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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

MUMU Grill - Gundooee Wagyu 7 ways


Vegetarians look away now. This is a story of how meat made men. Only the toughest survived to tell the tale


The setting was MUMU Grill in Crows Nest - Sydney's only sustainable meat steakhouse. Chef/owner Craig Macindoe is a barrel of a man who is the walking embodiment of the grass-fed meat his restaurant specialises in.


Tonight he is featuring Rob Lennon's, of Gundooee Organics, Angus cross-Wagyu in a sumptuous dinner.


Rob is a great mate. Saucy visited his free-range farm near Mudgee at Easter where he and his wife Anita have battled droughts to produce some of the best free-range beef you'll ever taste.


Tonight Craig, his chef friends and several cooking-class apprentices have designed a 7 course death-by-meat extravaganza featuring Rob's Wagyu like he's never seen it before.


First up is a tartare of wagyu on cassava chips. Beautiful combination. The wagyu is silken.


Craig talks to guests about the importance of sustainaible meat production and that cattle aren't necessarily the climate change enemy they've been portrayed as.


From the look of the faces of diners he's preaching to the converted. These people clearly live for meat.

Next is a carpaccio of wagyu with zucchini, radicchio, shaved fennel and parmesan


melt-in-your-mouth


Rob gives us a little background about what makes his wagyu special - grass-fed on native perennials, certified organic, rich in flavour and nutrition, environmental and ethical.


..... and you can certainly taste all that special rearing


Osso Bucco Ravioli in beef consomme is next. The broth is so deeply-flavoured. Mind-blowing.

but wait there's more.... a crunchy zingy Thai beef salad


Rob is used to just throwing his wagyu T-bone on the barbie. I don't think he can quite believe this is still his wagyu.


I'm starting to lose a bit of steam now. Groan. Just enough room to squeeze in a few bites of my favourite of the evening - Slow roasted sirloin with king prawn, asparagus and flying fish roe. An ethereal reinterpretation of surf and turf.


you really need to taste this dish

This is where I peter out and the real meatlovers continue the marathon.... organic wagyu brisket with pickled watermelon salad and sambal.


And then the last course - a crazily ginormous rib eye roast with coffee teriyaki, endamame salsa and braised witlof.

Again superb but surely we've eaten our yearly meat allowance in 4 hours !!!????!!

But I look around the room at diners sucking the bones and realise I'm just out of my league.

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