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Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys - Good Food Month 2015

Water buffalo sirloin at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015

Sourdough to the head really hurts. It was a lesson learnt in my first ever food fight on the weekend. We've all seen scenes from movies of food fights in American cafeterias, but nothing quite prepares you for the brain-rattling thwack of an artisan loaf smacking you square in the face.

Last weekend's Feral Party was always going to be mayhem, with the promise of wild plants and animals including camel, hare and feral pigs. It was all going to happen at the Young Henrys keg warehouse in Newtown hosted by Myffy Rigby and Mike Bennie (co-founder of Rootstock). Pinbone would be in charge of the food. How could I resist?

Pallet table and beer keg stools at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Pallet table and beer keg stools 

We arrive at the warehouse on Saturday, hand over $100 each, and are handed a plastic rain poncho. "I'd put that on. It's going to get messy!" says Berri Eggert with a laugh.

The set-up is perfect - beer keg stools and a makeshift table made from wooden pallets. On the table is an assortment of bread rolls and sourdoughs, pickles made by Pinbone, boiled peanuts, wild fennel and wild dandelion leaves. There'll be no cutlery today. The rubbish bin is the floor today. Everything will get hosed out afterwards.

Mike Bennie dispensing feral wine at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Mike Bennie dispensing feral wine

Mike Bennie is the charming flannie-wearing host, making sure everyone is sorted with a glass of feral wine as we mingle.

Feral Party menu by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
The feral menu

The menu is filled with promise, including wild shot venison, water buffalo and possum. The graphic design is pretty darn cool as well.

Smokey the Bear beer by Young Henrys at the Feral Party for Good Food Month 2015
Smokey the Bear

Littered across the table are Young Henrys long necks and growlers. Most are special brews including this brooding Smokey The Bear and a funky brew called Cherry Flanders, a cherry ale that they aged for another year. The cloudy cider is dangerously easy drinking.

Mike Bennie and Myffy Rigby kicking off proceedings at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Mike Bennie and Myffy Rigby 

Mike Bennie and Myffy Rigby kick off proceedings with short and sweet speeches before the food starts to flow from the makeshift "kitchen" in the corner.

Carp-accio at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Carp-accio

The carpaccio is the first snack to be served, spooned onto sheets of greaseproof paper. It's a case of use your fingers or fold the paper into a funnel and throw the whole lot into your mouth.

There's no description of this dish which has us pondering exactly what this dish has been made from. Rabbit? Raw chicken? We're perplexed until we find out it's carp-accio. Ha. The acid-cooked fish has such a plump bounciness to the flesh, soaking up the zingy dressing beautifully.

Possum-wurst at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Possum-wurst

I reckon the possum-wurst is everyone's first time eating possum too. Possums are a protected species but landowners in Tasmania can apply for a culling permit where it can be proved to be required for crop protection. Once the possums are shot, some farmers choose to then sell the possum meat, rather than just dispose of it.

The distinct taste of possum isn't easy to discern among all the seasoning but the wurst itself is an impressive feat.

Rabbit terrine at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
No plates required

Rabbit terrine at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Rabbit terrine

The rabbit terrine is probably one of my highlights of the entire meal. It's soft, sweet and thoughtfully seasoned, cooked with an even distribution of fat so that the slice falls apart in your fingers.

Wild shot venison tartare at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Wild shot venison tartare

We move onto wild shot venison tartare. The meat is silky in texture, enriched with raw egg yolks and tumbled through with chives.

Hare liver parfait at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Hare liver parfait

Hare liver parfait is also terrific, draped over a baguette slice with homemade jam and a sprinkle of sea salt. The parfait is enviably smooth.

Venison tartare, loquats, possum-wurst and carp-accio at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Venison tartare, loquats, possum-wurst and carp-accio

Wild fennel, growlers and plastic beer cups at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Wild fennel, growlers and plastic beer cups

The food and drinks flow smoothly while everyone acts as though it's completely normal to eat lunch indoors with a plastic poncho.

Mike Eggert plating the roasted wild brown trout at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Mike Eggert plating the roasted wild brown trout

Did I say the rabbit terrine was my highlight? Let me revise that and add this roasted wild brown trout to the list of favourites. Mike Eggert worked some serious magic with this fish, first brining it for an hour and then covering the entire thing in a sweet miso paste before roasting.

Roasted wild brown trout at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Roasted wild brown trout 

We have no choice but to use our fingers to grab chunks of this hot roasted trout, even though our fingers were burning at first.

Flakes of wild brown trout at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Buttery soft flakes of wild brown trout

The trout was cooked so each segment flaked away with ease. We scored mini cardboard boxes for this course, bolstered with cooked wild dandelion leaves.

Camel kofta at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Camel kofta

Camel kofta arrives as a scrum on a slick of hummus. Camel is quite a lean protein but using this meat to make kofta is another clever idea. These are super flavoursome and juicy.

Mike Bennie at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Mike Bennie looking for trouble

Throughout the day, Mike Bennie had been topping up drinks for people. He was also happy to accidentally splash you with beer and wine, double-checking the durability of the rain ponchos.

Food fight at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Food fight!

I'm not sure who threw the first bread roll but it happened in one of the prolonged gaps between courses. Suddenly there was stalks of fennel being flung, bread missiles and the occasional spray of wine and beer.

Sourdough missiles during the food fight at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Sourdough missiles

Food fight fun at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Wild times

The food fight was intense but relatively brief. I copped several bread rolls to the head before I escaped to a safe distance both to protect my camera and to try and take photos!

