A great night was had by all last night.
The challenge for this night was feeding all the people who booked, no matter how many, from a limited amount of beef (220kg whole weight).Kraig as Rod and the team from Krinkle wood had decided to call the beast was a pure bred limousin. Rod has chosen the limousin probably for its hardy nature.
The animal was killed September 10th, then hung for six weeks at Kirbys gourmet meats. Peter, one of the older butchers at Kirby’s, luckily had dealt with meat, that had been tenderstretch hung. Tenderstretch hanging, as far as I am aware, is hanging a carcase fom the hip and not from the more common acchilies tendon. this makes the meat more tender. however it is more difficult to cut for the buthcers and therefore did not take off.
We started the night at the bar with the Krinklewood Blanc De Blanc Sparkling. Accompanied by Poached tounge with nepalese spices.
We poached the tounge chilled it down, sliced finely and sprinkled with a spice mix of cardamon, corriander, chilli, and cloves.
I was sceptical of whether people would eat the tounge. But to my supprise, the tounge was devoured by our guests quickly.
Maybe I should have had more offal in this dinner? I was going to do an offal empanada utlising the heart, cheek & liver. But I didn’t. I have been trying Calves liver from our organic wagyu, on the daily specials, but it is not taking off. I cannot even give it away at happy hour for free.
1st Course matched with 2009 Semillon
Carpaccio of Biodynamic Limousin with Shaved Fennel, Parmesan, Lemon Balm and Jalepeno Salt.
I shaved baby fennel on the finest setting that my mandolin had, picked lemon balm from some, live lemon balm micro herb pots, saved the herb part from the top of the fennel. That was mixed into a salad with a light rosemary aioli and shaved parmesan.
The jalepeno salt I made weeks ago. Finely dice cellery and jalepeno, add to mortar and pestle with rock salt and grind until even. then leave out on a metal tray in the oven with the pilot light on over night or until it is totally dry
I Really liked this dish. the creaminess of the ailoi and parmesan gave reverence to the original carpaccio recipe from Harry’s bar in Venice. while the fennel lemon balm and cleanliness of the meat allowed all flavours to be tasted while not having any one single flavour be to overpowering . Something you need to be very careful of in carpaccio. The Semillon is a perfect match for this dish, the clean finish and the light acid picks up on the citrus in the dish. I know i am blowing my own trumpet a bit but this is how i saw it. the comment section at the end is there for you to comment if you wish.
2nd Course Matched with Krinklewood Wild Red
Biodynamic Sausages, Red Cabbage, Puy Lentils, Carrot, Mint & Mustard Dressing
We made the sausages in the morning utlising the chuck. the sausages were seasoned, and had chopped parsley nothing else. they had a light clean flavour with a lingering mounth feel.
Recipe
cook puy lentils, mix with olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, roasted garlic, and parsley. lay on base of plate.
shred red cabbage, carrot and pick 2 bunches of mint mix this salad with seasoning and olive oil place on top of puy lentils.
cook and slice sausages, lay on top of salad. serve to share.
3rd Course Matched with 2004 Shiraz
Brisket braised in MUMU BBQ Sauce, Celeriac Mash, Beans
Recipe
Braise Brisket on the bone in a mixture of MUMU BBQ sauce, corriander, garlic, chilli, biodynamic beef stock.Braise for 2.5 hours in oven covered.
Cool cut off the bone and portion. to serve reheat in sauce from braising and place on mash.
Roast celeriac untill golden on the outside and soft in the middle. mash with parsley, salt, pepper, and little lemon juice.
saute beans in butter sea salt and pepper. I used butter beans and green beans to add colour.
4th Course matched with 2006 Shiraz
Slow Roast Hind Quarter, Asparagus, Feild Mushroom and Biodynamic Jus .
Here is a photo of the sirloin after 4 hours cooking at 80 degrees. we put the meat in a bath of stock (about 2 inches). only after it has acheived room tempreture then into the oven for 4 hours checking every 30 mins to see if we need to change the tempreture. it is essential when cooking like this that you use a meat thermometre to tell when it is medium rare. do not take it out to early as the meat will be mushy and unapealing to eat. The tissue must be allowed to break down then re”set” so you get good mouth feel and an apealing meal.
