MEAT & POULTRY
First, turkeys. Look for organic — hard to find but worth the effort. Our collaborator Grant Hilliard at Feather & Bone (2 Parsons Street, Rozelle, Ph 9818 2717) has some from northern NSW: the hens are about 4kg, the boys 7–11kg. Sean Moran at Sean’s Panaroma (370 Campbell Parade, Bondi, Ph 9365 4924) roasts them and serves slices with ricotta, lemon zest and sage stuffing.
There are small Burrawong chickens about, too. Chris Moore at The Commons (32 Burton Street, Darlinghurst, Ph 9358 1487) debones them and stuffs them with a mixed farce of chicken, veal and pork with pistachio and herbs, then rolls and poaches them in chicken stock, served at room temperature with jellied stock and a fickle, constantly changing sauce.
And here are a few ideas for your Christmas table: at Pino’s Dolce Vita (45 President Avenue, Kogarah, Ph 9587 4818) master butcher Pino Tomini Foresti can supply porchetta in a number of ways. First, the traditional boned suckling pig, rolled and stuffed with a variety of spicing methods from various regions of Italy. Trust me, you want one: ring him and discuss. Second, there’s rabbit, turkey (whole or half) ala porchetta — that is, rolled and stuffed. I’ve tried the rabbit, which is sensational: deboned, filled with raw pancetta, rosemary and garlic, then rolled and covered with cooked pancetta and more garlic and tied off. Pino tells me they’re flying out the door. But you need to order any of these items a week beforehand.
And before we leave, there’s my favourite: duck. At Tomislav (2/13 Kirketon Road, Darlinghurst, Ph 9356 4535) Tomislav Martinovic takes Burrawong Pekin duck breasts and — take a deep breath — brines them for eight hours, then washes them under running water, vacuum-packs them singly with a sprig of lemon thyme and a bay leaf, poaches them for 12 minutes then immerses them in cold water, lays them skin-side up on a cheesecloth, puts them in the fridge for 36 hours, then they go back in the bag until you order them, after which they go into a water bath for eight minutes and, once your entrée is cleared, into the frying pan for 6–7 minutes. Whew! All this to get the skin crisp and the meat moist and pink. It’s a technique he learnt from Heston Blumenthal.
