blonde poker forum

WARNING: AS THE TITLE SUGGESTS THIS THREAD WILL BE PRIMARILY ABOUT MEAT. IF YOU ARE VEGETARIAN OR OF A TENDER DISPOSITION THEN YOU ARE ADVISED TO LOOK AWAY.

Ok, for christmas I was given a hamper of exotic frozen meats.

This was a great present as I like cooking, love tasting new foods and had made a resolution to try three new kinds of meat this year.

No problem. The hamper contained crocodile, kangaroo, camel, venison, ostrich and zebra steaks all of which (apart from the venison) I had yet to try.

I intend to work my way through these exotic foods and chronicle my journey via this thread. It should be a great experiment and I think we'll have some fun sampling these different meats from far-flung corners of the globe.

So, the format.

For each stage I will look up a recipe. All suggestions are welcome by the way. I will then post this recipe along with any side dishes I am making and a photo of the prepared meal. Finally I will give my conclusions about the meat and give it a mark out of 10.

That's it.

So onto stage one of the journey. Tonight Matthew, I will be eating Ostrich.

Ostrich, yummy, like steak.

+1, lovely meat.  Had it recently in South Africa and loved it.  Would definatley get it again.   Make sure you don't overcook it, the rarer the better with ostrich meat.

(http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/primary/ostrich.jpg)

Fast Food

The Ostrich.

A bit like Dot Cotton, it's a strange old bird. It has wings but can't fly.

It is fast as f**k, can run up to 46 mph which makes it about as quick as a horse and faster than a greyhound.

But how does it taste?

Well, I perused a few recipes, but i decided to go with this one. Hopefully I can cook it up tonight and reveal my findings.

Ostrich Steaks With Garlic Mash And Deep Fried Courgettes


Ingredients:
2 g (8oz) ostrich steaks
1 kg potatoes,(2.2lb)
2 cloves garlic,crushed
courgettes
60 ml olive oil,(2fl oz)
50 g butter,(2oz)
1 Tbsp brandy
200 ml single cream,(7fl oz)
25 g butter,(1oz)
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
125 ml red wine,(4 1/2fl oz)

Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a large frying pan, add the steaks and cook for 5
minutes on each side until golden brown.   Meanwhile, place the potatoes
in a large pan and cover with water. Bring  to the boil, then cook for 20
minutes, drain and pass through a  mouli-legumes into a bowl add the salt,
butter and garlic and mix well.   Thinly slice the courgettes and fry both
sides in a griddle pan.   Remove the steaks from the pan. Wipe the pan
clean, then melt the butter  in it and return the steaks. Add the brandy
and ignite to flamb?. Once the  flames have died down, stir in the cream,
worcestershire sauce and wine.  Simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce
thickens.   Serve with the courgettes and garlic mash.

Sounds tasty! I can't wait...

Excellent. I'm forever berating waiters for not serving my steak rare so this suits me down to the ground.

Thanks for the advice!

pics ftw!  Sounds lovely.

That's where I had it, never had it in the UK, pricey here. Agree that is should be treated like good steak and cooked rare.

mmmmmmmmm tasty.

Junglecat for masterchef imo.

Tis expensive here isn't it, I was quite surprised.  One good thing though, it hardly has any fat on it whatsoever, so at least you can eat what you pay for.

Come on JC, pics, report, verict?

I like meat. Today I buy 1 sanglier + 1 âne saucisson in the market. This is not for breakfast, for apero yes.


You make this meats rosbif way? Is burned with sauce and wet vegetables yes?  

ask for a well done burger in france and you get this

(http://www.broadstripebutchers.co.uk/resources/i.aspx?p=/Product/uncookedImage/9425/ProductRotatingImage/Beef%20Mince%201%20Raw.jpg)

Funny looking horse ;)

Not all rosbif's like the food like that. I actually like my steaks "blue".

Sorry for delays. I'm having a late dinner but it should be ready in about 20 mins.

And spacefrog, one thing I have to give to the French is that you ask for a rare steak, they give you one.

early breakfast lol

It's done!

Results to follow. Just a couple of points.

Number one. Since I had a spare pepper and onion lying about I decided to do a mediterranean roast medley with those plus courgettes instead of the recipe recommendation.

Also, there was a small problem with the cream splitting in the sauce, not sure why - it wasn't too hot. Next time i'll use double cream.

Despite these minor hiccups I bowled bravely on and made the steak. Cooked rare.