Served with Biodynamic Jus Asparagus and field mushrooms, you couldn’t get a more healthy meal for yourself.
It was a very enjoyable meal and i hope the begining of not only a great relationship between Krinklewood and MUMU but the first of many whole carcase dinners that we will do.
In order to get ready for the biodynamics. I have ordered anside of Organic wagyu from my friend Rob Lennon from Gundooee Organics. It arrived with all Offal which was an added bonus Heart, liver, cheek, tounge, kidneys and tail. Which I must say was a bit of a supprise, the offal is usually kept by the abbatoir.
The liver was an amazing flavour and we couldn’t help but serve it up with the traditional onion jam, mash and some crisp prosciutto. The heart, cheek, tail and tounge were a little bit more problematic. Given, what does one do with one wagyu cheek? It’s not really enough to put on the menu by itself. In the end I braised all seperate bits, diced them and made some extremely flavour packed empanadas.
I hung the beast for 2 weeks whole. during that time the biodynamic beast arrived, hung using the tenderstretch Method which has had the butchers a little perplexed. The tenderstrtatch method, as far as I understand it, id hung through the hip rather than the usual achilies tendon this causes the primals to set in different shapes. This will make the drying and breaking up of this carcase a bit more of a challenge.
After 2 weeks of hanging we broke up the organic carcase iuto primals and trim. The butcher Daren (Best buitcher shop onthe north shore ” business awards) and I talked through what to do with each piece.
There are only 2 major pieces which we will hang for another 4 weeks. The prime rib area including all the ribs and the t bone leading into the rump. The topside we made into Steak sandwiches for the restaurtant and the new Organic market.
As president of the Crows Nest Chamber of Commmerce We have been able to start a small organic market on Thursday from 12-6pm every week.
Wagyu Sausages
In breaking up the body we had 35kg of sausages made. the Sausages are made using only the meat salt pepper, parsley and a small amount of egg for binding.
Some of which get sold at the oganic market some of which get made intomeatballs here at the restaurant with some chicken mince and green olives.
Wagyu Aging
The Primals will hang for another 3 weeks. next week we will break up the Biodynamic beast. “Kraig” is a pure bread Limosin and the butcher is very impressed with the quality of the meat.
We have got all the Wagyu bones cooking today to make an organic wagyu stock this should be probably the healthiest thing since sliced bread. can’t wait for the flavour.
Rob lennon who grows our organic wagyu has changed the property he lives on to be amodel of rotational pasture raising allowing his farm to regenerate infact, grow greener and lusher just by the way he manages his cattle. We should all be sitting up and taking a leaf out of robs book.
Robs Property which used to be a dustbowl
I am busy working away on trying to piece together a Byodynamic dinner. We are using the whole cow, who is called “Craig”. I’m not sure how I feel about that. nevermind, the exercise has been very interesting having to work out with 240kg of dead weight how I can do a 4 course meal for 80-100 people.
A very interesting challenge. how many chefs know the weight of fillet, or any other cut for that matter from one 250kg carcase???
Lucky Rob Lennon from Gundooee organics has done up a chart, detailing the brerakdownby cut in percentage and Kgs, which has helped.
Names of cuts % of Indicative
carcass weight-kg
1 Rump 5.6 12.3
2 Knuckle 3.3 7.3
3 Topside 6.2 13.6
4 Tenderloin 1.5 3.3
5 Butt tenderloin 0.8 1.8
6 Striploin 1 rib 3.1 6.8
7 Striploin 2 rib 3.5 7.7
8 Shortloin 1 rib 5.5 12.1
9 Shortloin 2 rib 6.4 14.1
10 Outside 5.7 12.5
11 Heel muscle 1.3 2.9
12 Cube roll 7 rib 2.5 5.5
13 Cube roll 8 rib 2.8 6.2
14 Blade 5.5 12.1
15 Chuck tender 0.8 1.8
16 Chuck 4 rib 6.8 15.0
17 Brisket 11 rib 6.6 14.5
18 Flank steak 0.5 1.1
19 External flank plate 0.7 1.5
20 Internal flank plate 0.7 1.5
21 Intercostals 1.3 2.9
22 Shin-shank 3.6 7.9
23 Rib blade meat 0.8 1.8
24 Unusable trim 24.5 53.9
TOTALS 100 220.0
% KG
The Cow will be butchered ion the 14th of September shipped down in quarters and Darren my local butcher, will hang it for 5-7 weeks. We will then break down the beast together and make up our menu.
