Alpaca

[chef jimmyj]

I can do a curry with the shoulder but its not smoked if thats OK. I think its a great meat for curry,but Indian not Thai. Cook for a couple of hours just keep topping up the liquid until its done. Maybe one of those Sri Lankan ones with curry leaves,black mustard seeds,fenugreek etc or adapt the Fijian Indian goat curry recipe that I posted a while back. 

The Sri Lankan Curry sounds great. It will be a nice addition to the last recipe. I was looking at those Shanks and Neck and it occured to me they have so much connective tissue than they would make some amazing PHO! I have been obsessed since I got the Spice balance right and a friend of my daughter, who has eaten at every Vietnamese Restaurant in a 20 mile radius, told me mine is right there with the Best she has ever had. Besides as your side of the planet cools off, you might be ready for a good bowl of Soup...JJ

 

[Dutch]

What about cutting the shanks in 2 inch sections and cooking oso buco style?  I'm thinking with more of the connective tissue exposed it would reduce that cooking time needed. Keep in mind I'm thinking this with a Butcher's line of thought and not a Chef's.

The whole shanks look great, btw.

 

[moikel]

Getting pho right is a huge acheivement !There is also that whole North South thing with it as well. I dont know that I can pull that off but an Asian soup is a really good idea.

 

[moikel]

What about cutting the shanks in 2 inch sections and cooking oso buco style?  I'm thinking with more of the connective tissue exposed it would reduce that cooking time needed. Keep in mind I'm thinking this with a Butcher's line of thought and not a Chef's.

The whole shanks look great, btw.

Good idea but they are a funny shaped bone. I think I will take the meat off the rest then keep cooking it as a ragu or maybe even a filling for a pie.I think I  was under on my cooking time flavour is great I just need to think it through.Suppose thats the learning curve on a new animal,pity there are no Peruvians in my 'hood.

 

[moikel]

 Chef JJ,Good bowl of soup ? I tell you what I am going to do. Brine then smoke some neck pieces like its ham hock or similar ,smoke them over hickory then make a Central European soup with beans & root vegetables, might even be Polish

.Maybe even dumplings or that keilbassa sausage in  the mix. What do you think?

I will leave this thread open & just see where I  go with it.

Major respect for the pho its such an iconic dish .

 

[thoseguys26]

It's phonominal. I haven't attempted it or Ramen from scratch yet... but when I do, I'll watch Tampopo again! You two better watch Tampopo (probably already have) if you want to succeed in the craft of flavor asian soups!

 

[chef jimmyj]

 Chef JJ,Good bowl of soup ? I tell you what I am going to do. Brine then smoke some neck pieces like its ham hock or similar ,smoke them over hickory then make a Central European soup with beans & root vegetables, might even be Polish

.Maybe even dumplings or that keilbassa sausage in  the mix. What do you think?

I will leave this thread open & just see where I  go with it.

Major respect for the pho its such an iconic dish .

Polish? Now you're talking...My Dad used to make good Bean or Split Pea Soup. He used Ham Hocks or a leftover Ham bone. I was pretty thick so it didn't need the dumplings but your concept sounds interesting. It will be fun to see what you come up with...JJ

 

[rtbbq2]

Wow....I would really enjoy this...Very nice indeed............

 

[moikel]

Wow....I would really enjoy this...Very nice indeed............

Thanks .I figure I will keep learning as I work through the cuts over time. I think these cross cut neck pieces will be the next adventure.

 

[moikel]

What about cutting the shanks in 2 inch sections and cooking oso buco style?  I'm thinking with more of the connective tissue exposed it would reduce that cooking time needed. Keep in mind I'm thinking this with a Butcher's line of thought and not a Chef's.

The whole shanks look great, btw.

I took all the meat off the bone,cut it up but not to small.There is a lot of connective tissue that you only see in cross section. I put it all back in the sauce ,bumped chicken stock & red wine .I will simmer it slow for another hour then I  feel a pot pie coming on. The rest of the steps prior were all good,

the pancetta,the smoke first etc I  was just shy on the cook time. Couple of days sitting in fridge has only helped the taste. Its like some lamb,goat,venison hybrid if that makes sense.

 It will go well with a big bold red wine & maybe some stirfried wild greens,dandylion,chickory, chimi de ra'pe  sort of thing. 

Gives me some time to think about these neck pieces.

 

[moikel]

Only fitting as I approach 1,000 posts that its doing something a little different

 ALPACA

I had 2x big trays of crosscut neck, so I am defrosting now to do 2 things. A few bits will go into a brine overnight  then be smoked then the base for a soup,with beans ,root vegetables etc.

