Wild game on the plate
The Manly Daily, Friday, 20 March, 2009
Controversy surrounding gun ownership in Australia is showing no signs of abating any time soon.
While organisations such as the Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia (SSAA) is actively promoting its focus on environmentally-sound, game-hunting practices, the powerful anti-gun lobby and animal liberation movement are highly unlikely to soften their opposing views to recreational hunting of any kind.
Regardless, scrutinise the menu of almost any top Sydney restaurant and it’s clear game, and indeed wild game, the ultimate free-range food, is an important drawcard for the discerning consumer.
The prevailing view that game hunting is all bad is perhaps based around a misnomer, according to the SSAA, that it is a dubious practice, while farming the same type of animal for human consumption is a more humane and ethical option.
So while we may collectively scorn the thought of harvesting a wild rabbit, deer, goat or duck, most non-vegetarians seem happy to consume with gusto the meat that others have bred, grown and processed for the dinner table.
Highlighting this apparent double standard, SSAA National spokesman Tim Bannister believes game hunters continue to be marked men, primarily because of a general ignorance of their practices.
“Top restaurants are wanting their game as wild and as fresh as possible and yet we have a ridiculous situation at the moment where only a licensed shooter can shoot rabbit, venison, goat, pig or duck for eating,’’ he said.
“We don’t hunt as a blood sport.”
“Our recreational hunters are more in touch with the environment and the breeding seasons than many farmers who bring in licensed shooters to manage their problems (of wild or feral animals).”
“The fees that we are charged actually go into the protection of the wetlands and bushland.”
With many diet-conscious Australians now trying to steer clear of processed foods, wild game is perhaps as natural and ``free-range’’ as it gets when it comes to feeding the family meat.
As Bannister said, “If you’ve tasted wild, free-range duck and compared it to farmed duck, you’d scratch your head and go, ‘why would I ever eat the farmed version again’?”
But Steve Daley, sous chef at Cottage Point Inn, Pittwater, disagrees, pointing out that some wild game is actually too gamey in flavour for the typical Aussie palate.
“If a wild product is really good then we would use it but often the farmed stuff is fatter because it is raised on grain, and it can be more tender, needing less cooking,” he said.
“It all depends on where you get it from but, at the end of the day, the wild animals have to struggle for their food so they are naturally leaner than farmed equivalents.”
Padie Starr, who owns and manages the iconic fine diner, Clareville Kiosk, concurs, conceding her head chef generally prefers organically-farmed game for similar reasons.
“The farmed animal is generally in better health than the wild one, and there is more consistency in the product, which is better for the consumer,” she said.
Despite the obvious benefits of farmed meat Giovanni Pilu, whose two-hatted restaurant, Pilu at Freshwater, is perhaps the most coveted on the northern beaches, is a staunch advocate of quality wild game.
“The farmed stuff is more controlled and consistent in size but I like to use wild bore because the flavour of the meat is dark and it has a real gamey flavour to it,” he said. “It’s unbelievably good.”
“I also love wild hare because the flavour is perfect for ragout with pasta.”
Meanwhile, high consumer demand for kangaroo is keeping the industry, worth $270m per year in good shape despite the SSAA’s added frustration of not being able to tap into this abundant resource either, which again is the domain of the professional shooter.
Nevertheless, suppliers are pressed to keep up with demand as Sydney restaurants compete for available produce.
Upmarket steakhouse Manly Grill is just one local establishment thriving partly as a result of its kangaroo offering.
“We’ve served kangaroo since day one and it’s increasingly popular,” manager Damien Spano said.
Yet another sign that game, whether wild or farmed, is back in vogue, big time.
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