Food fight carnage at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Carnage

The table looked a sorry sight by the end of it, although - impressively - no glasses were shattered.

DSCF3041-1510
Curried goat leg

As everyone called a ceasefire, we continued with curried goat leg, served in cute paper bags with basmati rice and yoghurt.

Slow roasted boar neck at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Slow roasted boar neck

The slow roasted boar neck turns out to be another one of my faves. The succulent pork has a lingering smokiness to the flesh, ribboned with chunks of fat.

Water buffalo sirloin at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Water buffalo sirloin

The water buffalo has come from the Northern Territory, a massive slab that has been cooked to a rare pink.

Carving the water buffalo sirloin at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Carving the water buffalo sirloin

Water buffalo sirloin at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Pink and juicy water buffalo

Berri Eggert with water buffalo sirloin at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Berri Eggert with slices of water buffalo sirloin

Water buffalo is a lot leaner in fat than beef. It makes for a slightly chewier protein but here it's been cooked to rare to the meat is still relatively tender.

Wild loquats at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Wild loquats

We finish up with wild loquats for dessert. These are super refreshing, wavering between sweet and tart, with a flavour that combines passionfruit, guava and apricots.

Post-food fight damage at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
The final damage

The drinking continues (shotgunning included) but a truce on further food fights has been called. Getting feral was wild but worth it.

Oscar McMahon, co-owner of Young Henrys at the Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015
Oscar McMahon, co-owner of Young Henrys

Feral Party by Pinbone at Young Henrys for Good Food Month 2015


The Feral Party was held on October 10, 2015 at Young Henrys as part of Good Food Month. Grab Your Fork joined this event as an independent paying attendee.



Young Henrys
76 Wilford Street, Newtown, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9519 0048

Tasting bar opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 10am-7pm
Sunday 12pm-7pm


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Rootstock Sydney 2014
14 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 10/13/2015 01:50:00 am


14 Comments:

  • At 10/13/2015 8:28 am, Blogger Ramen Raff said…

    I love pork neck and that looks amazing! Looks like that event was heaps fun!

     
  • At 10/13/2015 9:04 am, Anonymous Bianca@forfoodssake said…

    Hehehe, looks like you guys had a great time. I'd probably find the food a little too challenging for my palate.

     
  • At 10/13/2015 9:29 am, Anonymous chocolatesuze said…

    That was such an epic lunch, the trout was so smoky and amazing it was worth braving the food fight!

     
  • At 10/13/2015 9:45 am, Blogger 17th stitch said…

    I always love your writing, but this has to be one of my favorite articles! Great photos and wonderful descriptions of food.

     
  • At 10/13/2015 10:27 am, Anonymous Monique@The Urban Mum said…

    I was hoping the Pinbone team would pop up somewhere - I love the name Young Henry's (my youngest son is called Henry) and The Husband enjoys their brew...fabulous post in your usually detailed and well written way. Thank you xxxx

     
  • At 10/14/2015 12:20 pm, Anonymous Hotly Spiced said…

    How big is the lump on your head? Some sourdoughs are like bricks! I've never eaten in a poncho. What an unusual menu - so many things I don't see in my butcher's window. I have had wild loquats! Years ago I would walk my little guy to school and there was a loquat tree and when in season, we'd stop for a fabulous snack xx

     
  • At 10/14/2015 5:26 pm, Anonymous Hannah said…

    THIS IS MY FRIKKIN DREAM. I eat everything I can with my fingers. When alone at home, even ice cream. And possum and allll the game meats yessss.

     
  • At 10/14/2015 11:02 pm, Blogger Jacq said…

    lol this looks like so much fun, hope the sourdough didn't hurt too much! I'm super impressed you were able to take photos of the whole event!

     
  • At 10/15/2015 8:36 am, Anonymous John - heneedsfood said…

    What a great lunch! Not sure I'd be too pleased with sourdough missiles headed my way, nor the imprint of a beer keg on my arse. Those things must have been so uncomfortable to sit on!

     
  • At 10/15/2015 6:07 pm, Anonymous Berny @ I Only Eat Desserts said…

    I had to smile a bit when I saw the photo with everyone in the ponchos :P The food looks awesome and I like how you were game enough to try everything! I'm one of those people that need to not know what I am eating to not get squirmish and actually appreciate the meat (ignorance is bliss!)

     
  • At 10/19/2015 10:03 am, Anonymous Amanda @lambsearsandhoney said…

    Looks like a fun event, but those beer keg stools look bloody uncomfortable.
    Possum is a pest (which I believe we introduced) in NZ and they kill them regularly so I'm pretty sure they'd like the recipe for the possum wurst.
    And we are totally inundated with bloody rabbits on our Adelaide Hills property so if anyone wanted to come up and bag a couple for a terrine, they are most welcome!

     
  • At 10/19/2015 8:44 pm, Anonymous Martine @ Chompchomp said…

    OMG how hilarious! I thought at first when I read how painful it is to be hit in the head with sour dough...surely that was an accident...but no...you guys had a full on food fight! Had me in stitches!! Hats off to you all, provided there is no food in your hands to throw at me lol

     
  • At 10/21/2015 5:05 pm, Anonymous Brian @ Brian Tam Food said…

    Haha what fun! I love the super casual atmosphere of it all. I've seen water buffalo on menus a few times lately... is it a thing now? (or maybe it has been for a while and I haven't been to the right places!)

     
  • At 10/30/2015 1:11 pm, Blogger irene said…

    Looks like mad fun! The food looks absolutely amazing too mmm

     

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