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Even if your idea of wilderness is the rough at the golf course, you can embrace your primal side by eating like Daniel Boone. These days, elegant menus from New York to Napa are showcasing venison, pheasant, and other game animals with an enthusiasm once reserved for dry-aged porterhouse.

Those looking for a change from beef may consider elk, venison, or even bison. Adventurous diners with a jones for pork can switch things around with wild boar, available either as a chop or in sausage form, a popular addition to Italian-style sauces and ragouts. Prefer white meat? Skip chicken breast and give pheasant, squab, or rabbit a shot (ahem).

Why this sudden fascination with game? For one thing, the meat tends to have fewer calories and less fat. “I think the health aspect is the biggest thing, but there’s also a bit of nostalgia,” says Ken Lingle, executive chef at the Sagamore resort in New York’s Adirondack mountains, which serves venison and rabbit. “It’s mysterious. The people that settled this land were eating this.” In other words, it’s the ultimate retro food gone haute. And the hearty flavors are especially appealing in winter.

Here are several tips for navigating the culinary wild.

Where the Wild Things Were: Game is generally defined as meat derived from animals that live in the wild, although your menu might specify that a particular deer, rabbit, or boar came from a farm. That’s because game that originates in the U.S. must be farmed, according to American regulations. For authentically wild flavors, some chefs import foodstuffs from Scotland and as far away as New Zealand.

Lean and Mean: Because even farmed game typically live in settings more free-range than feedlot, and because such animals have never been commercially bred for rapid weight gain, they’re leaner than livestock, which is a boon for diners looking for food that’s both heart-healthy and hearty tasting.

A Matter of Taste: Culinary professionals agree that the difference in flavor between wild and farmed animals is substantial, though most chefs are divided on the subject of whether that’s a pro or a con. The wild stuff has a stronger, more assertive flavor; some say it’s slightly liverlike, or they draw comparisons to the tangy flavor of dry-aged steak. The taste of truly wild game also varies depending on what the animal eats during its life, so hints of grass or acorns are possible. “Wild game is gamier. That’s what I want,” says Terrance Brennan, owner of Picholine Restaurant and Artisanal Bistro in New York. John Besh, owner of Restaurant August in New Orleans, says that American palates often find milder farm-raised game more appealing.

Always in Season: Although American hunters are allowed to enjoy their quarry only during the late fall and winter hunting seasons, the availability of farmed and imported animals means that restaurant diners who want to eat game can do so year-round.