If you are a vegetarian and/or averse
to raw meat, this is an early warning, you may not enjoy seeing this blog
We managed to squeeze in an event at
Muratie on Saturday after our return and so want you to see the photos of this
amazing day learning how to butcher, prepare and cook a whole sheep and a
haunch of Venison. We then had a delicious lunch of the resulting dishes
This
day costs R500 a person and if you are interested in doing this, contact
Muratie, they are planning another of these excellent hands on demonstrations,
preparation and cooking experience, which is followed by lunch with Muratie
wine and all the food prepared. We were also able to take home some of the
other meats prepared by us, but not needed for lunch
An early morning start for our day at
Muratie to experience Karoo Lamb and Venison
Welcomed by Muratie owner Rijk Melck,
a coffee and a muffin to sustain us
We learnt that we were there to learn
how to butcher lamb and venison and then produce food for lunch. We leave our
bags in the dining room, don aprons and proceed to the cellar where it was all
to take place
On the way we drew tasks from a bag. Lynne got deboning and butchery,
John decided to stay with photography, he knew he couldn't do both
A Kudu haunch and a whole mutton carcass
awaited us
There were more cuts on the tables
awaiting preparation
Some fillets and a loin of lamb with some already
rendered meat for stuffing, samoosas and sausage rolls
Our teacher for the day was Annatjie
Reynolds, who began by showing us how to take off the belly flaps of the sheep,
which were then cut up and turned into Kaaiings
The difference in size: on the left a
kudu fillet, on the right, one from a Springbok
Ado Wessels and Ellen Raubenheimer, editor of GetIt! magazine
This was how to begin to take off the
shoulders
Future butchers watching in rapt
attention
Now, using garden secateurs, off came
the ribs and the breast. Breast of lamb or mutton is one of our favourite
roasting cuts
A glass of Muratie bubbles to sustain us
We learn about shanks and how to cook
them
Marise & Charla Kriel, learning a new skill
How to make salami. Lynne missed this
lesson as she was busy deboning
Exposing the chops, the loin and the
saddle
Kim and Rijk Melck with guests
Cutting up the belly for kaaiings
(scratchings)
Now a lesson on deboning ribs
Use a sharp filleting knife and cut
away from oneself
And this is how you debone a neck
Time to learn how to cut the haunch of
Kudu into fillets
You cut along the muscle divisions
Kim Melck's apron says it all. Many of
us wanted one
Hold tight while removing the sinews
and the silver skin
Here is a large muscle for cooking (silverside),
the silver skin needs to be carefully peeled off
Showing us the beautiful meat
Annatjie shows us how to butterfly the joint
so it can be stuffed
Now it is our turn. Lynne had been taught by her English butcher how to debone a shoulder, so she picked up a sharp knife and began deboning her shoulder, trying to
remove the blade bone in one, leaving a pocket for stuffing. Ado Wessels works on deboning a neck
The kudu meat is cut into more
manageable pieces
The Melck dogs were amazing, they
didn't beg once. Perhaps they knew they would be rewarded later, when lunch was
cooked
Fire is on, table is laid, now all we
have to do is prepare lunch
We were provided with all sorts of
ingredients to stuff and wrap the meat in. Lynne stuffed the lamb with slivers
of fresh garlic, lemon juice, fresh thyme, prunes, port and a line of herb
stuffing down the middle and lots of salt and pepper
T giving a demonstration of how to
make venison sausages
And how to tie them into loops
Adding moisture to a roast, as most
game has very little fat and can be very dry
Fat is pumped in between the muscles
Making sausages. Spices are added with
the meat in the mincer
Rijk and Kobus Reynolds were tasked with cooking the
sausages and the lamb ribs on the braai
An expert at deboning ribs
Sausage ready for the braai
Stuffing the deboned ribs
Meanwhile, upstairs in the kitchen,
another crew was making samoosas and small meat turnovers
More deboning and stuffing of joints
Topped with spinach, bacon and herbs
Everyone had a different idea of the
perfect stuffing
A nice fillet of kudu stuffed with
spinach, feta, mushrooms and peppadews
Prepared by banking experts, Yvonne van Wyk and Rabia Friend, aided by
some Muratie red wine
and assisted by Grant Kilian
Kim Melck with a huge salad
A loin wrapped in bacon goes on the
braai for lunch
All these smells are making everyone
hungry, so surgeon Rijk cuts up the cooked lamb ribs so that we can have a pre-dinner
snack
Another joint goes on the coals
and, primed by some Muratie wine, we
all supervise the cooking
Watched over by Jack, who supervised us
What you have another one going in the
Weber? Looks too big to cook in the time remaining
Jack takes a nap on Kim's lap
The huge salad, and two versions of
carpaccio of venison
Cookbooks for sale by the author, Annatjie
Reynolds
A stew underway
Time to add the sausage to the meat
Life went on in tasting room while we
were all preparing lunch, and there were lots of visitors for lunch in the
garden restaurant as well
A display of Muratie’s wines and ports
Ready to serve? Hougaard Pieterse and Danie Kriel
Wonderful home-made bread
The food was laid out buffet style so
we could all help ourselves
Jaco Laubscher and friend showing why aprons have pockets
Kim carving the loin while service
begins behind her
Just a small taste please
A nice plate of things to try for
lunch. It was an incredible day and the food was very good indeed. It was a
meat eaters paradise.
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015
On the way we drew tasks from a bag. Lynne got deboning and butchery,
John decided to stay with photography, he knew he couldn't do both
Some fillets and a loin of lamb with some already
rendered meat for stuffing, samoosas and sausage rolls
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