Here it is. I only have my camera to take pics so quality isn't brilliant.

I'm sure it tastes better than it looks, I'm blaming the camera.

THE VERDICT

Well i have to say I was very impressed.

Ostrich meat has an amazingly similar taste to standard cow steak, but a good one. I was expecting some sort of chicken-y, fowl-y taste but really there is none and you could easily pass it off as a good cow steak to someone who didn't know differently.

Overall the meat is tender and tasty and I agree with silo that it would be best rare which is how I did it.

The other elements of the dish, the garlic mash, mediterranean roasted vegetables and red wine cream sauce complimented the steak very well and all in all it I can only highly recommend it. I served it with a cabernet sauvignon red which accompanied the meat well.

A few things I would say. First off the garlic mash used in this recipe doesn't suggest cooking the garlic before adding to the mash.

I really like garlic but I think this made the garlic taste a little too strong so perhaps lightly frying the garlic first would improve the recipe.

Also you could substitute in other steak sides like chips, honey mustard sauce mushrooms etc and they would all go well with the Ostrich.

Overall, it is probably the nicest meal I've had this year so far and I give it a whopping 

;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; and a half

(that's eight and a half)

out of ten.

Well played Ostrich. You taste fantastic.

It will be a few days at least before the next update, but I will be giving Kangaroo a go next. Any ideas for recipes will be considered.

If there's a few different ones I may run a poll.

For now though I want to thank the ostrich who graced my plate tonight as he really is a top tasty treat and one which any steak lovers will absolutely adore.

Delicious.

I hope you will be having chips and lager with the Roo !!

Excellent I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I was also surprised that there was no poultry taste at all when I tasted it for the first time.

Suggestion about the garlic mash if you do fry the garlic next time, a gentle heat with a small amount of finely chopped onion until translucent and mixed in the mash with a little unsalted butter.

So looking forward to the kangaroo post.
 

ahhhh year!!!

Good idea with the garlic. That's pretty much how I standardly make garlic mash and only used raw garlic to see what it was like here. It was nice but prob a tad too hash.

The roo's gonna be a good 'un I can tell. Keep 'em peeled.

What a fabulous animal.  A variety bucket on legs.  I present you - Multifarious Roderus, rare but still enjoyed as a delicacy in some countries:

(http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=24957&g2_serialNumber=1)

you guys are gna be jealous but im gna tell u anyway....

 i have actually sampled the ostrich that rod decided to savage this evening and i must admit it was excellent! i will give it a very respectable 8/10! He's not such a bad housemate after all!

i must admit im quite looking forward to stumbling across a nice piece of kangaroo wrapped up in the back of the fridge at some point later in the week!

sick thread, think its 4/6 shot to make BoB.

lol @ Jen out-sofa-king-ing SofaKing.

Tonight we are going down under for a spot of kangaroo.

Here's the recipe I'm aiming for.

KANGAROO FILLET WITH CARAMELISED PEAR & RED CURRANT GLAZE

Ingredients
0.4 lt Port,  0.15 lt Red wine,   100gms Bacon, 200gms Red currents, Red current jelly, 2 Onions, Salt and pepper,  Tapioca flour / water, 2lt of rich beef stock, 50gms Butter

Finely chop the onions & bacon, sweat off in some oil & butter.  Add port, red currants & reduce, followed by red wine & reduce again. After red wine has been reduced, add beef stock, red currant jelly & continue to reduce & season with salt & pepper. If necessary thicken with tapioca starch

Take 10 Kangaroo fillet, Topside or Rump, 5 Pears and a litre of the Red current jelly.  Cut the kangaroo into medallions. Cut the pear into wedges and caramelise with some sugar and butter.  Seal kangaroo in some hot fat & put in oven & cook to required doneness, put onto plate with pears & red currant glaze. Garnish with a herb.

I'll be eating around 9-10 so there'll be an update then. Expect pictures and a verdict.

The roo has its work cut out keeping up with the ostrich but by all accounts its capable of delivering a punch so gl Kangaroo.

Let's do this!

The redcurrant glaze sounds like it will be great, port and red wine to start gotta be good.
I've only ever tried kangaroo once before but that was in burger form but it was still very nice so i hope you enjoy.

P.S. do you know what company supplied your exotic meat hamper?  Am always interested in trying a few new things.

How are you doing the chips ?

Osgrow.

http://www.osgrow.com/

Pricey but nicey.

Just plain ol mccain french fries.

Can't be bothered to make my own as I'll have my hands full with the roo and the sauce.

