Christmas ham - tips and tricks

With Christmas upon us, locations, numbers and menus are being decided for the all-important Christmas feast in households everywhere. One dish that will feature on the menu in many homes is the ham. 

Hams can be bought at varying prices and the difference between the supermarket soccer ball ham and the more expensive hams can be hard to understand. When choosing a ham for Christmas, there are many variables which impact on the taste and quality of the ham. No two legs are the same and there are seasonal changes in the flavour of the pork. Interestingly pigs feel the heat as much as we do and do not eat as much in the middle of the summer. Fortunately, the pork needed for hams is produced well before this.

There are various ways to transform a leg or piece of pork into a ham and the good news is there’s a size and shape to suit almost everyone. The more commercial producers may inject the brine and then tumble the hams to reduce the curing process to as little as 12 to 24 hours and increase the weight but as with all things there are traditionalists such as Pino Tomini Foresti and his wife Pia, owners of Pino’s Smallgoods at 45 President Avenue, Kogarah in Sydney’s south.

Pino with one of his magnificent hams

Pino’s family has been making ham for seven generations and supplying the Australian market since his arrival here from Italy in 1973. Pino uses only Australian hams that take ten days to prepare. Pino takes great care in the preparation of his hams, using no additives, which he claims makes his hams safe for pregnant women to consume and chooses legs with a good amount of fat covering. He produces a ham which is a cross between the English and drier Italian style, brining it for 8 to 10 days. Then, they are baked and smoked for 16 to 24 hours using his secret combination of woodchips and seasonal herbs such as rosemary, sage or fennel.

Pino makes hams in every size from a 1.3k mini up to a 12kg whole ham on the bone. A visit to his store is like visiting a meat and smallgoods Nirvana with a fabulous cooking school attached. It is well worth a foodie excursion.

Pino's curing room

I have always been a fan of whole leg ham on the bone, especially at Christmas or to entertain a crowd. For me a good quality ham should have a flavour balance between sweet and salty, not taste chemical, be moist but not wet and not be stringy or smell porky. It is important to remember that all legs are different and colour may vary between different muscles however the ham should have mostly all the same flavour.

Glazing a ham really makes it very, very special and keeps hordes happy. There are a few tried and true guidelines that I always follow for a fail proof ham at Christmas.

1.  Choose the best quality ham you can afford. In addition to using the tips I have given you above and doing a little more research, look out for the Australian Pork logo. Any ham on the bone is sure to be Australian but for boneless ham, you need to check.

 
Andrew Spencer, CEO of Australian Pork, stipulates we need to support Australian pork farmers stating “more than 70% of Australia's processed pork products (ham, bacon and smallgoods) have been produced from cheap, subsidised imported pork."  

2.  To remove the skin from the ham, place in a warm oven (160°C fan-forced) for 20 minutes. Cut through the skin about 10cm from the shank end of the leg. Run your thumb around the edge of the rind just under the skin and start pulling from the widest edge of ham and continue to pull carefully away from the fat up to the cut. Remove completely.  

3.  Using a sharp knife, score across the fat at about 3cm intervals, cutting just through the surface of the top fat. Do not cut too deeply or the fat will spread apart during cooking. Score in the opposite direction to form a diamond pattern.

4.  Brush your favourite glaze recipe (mine contains honey, mustard, dry sherry, soy sauce and brown sugar) over the ham (i stud mine with cloves) and bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes at 180°C (160°C fan-forced) or until golden brown, basting every 15 minutes.

5.  Serve warm or cold with your favourite condiments and accompaniments.

Learn more of my tips and tricks for a high impress and low stress Christmas on the Lifestyle FOOD channel this December. I have all of your needs covered for both a traditional Christmas feast and one with a more contemporary flair.

For my traditional Christmas tips, Lyndey’s Cracking Christmas will be airing on Lifestyle FOOD on December 10th at 8:30pm and the contemporary Christmas special on December 17th at 8:30pm, with repeats throughout each week. 

Lyndey’s Cracking Christmas viewing times

LifeStyle FOOD Australia
Traditional episode times
Monday 10 December at 8:30pm
Monday, 10 December at 11.30pm
Wednesday 12 December at 8.30am and 4.30pm
Saturday 15 December at 6.30pm
Sunday 16 December at 11.30pm
Monday 24 December at 3pm
Modern episode timesMonday 17 December at 8:30pm
Monday, 17 December at 11.30pm
Tuesday, 18 December at 8.30am and 4.30pm
Saturday, 22 December at 6.30pm
Sunday, 23 December at 11.30pm
Monday 24 December at 3.30pm

 

Food TV, New Zealand
Traditional episode times Wednesday 12 December 1pm, 5pm & 9pm
Modern episode times Wednesday 17 December at 1pm, 5pm & 9pm

 

Australia Network
Traditional episode time Monday 24 December at 5:30pm (Hong Kong time)
Modern episode time Tuesday 25 December at 5:30pm (Hong Kong time)

The real ragu

I’ve blogged before about my fondness for comfort food and slow cooking. I think ragu is the ultimate winter recipe with the ultimate combination of comfort and slow cooking.

