STEF THE MAORI: Deep Bush Savoury with Horopito Rub - 200g

Go bush with your flavour

Deep Bush completes Stef the Maori's holy trinity, and it's the wild one. Built around horopito — the native pepper tree of Aotearoa — it brings a taste of untamed New Zealand bush to your plate. Earthy, savoury and just adventurous enough to make game and lamb sit up and take notice. For the cook who likes a little wilderness on the fork.

The flavour

It opens savoury and herbaceous — garlic, onion and parsley over a salt base. The middle warms with paprika and red bell pepper, then the horopito does its thing: a slow, creeping peppery heat that builds rather than bites. Chilli flakes add a distant crackle. Earthy, gently wild, properly moreish.

How to cook with it

• Rub lamb backstrap or cutlets before a hard sear, then rest
• Season venison or wild game to tame it and lift the earthy notes
• Toss roast potatoes or root veg in oil and a generous shake
• Dust over a slow-cooked lamb shoulder for the smoker

In the shaker

An earthy, herb-flecked blend — flecks of red bell pepper and parsley through a warm paprika base, with the darker horopito visible in the mix. Rustic and coarse.

Ingredients & Dietary

Ingredients: Salt, Sugar, Spices (Garlic, Onion, Chilli Flakes, Paprika), Red Bell Pepper, Horopito, Parsley, Rice Flour

Dietary: Vegan-friendly. May contain traces of gluten (wheat), soy, milk & peanuts — always check the physical label.

The Rub Smuggler's Verdict

Native horopito on a lamb shoulder is the kind of contraband that makes a smuggler go quiet. Build the plate: baste with Fancy Hanks Coffee & Molasses BBQ Sauce for a dark, savoury lacquer, then spoon on Drunken Sailor Onion, Cranberry & Bourbon Relish to cut the richness. Tip: rest game meat a full 10 minutes so the juices settle before you carve. The full bush stash sits in the Stef the Maori collection.

Questions answered