While the news seems to be full of the recession, it’s good to see that hunters still value their sport. As one hunter put it, “you spend a long time looking at the lid, so you need to get out there and do the things you really enjoy”

Tahr hunting is one of Mark’s favourite hunts. He really enjoys the scenery and challenge of the hunt. New Zealand is the only place that Tahr are found outside their native homeland of Nepal. In keeping with our policy of guiding on private land, our tahr hunts are also with landowners who have a great hunting area and provide good hospitality.

The winter coats of Tahr are spectacular, so most hunters choose to take their tahr in the winter (April till October). You can also really enjoy the alpine environment in the late summer, when the weather is settled and not too hot and the views are spectacular. The scenery is amazing as you are able to appreciate it more with the better weather.

In the Kitchen

Spicy Lamb with Prunes

Lamb is the meat of choice in our area. So we’d like to share with you a favourite lamb dish with. Traditionally lamb is roasted, grilled or stewed. Often this results in quite a fatty dish. With current food trends steering away from fat, lamb can still be enjoyed by removing all the surface fat. This casserole requires all the fat cut off before cooking.

• 750g cubed lamb
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 2.5cm piece of root ginger, grated
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons malt vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 6 cups water
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 Leek, chopped
• 2 Carrots, diced
• 1 large potato, diced
• 12 pitted prunes
• ¼ c chopped parsley

Method

1. Brown the lamb.
2. Place it in a casserole dish.
3. In the same pan brown the onions.
4. Add ginger and cumin to end of cooking onions.
5. Place the onion mixture in the casserole dish.
6. Mix the remaining spices into a paste with vinegar.
7. Add to meat and onions, and cook for 2 hours at 160 C.
8. Add water, chopped vegetables and prunes and season with salt and pepper.
9. Cook for a further 40 minutes.
10. Add parsley and serve with rice cooked with a teaspoon of turmeric, green vegetables and cucumber diced in Greek yoghurt as a dip.

Earlier this year we provided the wild meats for a local wild game food night at the Piopio Cosmopolitan Club. For us, the goat patties and goat sausages were the highlight. Outshining more exotic meats like crocodile and kangaroo, with its good flavour and texture. Despite feral goats being in abundance, they have never featured in local cooking. If you have some goat recipes that you’d like to share with us, please email Felicity.

Happy hunting

Mark, Felicity and the team at Ranginui Hunting.