Like many traditional Italian recipes, there are seemingly endless ragu variations. My favourite version uses a mix of pork and veal mince (for flavor and sweetness), white wine, not too much tomato and a drop of milk at the end – definitely not your average spaghetti bolognaise!

The secret is long, slow cooking. I also love to add chicken livers with the meat but not everyone likes offal. I find short pasta works best with this sauce, but you could use whatever you have to hand.

As this is so good, my tip is to double the recipe and freeze half for later. As well as serving the ragu with pasta, use it to stuff cannelloni shells or as a lasagne filling.

Here is a link to the recipe on my main site.

Celebrating Sydney Royal Trophy winners and Champions on Kerri-Anne

Last week in my regular segment on Kerri-Anne (Thursdays at 9:40am) on the Nine Network I presented a selection of the newly crowned champion and trophy winners from the 2010/2011 Sydney Royal Wine, Fine Food and Cheese & Dairy Produce Shows. I combined a few of these products into a mouth-watering:

Striploin steak sourdough sandwich with walnut chilli dip and eggplant

 and

Crab, Potato & Leek Ravioli with truffle infused extra virgin olive oil

Click on the links below for the recipes on my main site:
Stockyard Striploin steak on Brasserie Bread Boulot with Hasham’s Walnut Chilli Dip and eggplant
Pasta Di Porto Crab, Potato & Leek Ravioli with Pukara Estate Truffle Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I have a long history with the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW. I am a long time councillor and board member. This is my first year as Chair of the Sydney Royal Wine Show; formerly I was founding Chair of the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show. Australian producers enter thousands of products into the three Sydney Royal Shows each year. To maintain credibility and integrity, the products are judged by panels made up of industry experts, producers such as winemakers and educators and specialist media.

Here is a full list of the champion and trophy winning products featured on Kerri-Anne:

Sydney Royal Wine Show
Three time trophy winner (Macquarie Group Perpetual Trophy, Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Annual Prize for Best Semillon and Albert Chan Memorial Prize for Best White Wine of Show): 2005 Margaret Semillon, Peter Lehmann Wines. This true Barossa Semillon is named in honour of Peter Lehmann’s wife, Margaret. Released as a five year old wine, Margaret is a fruit driven, deliciously dry, white wine.

Sydney Royal Fine Food Show
Champion Oyster: Pristine Angasi, Pristine Oyster Farm. Brothers Brendan, Tony and Guidera have been farming oysters in Coffin Bay, South Australia for twenty years. The award-winning native angasi oyster is plump, sweet and strong tasting.

Champion Prawn: Crystal Bay Farm prawns 21/30. Grown by Seafarm, one of the largest prawn farming operations in Australia, sustainable Crystal Bay prawns are available all year as fresh-chilled, cooked and uncooked.

Champion Beef: Stockyard Gold Beef. Established in 1948, family owned and operated, Stockyard is one of Australia’s most reputable producers with an internationally recognised brand. The award winning, consistently tender and flavoursome Gold range is derived from Angus genetics, fed and cared for over 200 days and MSA graded to ensure superior eating quality.

Champion Deli Meat Gourmet Product: Barossa Fine Foods Duck Terrine. All Barossa Fine Foods’ products are 100% gluten-free and made from traditional recipes handed down through four generations.

Champion Flavour Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Pukara Estate Truffle Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Hunter Valley based multi-award winning Pukara Estate produces distinctive, sophisticated and flavoursome extra virgin olive oils and vinegars. The Truffle Infused oil is rich, earthy and decadent.

Champion Regional Food: Nicholson Fine Foods Euro Style Spiced Beetroot Finishing Vinegar. Nicholson Fine Foods is an artisan food company that creates and develops an eclectic range of products for professional chefs and home cooks alike. With spiced earthiness, the multi-purpose Euro style Spiced Beetroot Finishing Vinegar can be used to dress salads, barbecued meat, fish or chicken.

