[Adventurous didgeridoo music] [Walter] In my over 50 years as a culinary professional, I have had the opportunity to travel all over the world, but I have never been to Australia.

Well, today I'm standing in very spectacular Sydney.

As a chef, I know that Australia prides itself as a world leader in beef production.

But what makes their red meat different from producers around the world?

I'll meet with a family of farmers who are committed to a sustainable raising approach while also protecting and improving the natural resources of the country.

I'll also be introduced to some of Sydney's most revered chefs as they're showcase the versatility and ease of spectacular beef recipes.

Wow!

[laughs] All for A Taste of History.

[Narrator] This program is made possible by.

Pasture-raised Australian beef and lamb, adding variety into your weekly meals or unique touch for your next celebration.

Widely available at your local market.

For recipes and more, we're at aussiebeefandlamb.com [Adventurous didgeridoo music] [Narrator] Australia is a country of breathtaking beauty, rich with natural wonders and endemic animal species.

This diverse and varied landscape is home to hundreds of Aboriginal communities, descendants of the oldest human population on earth.

However, the arrival of Europeans in the 18th century would mark a significant turning point in the country's history.

Following the Revolutionary War and the newfound independence of the American colonies, the British government needed to establish a new penal outpost to send their convicts.

Between 1788 and 1868, over 164,000 Europeans were transported to the continent.

These convicts helped build the infrastructure and established the foundations of the young colony, transforming a once country of thieves into a multicultural and independent nation.

Just as they did for millennia.

Australian Aboriginals continue to maintain a strong spiritual and cultural connection to their land, which is reflected in the relationship with their food.

[Sharon] Native foods is more than just a food source for Indigenous people.

It's the basis of our cultural health and wellbeing.

So we may live in a very modern society.

But those values and our lifestyle choices still remain so, looking after country, making sure that things are done sustainably.

Doing those things to make the country a lot more healthier.

[Sharon] Welcome!

We're here on beautiful Gadigal country of the Sydney area.

[Walter] Thank you for inviting me in and showing me some of your products.

[Sharon] You know, our ingredients have been here for more than 60,000 years.

Over 6000 edible native species.

[Walter] Wow!

[Sharon] I've cooked some crocodile and seasoned it with lemon myrtle.

Lemon myrtle is a leaf from a tree.

[Walter] What part of the croc do you use for that?

[Sharon] The tail, the tail is the best part.

These beautiful leaves here are the native thyme these are actually growing in a big pot outside.

I'm going to use a little bit of the salad dressing.

[Walter] Regular balsamic?

[Sharon] Yes, with lemon myrtle.

These are tropical green ants.

These ones come from the Northern Territory.

Have you ever tried ants before?

[Walter] Let me see here.

It's a unique, oh gosh again, very difficult to explain because the the flavor profile on the end has a little lemony or oniony.

[Sharon] Some people describe it to me is they're eating a sour lolly.

Yeah.

And these ones, these beautiful ones are finger limes.

One of our varieties of native limes.

We use that for medicine as well.

The citric acid content of this finger lime is good for any kind of wound on the skin.

Beautiful, fresh summer salad.

Why don't you give it a try, chef?

[Walter] Absolutely.

Hmm.

Man, you're a miracle worker.

This is beautiful.

[Sharon] Well, in my language, I say: [speaking native tongue] "Thank you very much."

[Rock Music] [Walter] Despite the many changes and developments that have occurred in Australia over the years, one thing that has remained constant is the country's abundance of fresh local ingredients.

And today, many of Australia's top chefs are finding inspiration in the traditional food practices of the country's indigenous people, while also bringing in influences from a wide range of different cultures and traditions.

[Elena] Welcome to Carriageworks Farmers Markets, Chef.

This is one of my favorite Sydney markets.

So much fresh produce and an incredible showcase of Australian artisanal producers.

[Walter] It's a dream for a chef walking around here wherever I go, I see beautiful food.

[Elena] Yeah, it's a really fun place to be.

[Acoustic music] I spotted some asparagus over here, chef.

I'm just going to grab this because I need that from my recipe later.

- Okay, great.

[Elena] So good organic produce, rhubarb, also in season, as you can see.

- I see it.

[Elena] Beautiful, gorgeous, bright rhubarb.

