Mulga Room
Kitchen

Saltbush country: a morning with the lamb producers

Trevor Rossi and Tanya Hunter drove out to the station that grazes our lamb. They came back with dusty boots and a firmer opinion about gravy.

Kitchen

A drive across red country

Hands grating cheese over a bowl of pasta

The station lies an hour and a half from town along a gravel road, past stone ridges and dry creek beds lined with mulga and white-trunked gums. The family who run it were waiting at the homestead gate with a kettle on the stove, and they had set out a plate of scones on the veranda before anyone had properly stepped from the car.

Trevor wanted to see the saltbush for himself. It is a grey-green shrub, low and tough, and the sheep graze it throughout the year. The family believe it gives the meat a faint savoury quality, and Trevor, who is not easily persuaded, admitted at the end of the morning that he could taste what they meant.

They walked a paddock together at the cool end of the day, with the sun low and the sheep spread across the flat. The owner explained how the animals are moved, how the dry years are managed and why a good lamb cannot be hurried. Tanya took notes on all of it.

What came back to the kitchen

Slower roasting

The family's advice about cooking was simple: low heat, long time and leave it alone. Trevor has since lowered the oven for the rack of lamb by a few degrees and lengthened the roast. The meat comes out pinker, juicier and noticeably calmer, if a piece of meat can be called calm.

Less fuss

The family also suggested that rosemary and salt are all a good lamb needs. Trevor, who had been experimenting with a spiced crust, took the point and put it away. The version on the card now is the plainest in the house, and the most requested.

A standing arrangement

Before leaving, Tanya agreed a regular delivery, with the lamb arriving on a refrigerated truck every second week. The family asked only that we pass on what guests say, and we have promised to do so. If you have eaten the lamb at the house and have a view, tell Caroline at the door.