Champion Fancy Pasta: Pasta Di Porto’s Champion Crab, Potato & Leek Ravioli. Pasta Di Porto’s range is free of artificial colours, preservatives and flavour enhancers. Most ingredients are grown by local farmers and/or sourced nearby. Some are also certified organic. To maintain high quality and freshness, only small quantities are made.

Champion Sourdough or Artisan Bread: Brasserie Bread Boulot. As well as supplying numerous cafes, restaurants and delis, Brasserie Bread runs their own café, baking school and retail shop in Sydney’s Botany. Taking two days to make, the Boulot is a traditional round sourdough with ingredients that include 16 year old sourdough starter, organic flour and river salt.

Champion Bottled Beer: Matilda Bay Brewing Company Alpha Pale Ale. In 1984 a group of guys got together in Fremantle, Western Australia to make beer under the Matilda Bay Brewing Company brand. Alpha Pale Ale mirrors traditional English India Pale Ale yet with assertive bitterness and distinctive fruit and citrus aromas from local hops.

Champion Traditional Sausage: Avoca Beach Butchery's Australian Breakfast Sausage. Robbie Hunt from NSW Central Coast based Avoca Beach Butchery has a passion for quality meat. He produces a range of sausages with an emphasis on quality and versatility – suitable for the oven or barbecue.

Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Produce Show
Champion Butter: Fonterra Spreyton Duck River Premium Butter. Fonterra Spreyton, near Devonport is supplied with high quality cow’s milk from some of the best dairying land in Australia. The Duck River Brand is named after the Duck River near Smithton, where the factory was originally established in 1904.

Gold Medal Dip: Hasham’s Dips Walnut Chilli Dip. Established in 1998 Hasham’s Dips is a Cairns based family owned and operated business. Their variety of dips, tapenades, pesto and marinated vegetables are made from local produce, using traditional recipes. Turkish style Walnut Chilli Dip is made from fresh walnuts and hot chilli.

Australian Pork masterclass

Back in October I blogged about how you could win with Australian Pork.

Even though everyone wins when eating or cooking with Australian Pork, one lucky taste.com.au reader, Fotini Starvridis, was a triple winner. She won a pork masterclass, a Brilliant Cut Knife and my three latest books: Just Add Spice, Lyndey Milan’s Best Collection and Balance. Matching Food and Wine, What Works and Why.

The pork masterclass was held a couple of weeks ago. Fotini and I had a lovely time getting to know each other while delighting in lots of porky goodness.

Prior to the masterclass, Fotini nominated roast pork (with crackling) and pork larb as two recipes she would like to cook with me. I added char siew and pork belly to bring the number of pork recipes to four and to demonstrate different cuts and cooking methods.

First up, we cooked Glass Crackling Pork Belly, adapted from a recipe by chef Michael Moore.

Glass Crackling Pork Belly

Click here for the Glass Crackling Pork Belly recipe. When you make this recipe, plan ahead as the rind (crackle) really benefits from two hours pre-salting to reduce moisture and ensure the resultant crackle is ‘glass-like’. I know the method is fairly lengthy (salting and then marinating), but I recommend you follow all the steps to achieve excellent crackle and tender meat, ever so lightly scented with Chinese five spice.

Next up we cooked the perennial Chinese favourite, Char Siew Pork which we later served with noodles and vegetables.

Char Siew Pork just out of the oven

I have been cooking this recipe for many years. The taste, texture and flavour belie the effortless method and store cupboard ingredients. Char Siew Pork is so versatile – we served it warm with noodles and baby bok choy but it is equally delicious the next day served cold, sliced with salad greens and a dash of chilli soy dressing. Cook it now to celebrate Chinese New Year!

Char Siew Pork with noodles and bok choy

Click here for the recipe on my main site.
The celebratory pork rack was next. We cooked Gingered Pork Rack, a recipe from Just Add Spice. This is a great dinner party recipe that can be prepared and cooked in under an hour. The 1kg rack (perfect for four serves) is roasted and while it rests, the sauce comes together in the pan juices with the addition of ginger, cinnamon, marmalade, orange segments and my favourite Indonesian soy sauce, Kecap Manis.

We served the Gingered Pork Rack with roasted potatoes and broccolini in a pool of the gingery orange sauce.

Gingered Rack of Pork

Click here for the recipe on my main site.

The last recipe of the day was one I cooked on my Brilliant Cut Knife dvd, Pork Larb, the ten minute wonder!

There are quite a few ingredients, but all are pretty easy to find at your local fruit and vegetable shop or Asian grocery store. The sweetness of the pork mince is the perfect carrier for these strong Asian flavours. For a more substantial dish, you can add reconstituted rice stick noodles, but don’t substitute the lettuce cups – they are the perfect serving vessel.