[Walter] You know, I keep forgetting that we are in spring time.

[Elena] Yes, we are in spring time.

We are very fortunate with our climate here that a lot of our produce we do get all year round.

Australian olive oil.

We make some spectacular olive oil.

The robust is probably one of my favorites.

[Walter] That is really beautiful though.

That really gets me in anticipation of what you're going to cook up later.

[Elena] Absolutely, the peppery notes in this is going to go perfectly with our beef and beets.

[Upbeat Music] [Walter] Beautiful.

[Elena] So this is one of my favorite cheese producers in Sydney.

And I think it's the perfect example of our multiculturalism in terms of a 50 year history in cheese making started in Italy.

What should we give a go?

Maybe a buffalo mozzarella?

The cold smoke in here is giving up those lovely toffee notes.

[Walter] Unbelievable.

[Elena] Yeah, it's.

It's truly gorgeous.

Paired perfectly with some fresh spring vegetables.

This is just it doesn't get much better than this.

[Walter] We have a good raw product to start with already.

[Elena] And we're in the heart of the city and this is produced only 10 minutes away.

[Vendor] Isn't it delicious?

- It's spectacular!

[Elena] They've got all the beautiful cheeses on sample.

But one of the most spectacular things is that they make these panzerotto.

So it's using a fresh pasada, some basil leaves, olive oil, and then buffalo mozzarella.

[Walter] Piece of art.

[Elena] Isn't that gorgeous?

[Walter] For me, it looks better than Mona Lisa.

[Elena] And Chef has been making these since he was a kid, watching his mother and his grandmother make them.

Cheers.

[Walter] Salud!

[Laughing] [Walter] Oh, I mean, that is unbelievable.

I'm never going back to Italy.

I'm going to be right here.

[Acoustic music] [Elena] I'm excited to have you in the kitchen today, chef.

We're going to be cooking a recipe which is utilizing some beautiful Australian beef, some gorgeous local produce, and then a whole array of Australian native ingredients, which you may or may not be familiar with.

I'm hoping there's some excitement from you there.

[Walter] Elena, you have a spectacular background.

Can you tell me a little bit more about it?

[Elena] My grandfather on my dad's side was a butcher.

My grandfather on my mum's side was a vegetarian orchard farmer.

[laughs] So straight away I have some interest there.

We've got some beautiful beef here that I think my pop would love.

This is grass fed Black Angus beef.

In terms of the grass fed and a lot of focus on regenerative farming and sustainability in Australia, which is very much consumer driven.

People are passionate about provenance, which I'm really excited about because it's a meeting of the producer who is wanting to give the best product possible and the consumer wanting to taste the best thing possible.

So we've got some of that today.

We're going to be using these two different cuts today.

So I'm going to be using this bone in rib eye and we're going to be creating a family style dish.

It's all about quality of beef, not necessarily quantity.

We're going to be using this New York strip or sirloin, depending on where you're from.

And I'm going to be creating a bit of a modern plating with this one.

[Walter] What I really love you can see the beautiful fat in there.

And obviously that will tell you that's grass fed and it's high quality.

[Elena] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Walter] I mean.

[Elena] We've got to get that flavor.

[Soft piano music] So the first step today, chef, we're going to roast our beets.

I really want a slow roast on these.

We've actually got some target beets here.

We've got some beautiful color in there, so I'm just going to pop some salt in here.

So wherever possible today, chef, I'm going to be substituting some native ingredients for other relevant ingredients.

I've got some mountain pepper leaf instead of pepper, so I confit this garlic earlier.

So I'm going to use some of this oil for our beets in Australia.

We could put this in the barbecue or you put it into the oven at around 100 to 125 degrees Celsius for about 4 hours.

[Acoustic guitar strumming] [Elena] This bone marrow is going to be used to create a compound butter to top our steak.

A little bit of that oil is going to help us whip as well.

Yeah.

So I'm going to use about 125 grams of butter.

And then we've got our ground bush tomato, popping some of that in.

[Whisking] So I really want to salt, especially our fat layer.

Well, we're going to sear.

- Can I tell you what?

[Walter] This is a very tasty salt.

Is this regular salt?

- This is Murray River salt.

[Elena] So we've got a few local salts.

This is one of my favorites.

