Rachel Priestly of Prodigal Daughter Butchery enjoys working with the high-quality local food and wine she finds in the Wairarapa, sourcing her meat from Longbush Freerange Pork. Her Prodigal Daughter Butchery products are available in Greytown at FreshChoice supermarket, in Martinborough at P&K supermarket, in Wellington at Moore Wilsons, and in Auckland at Farro Fresh outlets. They are also sought by chefs and delis throughout the country.
During ten years in Italy, Rachel learned about the natural ways of curing meat, working alongside local artisans to gain curing skills using air, salt, time and also sometimes smoke. No nitrates or other chemicals are added to her charcuterie products.
Prodigal Daughter Butchery offers charcuterie pork products coppa, guanciale, pancetta – and bresaola, which is made from high-quality beef.
“Pancetta is Italy’s answer to bacon,” said Priestly. “I take a whole pork belly from a happy pig, massage it with salt and leave it for a number of days in the coolroom, wash it off with Italian Pinot Grigio (or local wine), rub it down with fresh New Zealand garlic and sprinkle it with herbs and spices. I cure it for a few weeks before hot-smoking it with manuka for a day in an old French oak wine barrel.”
Bresaola is a lean beef product rich in iron, super tasty and very lean. “I rub the beef in salt, then cure it with wine and spices for a few weeks. Finely slice it, eat with rocket, thin shavings of parmesan, some extra-virgin olive oil, cracked black pepper and lemon juice”.
She also makes bacon (treacle, firecracker) and fresh sausages (Spicy Sicilian, Pork & Fennell), all without additives other than the natural flavours of spices and herbs.
Prodigal Daughter Spicy Sicilian Sausage was a winner in the Oustanding NZ Food Producer Awards this year, with the bresaola and coppa not far behind.
“It’s about free range and organic where possible, not throwing chemicals into the rivers or our animals, or ourselves,” she said. “It’s about sustainability, knowing where food comes from – and ultimately, good taste”.