Click here for the recipe on my main site.

Champion producers at Restaurant 2010

Restaurant 2010 is the key trade show for the food and wine industry, attracting business owners, restaurateurs, significant hospitality suppliers as well as key primary producers. It runs for two days (25 & 26 October) at the Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park, Sydney.

Following very successful Lyndey Milan Regional Producers’ Markets at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane Good Food & Wine Shows for the past three years, the exhibition organisers, Diversified, have asked me to put together a similar producers market for Restaurant 2010. The focus for Restaurant 2010 is on champion producers with a product suitable for the food service and/or restaurant trade market with supporting sales and marketing channels. Also there is only one per product category.

Click here to register. Its free!

I am delighted to present a fabulous group of champion producers:

Sublime Gelato
For nearly 10 years Sublime Gelato has been making authentic Italian gelato, sorbet and desserts in Sydney. All products are hand-made and the wide range of flavours is authentic yet innovative and unique. Sublime Cookies and Cream Gelato was recently awarded NSW Champion Frozen Dairy Confection Classes at the 2010 DIAA awards. Gelato have also won numerous medals at the Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Show as well the Grand Dairy Awards.

At Restaurant 2010, Sublime will be exhibiting:
Gelato: Pistachio, Belgian Chocolate, Cookies and Cream, Vanilla Bean (French Vanilla), Hazelnut, Tiramisu and Caramello
Sorbet: Mango, Lemon, Strawberry and Passionfruit

Jelm Lamb Pastoral Company
Multi-award winning Jelm is a family run business located at Sunnydale near Cootamundra in the Riverina district of NSW. The lambs and their environment are hormone and chemical free to ensure maximum quality, taste and texture. Proprietor Mark Williams manages the process from the farm to the abattoir through to preparation, packaging, delivery and storage. The result is numerous Sydney Royal Medals covering grass, grain and milk fed lamb. Jelm will be exhibiting their range of lamb products.

Stockyard Beef
Stockyard Beef, established in 1958, own and operate a 9200 head feedlot with supporting grain and pasture properties in Oakey, Queensland. They specialise in grain fed beef, especially high quality long fed and wagyu categories. Key values such as selecting superior genetics such as Angus, raising cattle in a clean and stress free environment and the right balance of nutritious feed ensure consistent tenderness and flavour. Stockyard is MSA graded to ensure superior eating quality. As well as Australia, their markets include Japan, Korea, Middle East, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, USA and Russia. Stockyard has won numerous medals and trophies and in 2010 Stockyard was awarded Champion status in both the Sydney Royal Fine Food Branded Beef Competition and the Royal Queensland Food and Wine Show. In fact, since 2006, Stockyard has been awarded Champion four times, making it the most successful beef brand in Australia.

Stockyard will be exhibiting their multi-award winning Gold range as well as Grain Fed (a young beef category grain fed for 70 days and MSA graded), CAAB (a 150 day Angus product certified by Australian Angus Beef) and Stockyard Wagyu (the ultimate in eating quality utilising Stockyard’s own wagyu genetics and unique feeding program).

Bellissimo Coffee
Bellissimo Coffee is located in Fortitude Valley in Brisbane. They are a new boutique coffee roaster that uses the highest quality beans that are organic, satisfy fair trade arrangements and are rainforest friendly. As a first time exhibitor, Bellissimo won a Gold Medal and Class Champion (overall winner) Espresso at 2010 Sydney Royal Fine Food Show for their premium blend Bellissimo Emporio. Amazingly Bellissimo Emporio was only created in 2010 and as well as being awarded Sydney Royal Champion also won a Gold Medal in the Cappuccino class at the Royal Hobart Fine Food Show.

Bellissimo will be exhibiting their range of coffees, including their multi-award winning Bellissimo Emporio. They will also be exhibiting Conti commercial espresso machines (the Conti Twin Star 2 – the first commercial coffee machine in Australia to feature a revolutionary top model multiple boiler coffee machine with a newly developed group head design to provide optimum flavours during extraction and the Conti Essika SsK2) and Santos commercial coffee grinders (Santos 40A and Santos 55 – with the newly developed silent operating system which significantly reduces noise and automatic dosing control grind on demand technology for precision grinding).

