-free baking; I'd dismissed it ages ago and now I want to try some.)

The only thing one might really need duck fat for is roasted potatoes and that's more like going from "great" to "ascended" than strictly necessary-necessary.

Cooking takes a shedload of practice; baking can be a science but cooking is art and takes that annoying combination of paying attention and practice any art demands.

And, really, you're doing something close to hard mode; venison isn't inherently hard to cook but it's not that close to the default cuisine.