The menu will be roughly.
Menu $120
Carpacccio Of “Craig” (The Cow) with Jalapeño, Fennel, Parmesan & Lemon Balm.
2009 BLANC DE BLANC or 2009 SEMILLON
Biodynamic Sausage, Carrot & Stinging Nettle Salad with Fetta & White Balsamic Dressing.
2005 WILD RED
Mini Braised Brisket & Mushroom Empanadas With BBQ Sauce
2004 SHIRAZ
Slow Roast Forequarter with Bone Marrow Sauce. Served with roasted field mushrooms and Steamed Asparagus.
2006 SHIRAZ
Selection of Hunter Valley Cheeses
2008 LUCIA DESSERT WINE
Petersons and Piggs Peake Swine Off
September 16th 6.45pm for 7pm
Piggs Peake is one of Australia’s leading boutique wineries. Over the last few years both their Cabernet and their Zinfandel have been written up as the best in Australia, while their Shiraz is known as one of the biggest on the planet.
Petersons Wines have been producing quality wines for wine lovers since 1981. Not much has changed since then – except we now produce a larger range of award winning wines.
Come and join us for the great wine off between these 2 legends of the Hunter Valley
Menu $95
18 Month Old Jamon W Olives
Petersons Sparkling 2005 Mudgee Malbec ———Piggs Peake 2008 Super Tusker Sangiovese
Slow Roast Shoulder of Bangalow Sweet Pork
W Kumato Chutney, Poached Corella Pear & Crackling
Petersons 2007 Mudgee Durif ——2008 Pear Tree Merlot
Slow Roast Aged Cape Grim Sirloin Roast W Bearnaise & Duck Fat Potatoes
Served with Sautéed greens
Petersons 2004 Barossa Shiraz ——–Piggs Peake 2008 House of Bricks Shiraz
Hunter Valley Cheeses
Petersons 2007 Mudgee Petit Verdot ——Piggs Peake 2008 House of Bricks Cabernet
Coffee, Tea and Treats
Petersons Reserve Muscat ——Little Pig Verdelho (fortified)
Slow Food Dinner
Mon 31st of August 6.45pm for 7pm start
We all know that quality takes time. You would not treasure a piece of jewellery that you could whip up in 5 mins. The Slow Food movement was founded by Carlo Petrini in 1989 Italy to combat fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.
Join us for an evening of slow food and discussions of Slow food, with Grahame Strong from Arcadia Salt bush Lamb, Joe Marchet from Bangalow Sweet pork. Bruce Ward From Sustainable Farming and Slow food Representatives who will be discussing the future of Slow food and Terra Madre
Menu $55
Bangalow Sweet Pork Proscuitto with Buffalo Mozzarella and Dried Kumato.
Slow Roast Arcadia Lamb Shoulder roasted for 13 hours
Aged Cape Grim Sirloin Roast
Winter Vegetables
Bread Pudding with Brandy Caramel Sauce
Absolute madness
On a weekend in June we head off to Tasmaina. leaving at 6.15 am at first seems like absolute madness, no sleep, hardly awake, hair a mess. Getting down to tassy at 8 am though has definite advantages. we arrive at the Hotel drop off our bags and head out to the Salamanca markets, why don’t we have markets like this in Sydney?? The answer to that is probably the immediate proximity to the farms that Tasmania seems to enjoy. The market is thriving with gourmet food producers, wineries and other handicrafts, which all seem to catch my wife’s fancy. Mark and I head straight for the warm mead, followed by some award winning bratwurst, alcoholic Guilespies ginger beer and of course the Famous Scallop Pie (400 scallops and a light mornay sauce, pure pleasure). What a great start to the day.
