Bultarra lamb is converting Sydneysiders, writes Olivia Riordan.
An ancestral stream of the Murray River flows through Robert Meares's family farm. Alongside, there are about 1 million saltbush plants that help reduce the crippling effects of salinity.
It is almost 30 years since Meares decided to plant the perennial native, to revive both the dying water course and the family lamb business. Now working alongside his twin children, his environmental initiative has paid off and he has received praise from gourmets for the family's Bultarra Saltbush Lamb.
It has received Meat Standards Australia certification, the only saltbush lamb producer to do so. Meares's daughter, Anna-Kate Pizzini, believes Bultarra's high quality ''starts with the quality of lambs we use''.
''We work within the MSA with the best quality lambs and then add the saltbush plant,'' she says.
The high level of iodine in saltbush means each lamb drinks an average of 12 litres of water a day, as opposed to an average lamb, which drinks six to seven litres. According to Pizzini, ''this extra water pushes the fatty deposits through the lamb so it has a very clean flavour''.
While the saltbush is high in protein, anti-oxidants, minerals, grassy and peppery flavours, it is still a lean feed.
''So a supplementary feed acts to put the marbling through the eye of the meat, rather than the carcass of the meat, ensuring a juicy succulence that isn't necessarily in lambs,'' she says.
Already on the menu of some of Melbourne's top restaurants, Bultarra is now cracking the Sydney market, supplying restaurants including Jonah's, Billy Kwong, A Tavola and Bird Cow Fish. The business philosophy ''is not only about sustainable produce but it also must have exceptional taste''.
George Francisco of Jonah's agrees and while admitting it is one of the more expensive lamb products on the market, he is adamant that the quality and taste are triumphant.
Bultarra Saltbush Lamb is sold at South Sydney Markets, Alexandria, on Sundays or through Urban Food Market, urbanfoodmarket.com.au.