The majority of the pack is going to be made into a version of Coda alla vaccinara, oxtail in the style of the Roman Butcher.I make this every winter,yes its a bit of a leap from oxtail to alpaca neck but I think I  can get it to sing. Battery is flat in camera so I will get onto other steps now.

 

[moikel]

 

[moikel]

Here is how it goes. 2.5 kg of oxtail or Alpaca neck In a casserole pan with a lid. .Fry 120gm diced pancetta in some EVO ,bit of butter was loitering in fridge so that went in to. When golden remove with slotted spoon .Dust meat in seasoned flour fry in pan in batches ,dont crowd it.Remove from pan when browned Stud 3 x small onions cut in half with 3-5 cloves.Put everything back in pan add 3-4 cloves of garlic minced .Reheat till its sizzling. Add 2 cups white wine or vermouth reduce for a bit .Add a can Italian tomatoes 800 gms. Splash of veal stock,same tomato passata,cbp. Put lid on then bake  in oven until tender.Turn a couple of times when cooking.When its tender add 2-3 tabs toasted pinenuts,2-3 tabs raisans.I soaked these in marsala they were a bit old. Cook 20 mins Add 12 sticks celery ,destringed cut into 6cm lengths cook till celery tender about 10 mins.

You can serve this with mashed potato or polenta or whatever suits you.

It will be ready in time for friday night football here,maybe a 3 hour cook ,Alpaca neck a bit more tender than  oxtail ,I hope.

 

[moikel]

Pretty impressive! Added some of the marsala that raisans had soaked in.Made polenta with pecorino & butter. Cant really fault it.Neck gave it an osso bucco feel ,spinal cord to suck out of bone. Got a hell of a lot left over.Not quite polenta weather but it is cold by Aussie standards.

 

[moikel]

Thats it in the pot. Thats 1,000 posts,a lot of them my take on what this forum is about. Wouldn't change a thing.

 

[smokeydokey]

Beautiful! Ms. Smokey can't believe that you'd eat a sweater off the hoof, but brother, I'm with you!

From what you've described, I'll bet a really big Syrah or an Albarino would pair nicely with this in the wine department.

On the cooking/ tenderness side, what about the rib cooking method of foil braising before putting them in the oven? I've found that wrapping a cut in foil with some kind of liquid seems a much more effective braise in terms of tenderizing than doing a straight oven braise. As an example, 2-2-1 Beef short ribs in the smoker with a pinot noir foil braise pretty much guarantees romantic success in our house... just my 2 cents (or is that shillings?)

-Smokey Dokey

 

[smokeydokey]

Getting pho right is a huge acheivement !There is also that whole North South thing with it as well. I dont know that I can pull that off but an Asian soup is a really good idea.

Check out www.wanderingchopsticks.com and www.theravenouscouple.com for real deal Vietnamese recipes that are explained so simply, even I can cook them.

The Bo Tai chahn, and thit nouong are especially toothsome.

Good Pho recipe too!

 

[moikel]

Beautiful! Ms. Smokey can't believe that you'd eat a sweater off the hoof, but brother, I'm with you!

From what you've described, I'll bet a really big Syrah or an Albarino would pair nicely with this in the wine department.

On the cooking/ tenderness side, what about the rib cooking method of foil braising before putting them in the oven? I've found that wrapping a cut in foil with some kind of liquid seems a much more effective braise in terms of tenderizing than doing a straight oven braise. As an example, 2-2-1 Beef short ribs in the smoker with a pinot noir foil braise pretty much guarantees romantic success in our house... just my 2 cents (or is that shillings?)

-Smokey Dokey

In the freezer I have 2kg neck & 2x bits of shoulder so I might do a real slow braise with the shoulder.It tastes like some sort of veal/goat /lamb mix. I am still experimenting I did leg to start theres an old post somewhere here. I swap direct with farmer for some of my homemade stuff.

We are pretty proud of our wine here but some countries do some styles better than us.Those bloody NewZealanders do great Pinot Noir. But all jokes aside nobody makes a better shiraz/syrah than us. It just grows so well here.We also have regional styles of it from Barossa Valley block busters to Western Victorian elegance to Margaret River subtleness. All price points. I have a few bottles here & they do go well with Alpaca but the ultimate match is kangaroo(rare) preferably served with a roasted beets,onion ,walnut & goats cheese warm salad.

 

[smokeydokey]

Oh, how we long for what is unobtainable!

 

[moikel]

I will dig around in freezers to find that Alpaca shoulder.I need to make room anywayI have a bunch of ham hocks to go into smoker tomorrow. Something French inspired with some smoked alpaca neck bones in the mix.