First, catch your pukeko

David Smith tries a pukeko kebab at Hokitika's Wildfoods Festival. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

They're a common sight by the roadside, much less so on the plate.

But pukeko were one of the biggest hits at Hokitika's Wildfoods Festival yesterday, with local chef Sam Foster turning 1100 into kebabs.

Foster said Fish & Game initially refused him permission to hunt the protected gamebirds, but changed their mind after he found legislation that allowed him to do so if he didn't profit.

"We wanted to try something different and unique basically, something that was truly wild. Then someone said to me that it couldn't be done, and so I said, 'we'll see', and sorted it all out.

"Most people have actually compared it to a cross between lamb and wild venison. They're really into it because I think people thought it would be really gamey and chewy, but it's not really."

David Smith, 34, was among many people to taste the birds.

"It was good - I've never had pukeko before. I always see them on the side of the road and wondered what they taste like.

"It wasn't horrible. It's something you could eat on a regular basis. They're worth killing and eating - just don't tell DoC."

Tony Lolaiy, head chef at Cazador, an Auckland restaurant specialising in game, has had pukeko on the menu and says it's quite easy to cook.

"You really don't bother too much about the leg. I take the breast off - it's quite a nice dark lean meat."

Lolaiy recommends coating thin, tenderised slices of meat with a mix of flour, salt and pepper, paprika, ginger and garlic powder, then frying them in oil or butter for 30 seconds each side.

"I bet if you serve it to someone they won't know. They will think it's from the Moon or Mars it's so good.

But Tony Astle, from Antoine's restaurant in Parnell, had different ideas for the bird: "Put it in leather boots, eat the leather boots, and throw the pukeko away."

This year's festival also featured delicacies including mountain oysters, worm sushi, and wasp larvae icecream.