LMAO exotic meat and oven chips ... you could just be my hero !!

 ;popcorn;

its killed JC + Evans imo. gg lads.

Skippy 1
Foodies 0

Soz for delay peeps.

There were a few teething problems but nothing that couldn't get sorted.

First problem was Evans.

Those of you who know my flatmate know he is a number of things but mostly today he has been just embarrassing.

We are going round sainsburys getting some items (whatalife!) and he yells out randomly, "Rod I am looking forward to eating your kangaroo."

[  ] The girl stood in front of us looked impressed.

Second problem, stupid local supermarket didn't stock any of the stuff i needed really so i had to detour to Waitrose and pay through the nose for stuff.

Still it was all worth it as I managed to get the job done. And here are the results....

Tonight some time?   ;popcorn;

 ;popcorn;

(http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/PTGPOD/541447~Australian-Kangaroo-Posters.jpg)

Kangarootiful!

Ok, that recipe again.


KANGAROO FILLET WITH CARAMELISED PEAR & RED CURRANT GLAZE

Ingredients
0.4 lt Port,  0.15 lt Red wine,   100gms Bacon, 200gms Red currents, Red current jelly, 2 Onions, Salt and pepper,  Tapioca flour / water, 2lt of rich beef stock, 50gms Butter

Finely chop the onions & bacon, sweat off in some oil & butter.  Add port, red currants & reduce, followed by red wine & reduce again. After red wine has been reduced, add beef stock, red currant jelly & continue to reduce & season with salt & pepper. If necessary thicken with tapioca starch

Take 10 Kangaroo fillet, Topside or Rump, 5 Pears and a litre of the Red current jelly.  Cut the kangaroo into medallions. Cut the pear into wedges and caramelise with some sugar and butter.  Seal kangaroo in some hot fat & put in oven & cook to required doneness, put onto plate with pears & red currant glaze. Garnish with a herb.

Ok a few comments.

I made it with balsamic vinegar roasted beetroot, roasted peppers and courgette and Mccain's french fries (calm down Kev!) accompanying it.

I thought some of the quantities for the glaze were a bit out so adjusted them. Who the fuck needs 2 onions as flavoring?

Not me.

Anyway on with the show.

Here is the finished product.

Did it taste better than it looked ?

What cut was it again? Looks like it might be kangaroo todger to me  :dontask:

THE VERDICT

It was great!

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, my comment on the meat is that it does taste a lot like steak. It has a stronger aftertaste though.

Initially when i opened the plastic seal of the raw meat and smelt the flesh i was wary as i felt like it might be a bit odd but once I tasted it I was converted.

Only 2% fat in kangaroo meat making it very healthy but it tasted very nice, juicy and meaty and left me slavering for more at the end.

The red-currant glaze worked out great even though I made way too much despite chopping the ingredients in half quantity-wise.

The sweetness went well with the kangaroo taste though and the vinegar roasted beetroot was a ncie contrast with the very sweet glaze.

I did wonder wtf the caramelized pears were doing on the plate. They seemed a bit out of place and although they tasted very nice, they were lonely and I only ate them out of a sense of duty and pity.

They would be better off served as desert with some cream or quality ice-cream.

I ate the roo with a nice little chilean red, which as you can see I served in a half-pint guiness glass, partly as I lack sophistication, partly as all the wine glasses were in the dishwasher.

Anyway, cutting back to the chase, I would like to award the very tasty kangaroo

 ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend;

(that's eight)

out of ten for a sterling effort.

It was always going to be tough to catch up with the ostrich and although it couldn't quite match the beautiful tasting bird, it still ranks very highly in my estimation and gets a big thumbs up from me!

Thanks for following the path thusfar. I feel like I am learning all the time and making a small but perceptible difference to the culinary world as I slowly devour my way through the animal kingdom.

Next up...

ZEBRA!

There may be a hiatus of a few days before I savage the stripey one but I'll be back and will post up the recipe I intend to use in the interim.

Thanks for following people. Together we can make a difference....

Sounds good. I want some now.

You really are going to have to spend a little time on presentation but the menus you are finding sound "interesting".

The pears did surprise me a bit. Firstly I am not a fan of fruit with meat and that includes apple sauce with pork. Here, the fruit would be a strong accompaniment but the meat was going to be the high point. Therefore it didn't warrant the competition.

Robert ... far too nice mate.

JC, recipe and ingredients are spot on, the presentation is wank ... sort it for the Zebra !!