We decide to take a breather and head to Smolt for some lunch. Named after the infantile stage of the Salmon it is located and I suspect probably co funded by the Tassal Salmon showroom. Here we hook into some fantastic Pacific Bruny Island oysters, who’s aroma and flavour, make you feel like you are transported into the clean crisp ocean. Speaking of ocean. The jumbo Oysters cooked with orange vinaigrette were so big you could quite easily have paddled the shell back to the mainland. we finished the meal off with some lovely pinot gris. I love that medium weight oiliness of Pinot Gris a good one can be thouroughly enjoyed by itself while still having the balls to go extremely well with all types of food. we finish lunch off with a mushroom and talegio pizza, some salmon pancetta and a lovely small dish of beef shin with white bean puree. At this stage we are all feeling good and ready for a nanna nap.
But we have organised to meet with sue Dyson and Roger Mcshane Food Tourist, who I met through Twitter. After some espresso and chit chat our group decided to head out to Moorilla Estate for a quiet afternoon tasting. Now , I have always loved the Moorilla estate Pinot which I stocked at the tasting room (when I owned it).
This was a lesson in how to do it. Daniel who took us through our tasting knowledge on the product was incredible. He did have some, pretty exceptional products to show though. In all classes of wines as well as the beer. My favourite was the dark ale, a cocoa stouty flavour with a clean finish, a real connoisseur’s beer. Needless to say, when they complete the changeover to distributing their own stuff we will be stocking more than the MOO Brew which we currently stock.
the whole Moorilla estate experience gets me thinking on how important it is to control everything about the experience that you can.
Also that it is good to be controversial. Oscar Wilde once said “there is only one thing worse than being talked about and that is not being talked about”. The controversy comes about from their labeling which reflects sex and death, very controversial. We need to do things that are different to get the people debating and discussing all the issues we are passionate about.
Wine tasting at Meadowbank
Come and Celebrate Xmas in July with Us.
Beat away the winter blues with a beautiful warm lunch in the festive spirit.
Feel free to BYO some of your winter favourite wines
or match the food with our wine recommendations
Xmas in July Lunch 25th of July
Booking Essential $59 for Lunch 12.30 for a 1pm start.
(Wines in brackets, recommendation only, not included in price)
Jamon Serrano 18month, Olives and Chandon on arrival
Bangalow Ham cooked in stout and orange marmalade with
Roasted capsicum, dried tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad.
Fresh woodfired bread.
(Chandon Sparkling Shiraz)
Sow Roasted Free Range Turkey.
Corn bread & chorizo stuffing, and a sour cherry sauce.
Roasted winter Veg.
(Mr Riigs “The Gaffer” Shiraz)
Xmas bread pudding with brandy sauce
(Hennessy VSOP Cognac)
Coffee and Tea
Ready for Tasting
Last weekend i went to the Hunter Valley for some R&R.
It was actually for my 40th birthday. Yes, I know I look very young for 40, what can I say good diet, I guess.
Anyway we stayed at a fantastic house called Bonn Abbey with some friends for the weekend. one of my friends had organised a private tasting with Rod from Kinklewood Vineyard.
Krinklewood as you may or may not know is a biodynamic vineyard.
What is Biodynamics?
It was the Austrian Philosopher, Rudolf Steiner in 1924 in his series of lectures on agriculture that formalized the modern Biodynamic approach. European farmers had come to him for advice on their problems with soil fertility, the spread of animal disease & poor crop quality.
Biodynamics is a homeopathic medicine for agriculture, using natural means to obtain a better, more sustainable and healthier end product. The effect on the wine that you are drinking is that it is the most pure replication of the individuality of the vineyard.
- Bio [meaning 'Life'] refers to the life in the soil, having a large number & diversity of beneficial bacteria & fungi will protect the vines from insects and disease.
- Dynamic [meaning 'energy'] refers to the energising forces. Life is achieved in the vineyard by harnessing all the forces of the sun, the moon and the constellations.
Biodynamics is a science of life-forces, Steiner believed every plant is influenced by the two major energy forces in the world – the earthly & the cosmic.