Country Valley
Country Valley is located one hour south-west of Sydney in rural Picton and the Fairley family have been farming the lush valley for over 150 years. The dairy was established in 1958 and is now managed by John & Sally Fairley who run about 145 head of Freisian/Jersey cross cattle on 300 acres, producing a range that includes milk, yoghurt and cream. To maintain supreme freshness the dairy is 100 metres from the processing plant. Country Valley have won numerous awards and medals including Champion Yoghurt for their Lush Traditional Homemade Natural Yoghurt at the 2010 Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Show plus seven Gold Medals for other products. Most significantly they won the 2009 Sydney Royal President’s Medal – there were up again five other champion producers from the wine, dairy and fine food competitions, judged on a multi-faceted basis.

At Restaurant 2010, they will be exhibiting:
Country Valley Organic Milk
Country Valley Organic Lite Milk
Country Valley Premium Full Cream Milk
Country Valley Lite Milk
Country Valley Skim Milk
Country Valley Classic Cream
“Lush” natural yoghurt (champion at RAS 2008 & 2010)
“Lush” plain (sweetened) yoghurt

Managing Director (and farmer), John Fairley, will be on the stand for the duration of the show.

Grima’s Farm Fresh
For over 50 years Grima’s Farm Fresh Produce has operated in the Sydney basin. The family business has been managed for the past 20 years by third generation Grima brothers Sam and Stephen who, with their wives run the business as well as participate in growers’ markets. In recent years Grima’s have diversified in growing a wide variety of baby vegetables for the restaurant trade. The brothers are also working with local chefs in growing other varieties of vegetables. Grima’s are regulars at most Sydney growers’ markets: Entertainment Quarter Moore Park, The Good Living Growers Market at Pyrmont, Northside Produce Market at North Sydney and Hawkesbury Harvest Market at Castle Hill. They also at the Flemington Market in the growers section.

At Restaurant 2010 they will be exhibiting an array of their vegetables including pencil leeks, golden beetroot, target beetroot, baby beetroot, radishes, baby turnips and finger and baby fennel.


Sam and Stephen with their wives Theresa and Sharon will be on the stand.

See you there!

Edna’s Table native Australian lunch

Following the visit by world renowned chef Rene Redzepi from Noma in Copenhagen, who champions his native food (and wonders why we don’t champion ours … huh?), my great friends Raymond Kersh AM and Jennice Kersh AM of Edna’s Table rose to the challenge. See recent media.

Jennice and Ray set about putting together a spontaneous event using indigenous ingredients for some of the visiting chefs and media to sample.

The Royal Botanic Gardens was the obvious choice of venue and lunch in the sun dappled courtyard was preceded by a fascinating walk among the indigenous plants led by aboriginal education officers Leon Jinnabinga Burchall and Clarence Slockee. Most interesting was their explanation of regionality and the differences in plants and names for different areas, as well as the many medicinal uses for such plants.

A diverse group of lunch guests was assembled, including:
* Musa Dagdeverin and Murad Llgicioglu, visiting chefs from Turkey
* Jennifer 8 Lee, a food writer from America
* Margaret Xu Yuan, chef from Hong Kong
* Somer Sivriotlu, owner/chef of Efendy Restaurant, Balmain
* Leon Jinnabinga Burchall and Clarence Slockee
* Simon Marnie, Weekends Presenter, ABC 702 Sydney

Ray was assisted in the kitchen by chef Ashley Hughes from Alio Restaurant and Daniel Dewar, who also ran the floor spectacularly with Blair Milan.

Musa, Murad and Margaret were especially enchanted by the flavours. Margaret was avidly collecting samples while the Turkish chefs went into the kitchen to make a traditional onion salad, using Davidson Plum in place of sumac! Brilliant.

Ray and Jennice were extremely grateful to the following food producers who supported the lunch with fantastic product:
Lenah Game Meats John Kelly provided his fantastic Tasmanian wallaby
Herbie’s Spices My mate Ian ‘Herbie’ Hemphill has a very extensive range of native herbs and spices
Kurrajong Australian Native Foods

Leon Jinnbinga Burchall collecting nectar from bottlebrush

Even though Ray & Jennice's award-winning restaurant Edna’s Table closed several years ago, they haven’t lose their touch for hospitality, attention to detail and warmth and, of course, Ray’s magic touch with native food was showcased with his stunning menu.

Wines were generous supplied by my friends at NSW Wine from their recently announced Top 40 wines. They matched superbly.

Following are pictures of each course with matching wine.

