Hunt, catch, forage, cook

The term ethical carnivore is being used more frequently, and there are now quite a few books on personal journeys to the source of sustainable wild food. Ethical eating, rather than the pure enjoyment of hunting, is motivating people with no hunting tradition to get involved. Whatever the motivation, the equation will never add up if you don’t know how to cook what you hunt, catch or forage.

The Wild Harvest Cooking School is a place where people can learn how to cook delicious wild game dishes, enjoy a nice evening and have their questions answered, hunter or not.

Attending the first class offered plenty of learnings, but two stood out.

One, my life was seriously lacking without a Thermomix.

Two, the phrase salt as you go is more of a way of life than a suggestive seasoning when you are in the kitchen with game chef Riccardo Momesso.

The intimate space of The Neff Kitchen at the South Melbourne Market played host to the inaugural class in mid-September.

On this particularly chilly Spring evening, 11 curious hunters, 2 kitchen hands, 1 cadet journalist and a game chef gathered in the warm kitchen to learn how to properly prepare a series of wild venison dishes under the tutelage of renowned game chef Riccardo Momesso (Ferrovia).

The recipes included Venison Ragu, Venison Carpaccio and Venison Cotoletta.

ADA Executive Officer Barry Howlett, or better known as “kitchen hand Baz” for the evening, opened the night with a few housekeeping items before Riccardo stole the show with stories of his childhood being raised on game food.

The venison shoulder was deboned and roughly cubed into larger than you would think pieces for the ragu, with Riccardo fielding questions about removing the sinew or not.

The answer; don’t, it’s a part of the dish.

Grabbing a small handful of salt chef sprinkled it into the pot alongside the meat, veg and oil before he spoke the four words that would become the evening's motto “salt as you go.”

And he meant it, salting generously at least three or four times per dish.

His final dusting of salt into the water where the pasta would cook for the ragu was accompanied by a playful, “ …you want it to taste like the sea.”

Riccardo explored the versatility of venison when he used the same cut of meat, the back strap in two very different dishes the Carpaccio and the Cotoletta.

For those that don’t know Carpaccio is raw.

Yes, raw wild venison.

You're  curious right, but you are also thinking “ …well of course he can prepare that he’s a professional I’ll just make myself sick.”

Don’t worry, I was thinking the same.

As someone who has no history with venison or wild game in general, I was curious as to what this would teach me.

As someone who is not a chef nor really culinarily inclined, there are some simple things I learnt that can take your Venison Carpaccio to the next level.

The meat tastes the best if it is served at room temperature.

And rather than using a mallet to thin out the slices, try using the side of the knife and the pressure of your palm, pulling the cut of meat out along the board.

It’s much gentler, and you are less likely to tear the meat.

Did you know that you should use aluminium pots and pans when cooking venison because stainless steel changes the taste of the meat?

And that a Thermomix might be more versatile than venison? You can put anything into that machine, and it just turns it into exactly what you need, whether it be a crumb mix or a creamy combination of porcini mushrooms, garlic, olive oil and vinegar that Riccardo used as a dressing for the carpaccio.

Oh, and don’t forget a sprig of thyme.

This cooking school is important, not just to learn how to better prepare your wild game but also to answer your questions about dishes you regularly attempt.

You may be a hunter who has grown up on wild game and just never quite figured out what you needed to add to your ragu.

Or you may be someone who is interested in learning how to be a more sustainable, more ethical meat consumer—the Ethical Carnivore.

It is worth pointing these classes out to people you know who are bothered that they don’t know where their meat is coming from or how it lived and died before reaching the supermarket in a shiny plastic wrap.

They may be people looking to reduce their carbon footprint just by being a little bit healthier.

Venison alone is one of the healthiest red meats around. And something that has continually surprised me working with ADA is not only how sustainable game meat is but that outside of the hunting community; few people seem to be aware of this.

Are you really comfortable being left in the dark about the life and death of the meat you consume? Not knowing if the meat you eat comes from a factory farm or the way it met its end.

Isn’t it better to have the knowledge that the protein you consume was ethically and sustainably harvested?

A lot of people don’t have access to any proper game meat because they haven’t grown up with hunting.

They haven’t been exposed to hunting, and they haven’t been educated in the benefits of game meat not only for themselves but also for the environment.

These cooking classes have the potential to engage and educate the non-hunting community. It is reasonable to assume. That with knowledge and experience, they will at least become advocates for wild game, even if they continue to choose not to hunt themselves.

Whether it is learning how to cook your venison a little bit better or learning how to cook venison at all.

Hunter, ethical carnivore, or just plain curious, everyone is welcome.

And don’t forget to salt as you go.