WTF?  who has turkey without cranberry?

Following criticism of the presentation, I am going to aim to get better at that next time. Funny whenever I serve food, people often say to me, stop spending so long making it look good and just slap it on the plate!

I can see you and Kev have very high standards when it comes to the visual aspect though so next time it should look much improved.

I think it is a bit hard to make it look good without a good camera though. Still I like a challenge!

Suggestion for the striped one. Basic Berni Inn fare, chips, mushrooms, sweet corn and, maybe, a side salad. I would guess some English mustard would bring out the taste. Washed down with Castle lager.

lol @ rod getting grief over his presentation! funny thing is he cleared the table for his picture and the look of disgust on rods face when kev snap replys with this quote was golden!

i am quite gutted that rod let me sleep through this evenings sitting of kangaroo but i do hear that theres abit sitting in the fridge waiting for me so i will let u know the real verdict after i re-heat the little fella and c him off with a bottle beer!

Max bet?


I speak from experience when i say Rod's food presentation has always been naff, but the standard of food has always been excellent!

Great thread, can't wait for the future posts!

in an ideal world what would you use to take pictures? a rubber glove?

all jokin aside, great thread, should be very interesting to see the rest of the ensemble.

(http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=24958&g2_serialNumber=1)

Ok I like this thing, zebra=cheval no?


I eat all these things in Australia on vacances, no zebra. Viande is viande, his nose and feets no problem for Frogs, you courageous rosbif. They make statue in London. 

Top thread.I look forward to Zebra time.

Can't imagine the croc will be very tasty, good luck when that comes round. Hope I'm wrong.

Loving this, you sound like a proper Aussie chef

Thanks for contribution Spacefrog.

Here is a zebra for you...

(http://www.gotpetsonline.com/pictures-gallery/exotic-pictures-breeders-babies/zebra-pictures-breeders-babies/pictures/zebra-0003.jpg)

Brain not always engaged before typing lol.

I'm taking pics on my lame-ass nokia. One step up from getting a drunk blind man to sketch the picture.

I've already sampled the croc but I will keep my findings to myself as I have one more portion of croc to cook, so that will be coming up a bit later.

Don't want to spoil the surprise. Plus I can use one of Snoopy's favorite jokes when it comes to the croc.

It's a belter!

I can't make up my mind if this present was inspired or sick!

Obv Jungle loves it so it was inspired but to all those people looking for the ideal gift for me this is waaay down the list.

Love the thread though.

Don't understand why it would be a sick pressy, totally different but yummy imo.  We don't tend to eat a varity of meats over here (and Europe) but go to somewhere like SA and the butchers have all these meats as standard.

I would struggle to appreciate this present, when I was younger I was a lot less squeemish and ate wild boar, horse etc etc but once I had been to see Bambi and my dad pointed out that I was eating Bambi one day when we had venison that was it - I realised that Jemima Puddleduck was the same duck on the menu at the Chinese and I couldn't eat it.

Blame Disney and Beatrix Potter!

I had the same problem, the Jemima Puddleduck dilemma.

Only lasted about 5 minutes, plum sauce saw me through.

Yes, Spacefrog know zebra. He the cheval who live in Africa. I never know is possilbe to eat him. I go to St Denis for a market of Africa demain, hello Mr African meatman you sell me zebra steck.

Ding ding.

It's the next stop on the meat chronicles tour, and this time we have stopped off at ZEBRA-ville.

(http://www.inkycircus.com/jargon/images/zebra.jpg)

Zebras are another slightly odd creature. I just think of them as stripey horses but following the most cursory internet research imaginable, I have dug up some interesting facts about them.

For instance, did you know they had night vision? Even Jack Bauer needs special infra-red goggles to see in the dark but not the good old zebra. Oh no, he can spot a lion sneaking up on him even when Mrs Zebra has turned off all the lights.

The stripes are interesting.

Here's a bushman's folk tale of how they got there.

"According to a Bushmen folk tale of Namibia, the zebra was once all white but got its black stripes after a fight with a baboon over a waterhole. After kicking the baboon so hard the zebra lost his balance and tripped over a fire and the fire sticks left scorches mark all over this white coat"

I guess it might be true! Bushman Fergus was unavailable to provide any more information about this story sadly.

A target for many  large predators, the zebra has to keep on his toes and being a swift runner helps him elude those vicious animals that are looking to turn him into lunch. His large ears, bigger than those of a horse, mean he has acute and highly sensitive panoramic hearing.