Marinated emu, Mulloon Creek honey and native finger lime salad
Shaw Vineyard Estate 2009 Premium Riesling, Canberra

Magnetic Island cheese fruit & goats cheese tartlet with mango basil & lemon myrtle oil

Meerea Park 2005 Alexander Munro Semillon, Hunter Valley

Tasmanian grilled wallaby fillet filled with enoki mushrooms, La Perouse warrigal greens and pandanus leaf sauce

Hungerford Hill 2008 Epic Chardonnay, Tumbarumba

Northern Territory crocodile, corn & coriander nori parcel with hot sour native aniseed broth

Angullong Wines 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, Orange

Grilled fillet of kangaroo, kumara sweet potato, beetroot & Mulloon Creek wild rocket and ponzu dressing

Thomas Wines 2009 Sweetwater Shiraz, Hunter Valley

Sadly I didn’t take a photograph of dessert – Native Davidson plum & mountain pepperberry ice cream, Wattleseed crème brulee, Rosella buds & quandongs, delightfully matched with McWilliam’s 2008 Morning Light Botrytis Semillon from the Riverina.

Let’s hope this is the beginning of a revival of interest in native flavours!

How to win with Australian Pork – a pork masterclass, Brilliant Cut Knife and my latest three books

I am excited to let you know that I have teamed up with my friends at Australian Pork who are running a fabulous competition with taste.com.au.

I’ve written about my love for Australian pork and my main website features a few of my favourite pork recipes plus a round up of cured pork.

Click here for your chance to win:


First prize
* A one-on-one Australian Pork masterclass with me in Sydney (which includes economy flights from your nearest capital city and ground transfers in Sydney – value $2,500).
* A Brilliant Cut Knife including sharpener and 52 minute DVD featuring five of my favourite recipes plus hints and tips on how to get the most from the Brilliant Cut Knife – value $278.95
* Copies of my latest three books: Lyndey Milan The Best Collection (New Holland), value $50; Just Add Spice (Lantern) co-written with Ian ‘Herbie’ Hemphill, value $50; and Balance, Matching Food and Wine, What Works and Why (Hachette) co-written with Colin Corney, value $35

Runners-up prizes
* Three Brilliant Cut Knives including sharpener and 52 minute DVD featuring five of my favourite recipes plus hints and tips on how to get the most from the Brilliant Cut Knife – value $278.95

Good luck!

Spring into lamb with GLAMB

I love love love lamb, especially spring lamb and am delighted to front the food side of MLA’s spring lamb campaign this month.

The Milan Collection is about fashion – but what you eat rather than what you wear! I developed a number of main course and picnic style recipes using cuts such as rump, backstrap, easy carve leg, butterflied shoulder, loin chop, forequarter chop, rack and cutlets for a fabulous booklet attached to October Australian Good Food magazine, called Chop Til You Drop. Nicole Vonwiller and Clementine Whyte from ACP have done a fantastic job and I especially love all the ‘fashion’ references in the booklet including:

Lamb-alicious: the coolest cuts this spring
Lamb is the best dressed meat this season
Lyndey’s latest are a leg ahead

And the booklet was beautifully styled by Margot Braddon and shot by Chris Chen who also shot my latest book Just Add Spice.

To give you a taste, some of the recipes from the Milan Spring Lamb Collection are:

Thai stir-fried lamb rump and glass noodle salad
Poached lamb backstrap with baby spring vegetables and garlic cream
Spanish-style lamb forequarter chops with warm vegetable medley
Slow roasted lamb shoulder with rocket, goat’s cheese and orange salad
Grilled sticky lamb with kecap manis, ginger and lime

I’ll be cooking a selection of these glamorous lamb (also known as GLAMB) recipes on Kerri-Anne in September as part of my regular Thursday cooking segment at around 10:40am.

The official launch was today at Chophouse in the Sydney CBD. I was there with Henry Roth fashion designer extraordinaire and Project Runway Australia mentor talking up GLAMB during the live weather crosses on the Today Show. He was so much fun and as enthusiastic about my lamb as the models. The models looked amazing and the whole thing featured throughout the Today Show!

The Today Show’s weatherman Steve Jacobs with the models dressed as a garlic bulb and a barbeque 

Henry Roth on the catwalk

The models

Six Champions, one medal

The 2010 President’s Medal is shaping up as a great event and a unique celebration of Sydney Royal champions and gold medal winners from the recent Sydney Royal Wine, Cheese & Dairy and Fine Food shows.

As Chair of the Fine Food Show, I’ve been heavily involved in the planning of the event - including testing the menu and the wines! I’m delighted that one of my favourite people, Justin North (Owner and Executive Chef of Becasse and Etch restaurants) has co-designed the menu, featuring the six finalists:

Bulla Dairy Foods
Australian family company, Bulla Dairy Foods are a second time finalist. Bulla has been making quality dairy products in country Victoria since 1910. The commitment of Bulla's traditional values is built into both their products and their dealings with customers and suppliers. Bulla Dairy Foods was awarded Champion Cream or Dairy Dessert for their Light Sour Cream at the 2010 Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show.