The salinity is lower, but the flavor and depth- You happy?

[Laughing] with that chef?

[laughing] I think that's.

Oh, I think that's the face of satisfaction.

[Walter] Well, you know that I'm crazy about marrow.

Isn't it a good combination?

[Elena] Mhmm.

I'm happy with that, and it's going to go beautifully on a steak.

I take a little bit more of our garlic confit oil.

If we've gone through all the effort of making all that flavor, we're definitely going to be using it.

[Elena] So we're going to put this bone in ribeye on first.

I'm going to sear it, Chef.

- Perfect.

[Elena] And we really want it kissed by those flames And then the smoke and the heat with that lid down is definitely going to get us to that internal temperature of about 56.

It's about 132 Fahrenheit for a nice medium rare.

Beautiful and pink like it's supposed to be.

And anybody that eats it well done, don't call me.

[Laughing] [Meat searing] [Elena] So I've got all of that salt on the fat.

We're going to put that side down first.

We're getting a nice render on this fat to get a great crust before we flip it flat.

So after a couple of minutes, I'm going to turn it 45 degrees so that we get that nice crisscross pattern.

[Walter] Perfect.

Oh, yeah, look at that!

[Acoustic music] [Elena] I want to sprinkle some native pepper leaf on there.

So rather than using a pepper at the beginning, which it could burn, so I really want the flavor of it, but none of the bitterness of the burn.

So our last step is just to sautee our greens.

Asparagus, sugar snap peas on here as well.

There are a lot of varieties of this in Australia.

This is karkalla.

It's a type of succulent often found at the beach, especially near sand dunes.

Warrigal greens.

I can pretty much use it interchangeably with baby spinach in most cooked situations.

[Sizzling] So once our warrigal greens have collapsed in size, we're ready to take all of these greens off.

[Sizzling] [Walter] Look at the beauty of it.

Isn't that beautiful?

[Elena] So we've got a tiny little bit more lemon myrtle, very citrusy notes in there.

And our toasted Australian macadamias, These are our slow roasted beats.

Radishes here.

This is our agrodulce.

So we're using the same ingredients twice, but two ways.

[Walter] Got you.

Beautiful.

[Elena] We've got some nice blush in there, Chef.

[Walter] Gorgeous.

[Walter] Don't get better that that.

[Elena] And serve it with the bone.

So we want to just show it off a little bit.

So we've got our whipped compound butter here with the bone marrow, the confit garlic and the bush tomato.

We're just going to pop that on top.

And that should be able to be used as a as a sauce.

So instead of basting it in a pan, we're going to be having that oozing out.

So there's our family style plating up, chef.

Now we're going to cut up our New York strip, or sirloin [Walter] I mean, perfect.

Look at that.

That's what makes it so beautiful.

[Elena] It gets three pieces to this.

so there we have our modern plating and our family style.

It's really a triumph and celebration of all things Australian.

[Walter] Let me try your handiwork.

[Laughing] It's only one word.

Wow.

[Elena] Oh, good.

[Walter] Beautiful.

The beats, the greens, the presentation.

Just fantastic.

We're definitely a proud meat eating nation.

It's exciting to see our farmers taking on sort of that consumer demand of regenerative farming to give us this beautiful product.

[Upbeat music] [Walter] Australia's unique climate means that cattle can be raised on pasture all year round.

So I'm looking forward to meeting a family of farmers to learn more about the process that helps make Australian beef a world leader.

[Mooing] [Upbeat music] [Erica] We've been in the business of cattle rising all of our lives.

Our kids are fifth generation.

My parents instilled in me a love of the land and a love of animals.

Since I was very little.

[Stu] I trained as a vet and I've practiced for many years.

Now I practice what I preach.

Animal welfare is probably the most important thing that we do.

[Erica] We've had so many less health issues with our cattle since we stopped using synthetic chemicals and started using natural ones like using cover crops and just keep planting them on top of each other.

[Stu] They all sort of work together and it's helping the animal because it's getting various types of nutrients at the same time.

[Erica] And then the whole process of the rotational grazing, the cattle are just a lot healthier.

[Acoustic music] Cows have been emitting methane since the beginning of time, but the net effect of cows in well managed mobs grazing grass is actually carbon neutral and even net sequesters of carbon.

