Cooking up export market for Aussie lamb

Thinly sliced, the lamb is barbecued at the diner's table on a round portable unit with a deep lip to catch juices which mix with onion, cabbage and pumpkin also cooking.

Each Genghis Khan chef in Hokkaido, and there are hundreds, develops their own special spicy sauce the lamb is either dipped into when cooked, or marinated in prior to cooking.

These recipes are carefully guarded.

Thirteen Genghis Khan chefs visited NSW last week on a "lamb" tour sponsored by the Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA).

They visited Tamworth saleyards; Thomas Foods International Ltd, packing and marketing in Dubbo; inspected Fletchers International Exports abattoir, Dubbo; and went to a farm where record shearer Hilton Barrett, of Help'Em Shearing contracting, Wellington, helped them shear sheep, and watched a dingo cross round up first cross ewes.

The visitors were hosted at dinner in Cowra by the Australian Sheepmeat Council and inspected the Cowra Agriculture Research centre, which is conducting research trials with prime lamb for marketing.

Japan imports close to 13,000 tonnes of lamb and mutton, 80 per cent from Australia (about 7000t of lamb and 4000t of mutton) and 20pc from New Zealand.

"Australian lamb has become a unique cultural culinary dish promoted through the Genghis Khan barbecue style," said Meat and Livestock Australia Tokyo business development manager Kazu Mitsuhashi, Tokyo, said.

"Hokkaido citizens consume close to 70 per cent of Japan's imported lamb.

"The nation eats 200 grams of lamb per capita compared to fish which totals 60 kilograms per capita."

Mr Mitsuhashi said the purpose of the tour was to introduce the chefs to where their lamb came from.

"They wanted to understand Australia's breeding and growing conditions, but also for Australians to understand their Genghis Khan cooking traditions.