Biodynamics considers the farm in its entirety as a living system, the soil is seen as an organism in its own right, it is the most natural agricultural ‘farming’ philosophy.
Nothing but live things should nourish the soil, and nothing dead or scientifically fabricated should be added to it. Hence the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides is prohibited.
Biodynamic farmers are in search of higher quality not quantity. Where as chemical agriculture has developed short-cuts to quantity by adding water soluble minerals to the soil. The plants take these up via water, thus by-passing their natural ability to seek from the soil what is needed for health, vitality and growth. The end result is a deadened soil and artificially stimulated growth.
Rod embodies all that I have become passionate about on my journey to sustainability. somebody that has a passion for something different. When the hard times come they have stuck to their guns and utilised natural techniques to combat rot instead of reverting to the heavy use of chemicals.
Tank Sample
I only tasted from one vineyard this time. Somehow felt the wine to be alive. They had a freshness, that I had not tasted before. then again I did have quite a bit to drink, and there is no doubt. That drinking wine at the vineyard, with the winemaker, in the beautiful winter sunshine, shapes ones views, perhaps a touch. I tell you after we tasted the tank sample of Madeira I am surprised I made it to dinner.
We had dinner at Margan Estate which was great. A bottle of their sparkling, a 2002 semillon which tasted like it had a smokey bacon characteristics through it, beautiful. I had this with a lovely light seafood tortalini. For mains we had a local “Beef eye fillet, roasted baby beetroot and grain mustard crème fraiche” which we complimented with a 2000 Lindemans Pyrus, need I say more. Magic
As you can see my trips are all about food and wine. We talked to Rod about doing a biodynamic beef, which he raises, matched with his wines. That will be a dinner to be at.
It occurred to me we always talk at length about our beef, lamb and Pork.
but one of our unique features is our Jamon bar. we stock and slice at the bar. Jamon Serrano 15mth and 18mth as well as the famous Jamon Iberico de Bellota. We were the first Jamon bar in Sydney
Javier Degen from the Spanish pantry supplies us with the Iberico describes below the hams he sells and we stock (note we do not stock the Organic one yet)
“Our award-winning jamón ibérico de bellota is available using the age-old traditional methods, or organically. Fed on acorns, the Iberian pigs roam wild in pastures and oak groves. The resulting flavour is irresistibly unique: rich, creamy, and deep. Like olive oil, more than half of the fat of the jamón is healthy fat, with no added preservatives. Just as our jamón is served in top restaurants worldwide, we bring you one of nature’s most exquisite delicacies.
We stock a range of jamón all of exceptional quality and in the highest grade possible (‘de bellota’ – of the acorn). This includes both back legs and front legs and all our hams have been cured for at least two years and up to 3 and a half years depending on type and weight.
Jamón Ibérico lacks cholesterol, added fat or preservatives and it is no wonder that this delicacy is declared to be one of the most exquisite natural foods in existence. An exclusive combination of the geographical setting, traditional expertise and unique raw materials results in the unmistakable taste and aroma of this delicacy.
The lengthy process of curing jamón starts with carefully and naturally grown raw materials. The Iberian race of pig from which our jamón is produced is unique to the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and is commonly referred to as the “black-leg” due to its distinctive characteristics. No other cured meat is made from this exclusive race of pig, which also has the special ability to transform about half of its fat into good fat, comparable to olive oil. This exceptional characteristic is not replicated by any other race of pig in the world.
The pigs are reared on natural feeding based on acorns “bellota” in an idyllic setting of evergreen and corn oaks. Another main characteristic of the Iberian pig is the infiltration of intermuscular and intramuscular fat. This makes the jamón appear ‘marbled’, which is one of the distinctive signs of top quality. The curing process of jamón involves a long and careful process of Mediterranean salting, drying and ripening. Combining both traditional processes with modern technology allows the quality to be preserved while providing all the sanitary guarantees.” Javier Degen.
So next time you are here try some Jamon (pronounced Hamon) you won’t be disappointed.
Cheers
Yes in June for Happy Hour we are having $12 ten Cane Mojitos