So just to look at the methane component is not really capturing the big picture.

Grass is the most abundant plant form on earth, but humans can't eat it.

[Stu] Ruminants are the only type of animal that can actually grab grass and turn it into protein for themselves.

[Erica] One of the biggest thing that we have learned is there is a whole world under the ground and it's full of microbes and those microbes live on carbon.

And funnily enough, there's carbon in the atmosphere, which is doing really bad things.

But once we sequester that carbon out of the atmosphere and put it back into the soil through plants, it actually does wonderful things under the soil where it stays stable for thousands of years.

And so to get grass to do that, we actually have to chop it off so that it regrows more quickly and that's when it photosynthesizes more.

So you can either get a machine to do that like a mower, or you can get a natural machine which is a cow.

The nutrients that come through from the soil to the grass are then transferred into that beef, which is the most nutrient dense form of protein in the world.

We do not need chemicals in our food.

We need our food as nature intended.

[Acoustic music] [Erica] Chef Walter, welcome to Walcha in Australia.

[Walter] Let me tell you, this whole setting blows my mind.

And I'll tell you what.

For a chef actually makes you in overdrive because you think about it, that's where it all starts!

[Erica] You were a bit excited this morning when we got the girls together, weren't you?

[Walter] Oh big time!

Because I mean I don't know if I want to be left alone with them, though.

[Both laughing] [Erica] Well, rest assured, they're very friendly.

[Laughing] [Walter] I see!

[Erica] We are so fortunate in that we live in a beautiful environment that's really clean environmentally, and that we can grow beef naturally year round the way it's meant to be on grass.

One of the reasons why Australian meat is so well regarded is because we've got a level of marbling in there that provides the juiciness and the flavor and the tenderness, because it's usually a very young product, one that we're very proud to produce.

[Walter] Can I tell you, this is really hard for most people to understand because unfortunately the marketing machinery in the rest of the world telling you it's got to be soy-fed, no.

That is what it's all about.

We used to do the other way.

This is so much easier because we're working with nature as opposed to against it.

And we know how powerful nature is because she's showing us lately isn't she?

So we need to get back in line.

[Walter] But the future is here.

[Erica] It is.

The future comes from the past.

[Rock music] [Waves crashing] [Fast upbeat music] [Walter] It would have been impossible not to stop here to try one of Australia's favorite food, the meat pie, which is made with Angus beef.

I'm going to check it out myself.

I'm here to try your world-famous meat pie.

So that is the plain.

It smells good.

And then you said there's like nine different flavors, right?

[Vendor] Nine different flavors.

[Walter] So it's all about pie.

Very nice.

[Vendor] Here's the Tiger.

Beautiful.

Now, to me, this is not foreign at all because I dwell in the 18th century.

And one of the things I know for a fact, Martha Washington in her Book of Cookery had beef and kidney pies very, very similar.

I'm told that over 300 million get consumed annually.

The locals just eat it by hand.

So, viola!

Mhmmm.

Lots of beef in there.

Very, very good flavor.

That's beautiful.

[Tiger roar] So from the plain one to the fancy one which is called The Tiger, which is unbelievable.

It's a beef pie topped with mashed potato, mushy peas and gravy on top of it.

Let me look here.

It's very interesting that something this simple is made this delicious.

It's spectacular.

[Music] [Walter] I'm popping over to chef Sam Burke's house in Sydney to see some real Aussie barbecue.

[Sam] Chef, welcome to my home.

You've come 10,000 miles.

We're going to do some beautiful grass fed beef over the barbecue.

[Walter] I'm a big believer in your product, have been for many many years.

[Sam] Thank you, chef.

Well, we're quite proud of it.

We got 26 million head in Australia and all of it starts from pasture.

So the good thing about Australian beef is we've got that kind of robust, earthy flavor.

You know, we're on an island we've got great biosecurity, passionate producers, excellent texture, and it just grills up a treat.

So let's get into it.

We have the rump eye side and the rump eye center.

The beautiful thing I like about these Chef, is that you've got a little medallion steak that you can cut there.

See how the grain is going down, right?

So you can have some nice thick medallion steaks.

And it looks a little bit like tenderloin.

You could kind of mistaken it for a chef, like a filet mignon.

It's not.

It's a rump.