Holy Goat Cheese
Committed to sustainable farming, Holy Goat Cheese is about honouring the soil, pasture and a beautiful goat herd that produces high quality 100% certified organic cheeses that reflect the Sutton Grange region in Victoria. Holy Goat Cheese La Luna Goat Cheese was awarded Champion Sheep, Goat and Buffalo Milk Product at the 2010 Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show.


Yalumba Wine Company
Established in 1849, Yalumba Wine Company is Australia's oldest family-owned wine company. With more than 160 years of winemaking experience Yalumba has remained independent and progressive across six generations of the Hill Smith family. Yalumba was awarded the The Rudy Komon Memorial Perpetual trophy for best Shiraz Viognier for their 2008 Yalumba Hand Picked Shiraz Viognier and The Jones, Steains and Waller Perpetual Trophy for highest number of points in the Varietal Wine Classes at the 2010 Macquarie Group Sydney Royal Wine Show.

Peter Lehmann Wines
During the 1970s Peter Lehmann refused his employer’s instruction to renege on his customary handshake agreement with independent grape growers when there was an over-supply of fruit. Starting his own business and offering to pay after the wine was made, he saved then from ffinancial ruin. Now as an unlisted public company, loyalty, hard work, talent, patience, teamwork and recognition of other people's talents are the values which permeate their workforce. Peter Lehmann Wines was awarded the Douglas Lamb Perpetual Trophy for best riesling for their 2006 Wigan Eden Valley Riesling at the 2010 Macquarie Group Sydney Royal Wine Show.

Huon Aquaculture
Founded in 1988 at Hideaway Bay in Tasmania, Huon Aquaculture began as a diversification to the family cattle and sheep business and soon grew into a highly successful business. Preserving and protecting the marine environment, Huon follows world's best environmental management practices. Huon Aquaculture was awarded Champion Salmon Product for their Banquet Slice Tasmanian Smoked Salmon at the 2010 Sydney Royal Fine Food Show.

T&R Pastoral
T&R Pastoral of South Australia has grown to become Australia's largest small stock processor. Recently acquiring plants in Queensland and New South Wales they now supply three states and export to over 80 countries. T&R Pastoral was awarded the Grand Champion Lamb Exhibit for their Murraylands Premium Lamb at the 2010 Sydney Royal Fine Food Show.

The President’s Medal
Awarded by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW to promote and reward profitable and sustainable Australian primary industries, it is the only award where Champion producers from the wine, dairy and fine food industries are judged on a multifaceted basis. Simon Marnie of 702 ABC Local Radio and Scott Davenport of Industry & Investment NSW judge in the field on environmental, economic and social sustainability. Then the products are assessed by Annette Karantoni from Woolworths and Justin North on marketability.

The event
Always a fun night, with videos made by the finalists and the one and only HG Nelson as Roving Reporter, The President’s Medal will be awarded at a celebratory dinner on and with extraordinary food and wine it is a dinner not to be missed. The menu will feature the six finalists’ products plus other Sydney Royal medal winners. As mentioned above, the menu was designed by consulting chef Justin North in conjunction with our own very talented executive chef from Sydney Showground, Tim Browne and the banqueting team at Four Seasons Sydney.

More information and ticket bookings
Click here or email Mahalia Hicks, RAS Wine, Dairy & Fine Food Co-ordinator.

Slow cooking rules

As the seasons change here in Sydney I’ve been taking a more relaxed and slow approach to cooking.

Not only is slow cooking a great way to transform secondary cuts and even roasts into delicious meals, but the prep time is minimal – it really is set and forget cooking.

I don’t have a slow cooker, however I know these are very popular. I simmer on the top of the stove, braise in the oven or use a pressure cooker.

Whatever you want to call the results of slow cooking – hotpot, casserole, stew or daube – the principle remains the same. It’s all about combining meat, vegetables, liquid and seasonings in a single pot – which also means less washing up! These dishes also freeze well but cool first before placing in the freezer.

Here are my top tips:

1.  Use a secondary, and therefore less expensive cut of meat. These cuts have more flavour but would be tough if cooked quickly. Long slow cooking allows the connective tissue to break down without the meat disintegrating, giving a wonderfully succulent and flavoursome result.


