New Zealand Venison

Tom Hishon's Venison Meatballs

A marvellous meatballs recipe from Tom Hishon, owner of popular Auckland eatery Orphans Kitchen. Using good, old-fashioned Worcestershire sauce, grainy mustard and fresh herbs but with a modern twist using grunty, lean venison.

Tom’s tips:

With the ¾ cup white wine for the meatball sauce, Pinot Gris is the most suitable drop, although if you prefer red wine, feel free to swap out.

Roll the meatballs quite large so they stay nice and juicy in the centre.

Use other red meats for the mince but Venison is my favourite in a meatball as it’s leaner than other meats and they don’t dry out.  

This dish is super versatile and is great matched with a crusty ciabatta, al dente pasta and some steamed greens or a simple salad.  

I always make a few extra meatballs for lunch the next day.

Venison gyoza

These delicious succulent gyoza are easy to cook and look great on the plate - ideal for sharing.

Cervena Venison and Shitake Dim Sum in Aromatic Broth with Steamed Vegetables.

Last year in the mid-semester break I went on a trip to South East Asia, travelling across Malaysia and to Singapore with a local family. 

With this in mind I wanted to use ingredients that were familiar to Kiwis, which would be the New Zealand farmed Venison. My dish is a fusion of the exotic flavours used in South East Asian cookery, and a familiar, yet sought-after ingredient used in New Zealand cuisine. Together creating an affordable meal is still be packed full of flavour, as if you where eating this dish at a street stall in South East Asia.

Tom Hishon's Venison Larb Salad

This is a great summer dish by Tom Hishon of Orphan’s Kitchen – his take on a traditional South East Asian mince and veggie dish known as a larb. The combination of the caramelised onion and plums with the richness of the lean venison mince and crispy cos is a winner. If it’s warm enough, cook the red onion, cos and plums outside over coals on the barbecue to get a smoky, summer flavour and the neighbours’ mouths watering…

Ginger Meat Balls

Farm-raised venison mince is available at supermarkets under the Silver Fern Farms label. I prefer it over any other red-meat mince because it is very low in fat. Ginger in syrup is sold in jars and available at speciality food stores and some supermarkets.