Sadly for this zebra he was unable to dodge the predator who took him down, chopped him into steaks, hermetically sealed him in plastic, insta-froze him and delivered him to my doorstep.

This is the story of how he became my dinner...

Zebra steak with shallot and red wine sauce, served with mashed potato, pan-fried onions and avocado.

RECIPE:

First the sauce. Following the dubious recipe i followed for the ostrich red wine sauce, I turned to Gordon Ramsey to bail me out and here is the recipe he suggested.

******************************************************

 *   250g  shallots  , sliced
    * 4 tbsp olive oil
    * 1 garlic clove , lightly crushed
    * sprig rosemary
    * 5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
    * 400ml red wine
    * 400ml beef or brown chicken stock, preferably homemade
    * knob of butter


   1.  Sauté the shallots in a medium saucepan with the oil over a high heat for about 3 mins until lightly browned, stirring often. Season with ground black pepper and add the garlic and rosemary. Continue cooking for a further 3 mins, stirring often to prevent the shallots burning.
   2. Pour in the vinegar and cook until evaporated away to a syrup, then pour in the wine and cook until reduced by two thirds.
   3. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer until reduced by two-thirds again, to around 250ml. Remove the garlic and rosemary. Add a little salt to taste and finally 'monte' (whisk) in a knob of butter. Add any juices from the steaks just before serving.

**************************************************

The steak, mash and avocado was pretty standard. The steak I cooked medium to well-done as I didn't want to risk not cooking the meat thoroughly, even though it might be fine.

Mash was just boiled potatoes, butter, pepper and milk all mashed obv. Standard.

Onions - sliced and fried in butter and the pan juices from the zebra.

Avocado - just sliced up and served au natural.

I have tried to improve the presentation based on previous comments from RobertHM and Kev. Any better fellas?

Picture to follow in the next post...

Here is the final result...

THE VERDICT:

Once again, at the risk of sounding like a broken record I was very impressed!

The taste of the zebra was again not massively dissimilar to eating a normal cow steak, although it has perhaps a slightly more delicate flavour than that of a cow. Just to compare it with the Kangaroo, that had a strong-ish, almost gamey aftertaste which wasn't there with the zebra.

I think its understated taste would lend itself well to various different types of sauces so it could be eaten with all sorts of accompaniments.

The taste was great, again I can only highly reccomend you try it given the chance.

The onions and mash went well and as always did a great job as the supporting cast. The avocado was my own invention and it was fine, perhaps not perfectly suited to being eaten with the steak, but as I like avocado i don't care!

Gordon Ramsey's recipe did the business as you'd expect of the profane, scar-faced but highly competent chef.

Overall the verdict has to be good for the zebra and indeed this is reflected in the score which is...(drum roll please)

 ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; ;tightend; (eight) out of ten!

Another great score, the zebra performed heroically. Still not quite capable of keeping up with the rampant Ostrich, it nonetheless left a formidable impression on my palate and memory and i will look forward to the next time we cross paths.

So, the third animal on my list of exotic animals has been crossed off which means I have achieved my new year's resolution to try 3 new types of meat this year!

(http://blogoehlert.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/06/24/hooray.jpg)

That's not the end of the journey though. Oh no the show must go on. Still to come we have venison, crocodile and camel and it will be exciting to see how there turn out.

Sadly the advent of the Copenhagen EPT means I will be travelling there to cover the tournament so there won't be any more exotic meats for about 10 days or so. If you can wait till then though we can continue gobbling our way through the world's animals together peeps!

Seeya later :)

greet fred imo

Excellent thread...and making me very hungry...I will get me one of them baskets this year :)

(http://www.naturalhorseworld.com/Photos3/Gilbert&Ros.jpg)


Meat is meat. Is horse no? You make a tartare for this one next day.

http://cuisidam.blogspot.com/2007/07/tartare-de-cheval.html


Mmmmm

Ingredients
1 x Camel fillet trimmed of sinew and cut into medallions
Oliver Oil
Butter 4 small onions
1 x Carrot, finely chopped
250ml Shiraz wine or red wine
250ml Beef stock

Method
To make the glaze, fry olive oil and onions, carrots and celery in a pan until slightly brown, then add cut off trimmings and cook until brown. Then add wine & beef stock and simmer for approx. 30 minutes. Strain and whisk in butter pieces until the liquid has a buttery glaze, then brush camel fillet with olive oil and grill to your taste.
To serve pour shiraz butter glaze onto a plate, arrange camel medallions in a pyramid shape and serve with a tossed salad.