Beef – chuck steak, gravy beef (boneless shin), blade
Veal – osso bucco, breast
Lamb – boneless shoulder, boneless forequarter, shanks, neck chops
Pork – boneless shoulder, neck
Chicken – pieces on the bone are best, doesn’t need such long cooking


2.  For flavour and colour, brown the meat in small batches in the stockpot first. Either toss the meat in flour first, or sprinkle flour over afterwards if you are cooking a lot and be sure to brown for colour and to cook out the floury taste.

3.  Don’t overcrowd the meat when browning or it will stew in its own juices and toughen.

4.  Cut meat and vegetables into similar-sized pieces to ensure even cooking. Add quick cooking ingredients like mushrooms towards the end of cooking.

5.  Choose the right size stockpot or casserole to cook in. Too small and the liquid may overflow, too large and the liquid can evaporate too much. Choose a stockpot or casserole dish which will be about ¾ full at the beginning of the cooking process.

6.  Ensure your pot has a tight fitting lid so that too much liquid doesn’t evaporate. If unsure, tie some baking paper over the top of the pot with string and then put the lid on. Alternatively for very long, slow cooking, you can make a flour and water paste to seal the lid to the pot.

One of my favourite recent recipes is Slow Cooked Beef in Guinness – something magical happens when you combine dark beer and beef, however don’t forget the tomato paste, it is essential to add sweetness and counteract the bitterness of the beer.

Here is a link to the recipe on my main site.

Enjoy!

Meaty issues

I did a segment on Mornings with Kerri-Anne on Monday 5 April about cooking mistakes and it prompted me to put together a quick checklist specifically about cooking with meat. Here it is:


Room temperature is best
If time allows, always remove meat from the fridge 15 to 30 minutes prior to cooking. This will avoid uneven cooking – overdone on the outside and raw in the middle. It will also avoid having to adjust cooking times.

Starting with a hot pan
Pale, blonde-looking meat is not only unattractive but the taste suffers too. The best way to maximise flavour and obtain an aesthetically appealing dish is to heat your pan well before adding oil or fat and finally meat, fish or poultry. That sizzle sound is good. This will also avoid food that sticks.

A meat thermometer takes out the guesswork
When dealing with a large roast, by all means calculate the cooking time based on weight, however inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest part is the easiest way to avoid under or over cooking. A meat thermometer is a small investment to make when seeking a perfectly roast chicken or medium-rare beef roast. Some ovens come standard with a digital probe, however it is just as easy to pick a thermometer up from a kitchen supplies shop.

Don't turn, turn, turn meat, fish or poultry too often when cooking
It is very important to leave food alone when cooking, particularly when grilling and especially when barbequing. You want your piece of meat, fish or poultry to develop a crust on one side before you turn it. How do you know its time to turn? Your spatula or tongs will slide easily underneath the meat and the crust will stick to the meat not the pan. This is true for both regular and non-stick pans.

Give it a rest
Depending on size, all meat should be rested from 5 minutes (a chicken breast) to 30 minutes (a whole bird or a standing beef rib roast). Or as a guide rest it for half the cooking time. When you remove the meat from the oven ‘tent’ it with foil to keep it warm and set aside to allow the juices, which migrate in the centre of the meat, to distribute throughout. This applies for both expensive and inexpensive cuts. Now you can turn up the oven to brown the potatoes or cook the Yorkshire pudding, as well as transfer the roasting dish to the stovetop and turn the pan juices into gravy.

Season season season
Recipes will often say ‘season to taste’. Learn to use your palate and remember that while under-seasoning may ruin your carefully constructed dish, it can be corrected, over-seasoning for the most part, cannot. Proceed with caution and taste, taste and taste again. It’s always best to season during the cooking rather than adding afterwards, except for something like a risotto where you are adding stock, as some stock can be quite salty.

Boiling when you should be simmering
You cannot fast-track slow cooking by excessive boiling. It doesn’t work that way. You will end up with a tough, dry dish. Simmering is when a bubble breaks the surface every second or two and boiling is a more vigorous bubble. They are not interchangeable.

Read the recipe
Some recipes do not include cooking and preparation times in the method. To avoid serving meat that should have braised for three hours to guests arriving in one hour, read the recipe from beginning to end to calculate preparation and cooking times. Some recipes will even sneak another ingredient into the method that wasn’t listed in the original list. If it is an ingredient you don’t have and you don’t have time to shop, this may ruin your carefully planned dinner. Be vigilant!

Speaking of meaty issues, I recently did four short videos for MLA on roasting beef. Click on the links for some great winter roast beef ideas:


Standing rib roast
Slow roast
Beef rump
Beef eye round roast