Bringing wild venison to the shelf
Retail butchers are the key to growth for a NSW wild-harvest venison business started by a man with a passion for great food – and an important cause.
Adam Digby is a proud advocate for small, local retailers defying the monopolies’ march to food mediocrity. His business, Kosciuszko Wild Venison, is taking a feral pest and converting it to quality protein selling through cafes and restaurants in Australia’s capital cities.
Wild deer are seriously harming Australia’s farming productivity and iconic high-country ecosystems. Ethical harvesting by licensed shooters brings selected carcases to his Jindabyne processing works. Adam, an AUSMEAT-licensed meat inspector with QA certifications, oversees full break-down. He markets premium primals and directs further processing of secondaries into burgers and sausages.
He limits his take only to animals from Australia’s High Country and believes butchers could notch-up trade with high-end diners with venison taken from deer that roam freely in the Snowy River catchment, feeding on native grasses and herbs.
The variety, remoteness and cleanliness of their forage makes the animals less-prone to the parasites, flukes and worms of other game protein, and boosts the health qualities of the meat, said Adam. “Due to grass-based diet and limited contact with pharmaceuticals used in domestic animal disease treatments, venison is considered all-natural and safe for consumption.”
All carcases are subject to certified inspection following field-dressing and, because they have had minimal stress, there are hardly any dark-cutters. The meat is lean, richly flavoured and nutrition-dense … and comes with a great back story.
Adam left Sydney’s Northern Beaches chasing the snow and, discovering a love for open spaces, looked beyond his career in broadcasting. He discovered butchery.
After two years learning the trade at an export abattoir he gained his Australian and NZ qualifications and converted an old biscuit factory at Leesville, an industrial estate south of Jindabyne, into a processing plant and brought onboard a Jindabyne local butcher – Ian ‘Doc’ Pendergast.
Kosciuszko Wild Venison is one of the rare wild game businesses that takes responsibility for the carcase throughout its entire production cycle, from vetting the harvest to chef-testing the recipes. Even the sausages are hand-made and hand-twisted.
The one thing he lacks is each butcher’s relationship with every customer, so Adam is widening his reach via wholesale sales of chilled whole carcass, quarters, boxed burgers and sausages and bulk mince. The carcases usually deliver about 85% yield on a dressed weight of 25-30kg. Breakdown technique is similar to lamb, said Adam. Bigger carcases are used for mince, which wholesales at around $22/kg , and for backstrap, which wholesales for around $56/kg.
There are four varieties of sausage: a German/Scandi bratwurst, an Italian-style with white wine and fennel, Spanish-style smoked chorizo and an apple, thyme and sage ‘flavours of home’ variety. Adam is excited by his latest taste discovery based on an osso buco base, but his best claim is the difference wild-caught venison makes to a humble spag bol. “I tell people to make it according to their usual recipe, but just substitute our venison. It’s an amazing comparison,” he said.
The burgers are favourites among the café set and the normal range of rubs, sides and condiments sold at butcher shops are a natural fit, he added. He recommends home cooks start with something simple and tasty — like tacos or burgers. “They’re packed with flavour and easy to cook, making them a great introduction to this lean, nutritious meat,” he said.
“It also rocks a chilli con carne or a hearty cottage pie. It’s an easy swap for beef or lamb and brings a delicious flavour that pairs beautifully with herbs, garlic and tomatoes,” he said. “It’s a lean meat, so it’s best cooked quickly over high heat or low-and-slow to stay tender and juicy. Backstrap and hind quarter cuts are excellent pan fried or roasted – with accompaniments of roasted root vegetables, all manner of salads and a creamy comforting mash.”
Visit the website or contact Adam on adam@koscivenison.com.au or 0461 276 480.