I wouldn't be too happy eating camel.

It's a bit like eating a dog or a horse. We have a kinda symbiotic relationship with these creatures. It's like there's an unspoken pact, they serve us in their lifetime, especially as a means of conveyance, beasts of burden etc, and in return we don't have them for dinner.

I've no moral problem with other people eating Camel, but I'm kinda rooting for it to be the least tasty. :)

Rod buy a proper plate, it will launch the presentation marks much higher!

+1, just a plain white one will do the job.

yeah, presentation has been somewhat shocking...all the meat looks rather slimy ..and the plates look like the ones you'd get from your granny when you move out of the house to go out to uni or something.

new camera and new plates essential.

that zebra meat looked good! ;kev;

this thread has made me hungry for real food, rather than the normal takeaway, i have just made a steamed bacon pudding with mixed veg with mash and bit o gravy..mmmmm

This looks like something Amatay has made.

 ;bump;

Can't wait for the next meaty installment.

Ya camel next, I can't wait!

The recent Copenhagen EPT caused the hiatus in updates but "The Camel Surprise" will happen sometime in the next 2-3 days though I'm still deciding on a good recipe.

I'll see if I can grab a decent camera and use a good plate so I don't get strung up and stabbed with pitchforks by the presentation police lol.

My fragile ego can't take any more!!!!

PS first one to make a hump joke will get insta-banned. Tikay told me.

Don't get the hump

Have just ordered myself a Summer Safari Hamper from Osgrows, when it arrives i think i'm going to go for Crocodile first as i think that is the most removed from my idea of meat.

Looking forward to trying it all though and thanks to Junglecat for starting this thread and giving me some new food to try.

My hamper arrived earlier on in the week and i have tried the crocodile tonight.

and ?? 


come on man ... we need descriptive prose and your review ... we cant wait for JC forever !

I didn't want to hijack the thread and i took no photo's but i cooked,
Crocodile tournedo's with rosemary sauce served with roasted Mediterranean vegetables and beer battered chips.
Ingredients:

          4      x  crocodile tournedos - (8 oz ea)
      1 1/3    tbl  lime juice
          2      x  spring onions
      2 1/8    tbl  butter
        3/8    cup  fresh rosemary leaves
        1/8    cup  dry vermouth
        1/2    cup  fish stock
        1/4    cup  cream
                    Salt to taste
                    Freshly-ground black pepper to taste


Method:
Season crocodile tournedos with salt and pepper and fry the tournedos on a BBQ or non stick fryingpan for about 2 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with lime juice and set aside.

Sauce: Heat butter in a frying pan,add spring onions and fry for about 1 minute.

Add rosemary and dry vermouth and reduce until almost dry. Add fish stock and reduce by half. Add cream and reheat until just about boiling point.

Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and pour sauce through strainer. Place spoonfuls of sauce on serving plate, place crocodile tournedos on it and serve with vegetables in season. Beer battered chips and roasted Mediterranean vegetables.

The tournedos are i believe, slices of the tail of the crocodile with a central bone in a round of meat. It is a white meat, the taste and texture seemed to change depending on the proximity to the bone. The meat furthest from the bone had a texture akin to pork almost with seemingly little flavour but as you got nearer the bone the flavour became more fish like and the texture was similar to that of a meaty fish. Wether the above was because of the outer section of meat being slightly more cooked than the inner section i don't know but i was pleasantly surprised.
6/10 looking forward to the proper red meats now.

P.S. Accompanied this dinner with a good old Blackforest Gateaux for pudding.

Does anyone else find that a steak is awsome on it's own, however when you add sauce, eg pepper sauce, it becomes more of a stew.

I have no objections to ketchup etc.

Nor do i object with beans in a mixed grill (awsome when the yoke of the egg mixes in)

Totally agree, steak is best served on its own, if a sauce is added it should be in a little jug so you can ensure its not swimming in it!

I like a touch of english mustard with my steak!

Going to pop to the butchers after catching up with this!

Nothing fancy like crock but just feel I haven't eaten some plain old steak for ages!!

I am of to Thailand for a month in 2 weeks, cant wait to see what food it will bring.

What food is most common in thailand?

Is it curry dishes?

Insects/rodents deep fried on a stick

Heston Blumenthal is playing with these meats on Channel 4 right now.

He's also managed to get hold of python.

Got to love his madness