Amisfield's Carvery Roast
I’m still salivating at the memory of this slow-roasted lamb shoulder. It was served at Amisfield Winery on the edge of Lake Hayes and it arrived at the table with just a spoon and a fork – the only implements we needed to coax the meat off the bone. It was tender and succulent with a crispy thin layer of fat and a flavour that was deeper than spring lamb but stopped short of hogget.
It was the highlight of my food scouting mission in Central Otago, not least because – surprise, surprise – the lamb was Merino. Merino is bred primarily for its wool but a smart Cardrona farmer has developed a Merino lamb that tastes terrific. As luck would have it, this was the very farmer I’d arranged to meet the following day. From the plate to the paddock, I found myself tracking my meal back to the source.
Ben Gordon
My carvery roast was raised by Ben Gordon at Avalon Station, south of Wanaka on the Cardrona road. His property extends from the valley flats to the heights of the Pisa Range. The sheep spend the summer on the tops, foraging amongst thorny scrub and tussock, nosing out the grass, clover and herbs that grow in between. I expected Ben to tell me that’s why they taste so good – thyme-grazed mountain lamb, anyone? – but in the meaty debate that’s breed versus feed, he comes out on the side of the breed.
His own family always selected a Merino for the table, preferring the finer textured, sweeter-flavoured meat of the high-country sheep. But with less marbling than the Romney breeds, the leaner merino cuts can also be drier, which is why Ben crosses his Merino ewes with Suffolk. The Suffolk adds the fat which carries the flavour and makes the slow-roasted meat so succulent.
After the breed, it’s the manner of feeding that makes all the difference. Farmers generally want to fatten their lambs quickly but up on the tops where the merinos graze at the rate of just one sheep per acre, they mature and develop flavour more slowly. The lambs are finished on the flats where the grass is more lush but it’s their life in the hills that builds up the muscle and gives them such a good start.
Ben and his business partner Rob Ottrey have spent several years developing and now marketing their Cardrona Merino branded meat. They contract out the processing, specify the cuts and work closely with the chefs who are using their lamb. In other words they’re applying some artisan principles to what’s generally regarded as a commodity product. And guess what? You can taste the difference.
Cardrona Merino
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