Delicious things are happening at the Sir George Tavern in Jugiong, a tiny village of about 200 people in the Australian countryside of New South Wales. Nick Williams, a celebrated chef from Melbourne, now lives the country life on a nearby sheep farm. He comes in to man the Mimbrasa charcoal grill– one of only 12 in the entire country—and turn out up to 500 covers a night, with food that celebrates both the lamb, grassfed beef, and agricultural bounty of the region, as well as the “travelers pub” history of the place. The Sir George has truly become a destination, and a delegation of chefs from the US recently visited and caught up with Chef Nick and owner Kate Hufton.
TABL: What’s the concept here at the Sir George?
Kate: Our idea was to take some of the produce from my family’s farm and showcase it here with the visitors that come and stay or just have a meal with us. We’re doing modern Australian food, and quite casual. The lamb we serve is grown on the farm about 20km from the pub. We’re raising them on year-round pastures and practice sustainable farming.
TABL: In America, the idea of serving lamb in a casual setting like the pub is only just catching on. How does it work here?
Nick: The lamb is one of our best sellers, and we are always changing the preparation. Because we use the whole lamb, one week it’s shanks, the next smoked ribs, or braised and pulled shoulders, housemade sausages, grilled chops, and so on. It’s great fun for me as a chef; it makes me think about how I’m going to cook and serve all those different parts… and the guests like the variety too.
Kate: Lamb is just a little special, in addition to being versatile and simple. It adds that little upgrade on your everyday, so it’s a perfect pub food in that way. Almost every pub in Australia will do a lamb or beef roast on a Sunday.
TABL: Tell us about what you served us this evening
Nick: We had beautiful tomahawk steaks from Aussie grassfed black angus steers. In the Mimbrasa at 400 degrees Celsius (that’s about 750°F for you yanks!) it cooks and sears simultaneously, so those huge steaks are done in about 12 minutes! The grassfed lamb is so high quality, tender, and sweet on its own, I just grilled the chops over the charcoal in a little good quality salt and a bit of lemon. It’s all you need.
Looking for more cooking tips & techniques? Give this video a squizz on how to reverse sear a tomahawk from our mate, Chef Sam Burke.