You can value out and have this premium experience.

This is the rump cap.

Now I like to leave this fat on because that really caramelizes up on the barbecue.

You know what I mean?

Just across the grain with that.

[Walter] Unbelievable.

Look at the marbling of that meat.

[Sam] Yeah, the love that goes in gives the end result to the consumer time and time again.

Look at that.

- Unbelievable.

- Look at that.

So we're going to roll it around like the letter C. [Walter] Talking about 28 days of age on your meat right now?

[Sam] Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

That one.

[Walter] That's what makes obviously a difference as well, because the enzyme had been broken down and hence the flavor.

Big time.

[Sam] And it's like a spear.

We really got to be careful that we do not spear our hands.

Like that.

[Walter] You know who owns that invention?

The Brazilians, you know.

[Sam] Oh, yeah, they do a great job.

And this is their prized cut.

[Walter] Churrasco.

[Sam] I'll tell you what, we're going to be excited when we get this done.

That's brilliant.

[Walter] No more.

[Sam] Just rub it in.

- Yeah [Sam] And because of the marbling, I'm not going to put any oil on that.

[Walter] You don't need it.

- No we don't need it, chef.

[Sam] So that's ready to go.

It's time to get busy.

Straight there, big chops.

Tomahawk.

Ribeye on the bone.

Beautiful grass fed product.

We call this the short loin or the T-Bone.

That's a big, bistecca cut.

[Meat searing] Now we've got a butterflied lamb leg.

Simple rub.

So, garlic, lemon, oregano, rosemary, a touch of paprika, extra virgin olive oil.

It's just simple cooking.

Lamb is kind of like that multicultural dish that everyone can affiliate with, right?

[Walter] Correct.

[Sam] And what we say in Australia is "Share the Lamb" Sunday lamb-roast family, friends, flavor, red meat over flames, Chef.

[Walter] Wow.

I mean.

Oh, gosh!

[Upbeat music] [Sam] Now for the vegetables.

Some olive oil over some mashed potatoes that were pre blanched, some fresh thyme, just some butter chefs just to melt in to caramelize those potatoes, some sea salt and a touch of cracked black pepper.

We've got some cumin, cajun powder, a little bit of olive oil, and we're just going to baste it all over and now Chef, put it in the pizza oven.

[Walter] Yep.

[Sam] We'd like to kind of render right that fat on that bistecca.

Turn that lamb over.

[Walter] Oh, God.

[sizzling] [Sam] Oh.

Money shot.

[Walter] It's unbelievable the flavors that come off.

But I tell you what, though, I just love your simple marinade.

Passed down from generation to generation.

But that's what good food is about, isn't it, Chef?

Red meat and the best of Australian produce.

You can lift up the will if the heat's too intense.

Oh, rock and roll brother.

Rock and roll, man.

[Meat sizzling] [Sam] So what I'm doing here, Chef Walter is I'm just butterflying that out a bit more.

We're actually cooking it like a big steak.

[Walter] It won't take much time [Sam] That's exactly right.

[Rock music] Ohh!

Chef, Chef!

[Walter] Speechless.

[Sam] We've got the ribeye, the short loin, the Australian beef short loin.

the butterflied lamb leg with the Greek marinade.

[Walter] Oh, Wow!

[Sam] And we've got the rump cap picanha.

[Walter] Let me try your handiwork.

[Walter] Oh, beautiful.

[Sam] Thank you, chef.

It's been an absolute honor.

Let's enjoy.

[Acoustic music] [Walter] The first leg of my trip to Australia did not disappoint.

And as I sat with Chef Sam's family and friends over this beautiful display of barbecue, I couldn't help but be reminded of the many incredible people I've met so far, from the passionate producers to the skilled chefs who not only care about the end result, but also the land we live on.

It's a moment I will never forget.

And all this for A Taste of History.

[Narrator] This program is made possible by.

Pasture-raised Australian beef and lamb, adding variety into your weekly meals or unique touch for your next celebration.

Widely available at your local market.

For recipes and more, we're at aussiebeefandlamb.com Viewers can find DVD's and cookbooks at atasteofhistory.org including the all new A Taste of History Cookbook, complete with step by step instructions of recipes seen on the show.

Exclusive content can be found on A Taste of History's Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube pages.