Page 49 - Tropic Magazine Issue 38

TROPIC • FOOD & DRINK

Wild dining

BUSH FOOD
The owner of Caffiend, Guyala
and Tattooed Sailor Coffee
Roasters shares his passion for
sustainably sourced meats.
Words: Oliver James
An old friend reached out during the Images courtesy of Foodvixen
COVID lockdowns last year and asked
if I wanted to join an adventure looking
at wild harvest food in Cape York. Mike
Winer wanted me to lend some industry
knowledge and host a soft launch of a
wild beef product, Bush Beef. He knew
food adventures are my thing, and that
I have a particular interest in the food,
people and culture of the Cape. Every day we dined on whatever we carcasses into smaller cuts, an insightful
It all began in 2003 when I was involved could catch - fish, squid, shark, mudcrab, experience of its own.
in the design and build, and eventual crays, shells from the sand, and stingray. Butchering has changed the way I think
redesign some years later, of a remote Stingray wings were my favourite - slow about buying meat and really shifted me
outstation on the beach past the pure braised, cooled on eucalyptus leaves toward more sustainable ways of using
white sands of the Cape Flattery sand to extract the aromatic oils, pulled like meat products in my cafés.
mine. Camping and working alongside rillette and folded back through its Back at the big kitchen at Caffiend, my
the Bowens, a local family from Hopevale, own fatty liver. The result is like a rich, team and I broke the beef down further
was an awesome experience for me on decadent duck rillette, but with a in preparation for the launch at Guyala, to
so many levels. However, my strongest subtle taste of the sea. Served on showcase the different cuts.
impression was of making spears on the a campfire damper with bush lime and We made sausages, pies, soup with oxtail
first day of setting up camp and hunting salt, it was epic. and jus with the bones. We slow cooked
for lunch on the reef that extended out Fast forward to a few months ago, when the cheeks and braised the tongue.
from the beach. I met the cousins of the Bowen family We brined one brisket for corned beef,
at Normanby Station in the traditional and smoked another. The marrow
homelands of the Balnggarrawarra, bones we roasted and the tomahawks
north-west of Cooktown. marinated and barbequed. Needless to
Normanby is over 30,000 hectares, with say, the small group of industry
many sandstone escarpments containing peers invited to the launch enjoyed the
extensive rock art paintings. meat, and the opportunity to meet the
Vince Harrigan and his two brothers run Harrigan brothers!
the station, with healthy and sustainable Aside from the awesome story of its
land management at the core of their provenance, Bush Beef is really yum, with
efforts. One feature of this management a clean gamey taste and texture. It tastes
is removing the roaming wild cattle, somehow more beefy then regular beef.
which cause erosion in the many For now the Harrigan brothers are busy
escarpments. Bush Beef are these wild building yards and infrastructure at
cattle. No hormones, feedlot fattening, Normanby in preparation for the official
chemicals or sprays, this beef is organic. launch after this wet season. Until then,
Eating them has a positive impact on the Bush Beef is only available on the specials
land at Normanby. I was super excited board at Caffiend and Guyala, until we
to try it! run out of stock!
After slaughtering and hanging two of
the wild cattle for a couple of weeks,
I joined Vince and the team at Bushy MORE: normanbybushbeef.com
Creek Butchery in breaking down the full

49 • tropicnow.com.au