Alpaca its just a Peruvian tall sheep . Maybe

[alelover]

Fascinating.  Can't wait to see how that turns out. BTW. They are having an Alpaca show around the corner from me in February.

http://carolinaalpacafarms.org/cac/

 

[moikel]

Im going to stop yacking & start smoking on saturday. I have plenty of meat to experiment with,just got to chart a course. Back leg isnt going to be the tender cut,Ive got a bit now that you guys would call bottom round (maybe). Rolled stuffed & smoked will be first hit out.

 

[moikel]

Missed a photo,it does look like the hogget ( 1 year old lamb) I remember from my youth.

 

[moikel]

OK I made a couple of decisions.I opened up the  piece that came from the inside trimmed some sinew out of it that was between muscle.Tidied it up a bit to make it easier to roll I  hope. I then  combined roasted red pepper,red shallots ,garlic,cbp,bacon,cilantro,in a fry pan & coioured it up. Added some water from the rehydrated chilli,some Inca brand from Peru & mulatto from Mexico,the chopped peppers,Alpaca stock,a shiraz/malbec red wine,cumin,paprika. Next decision will be whether to mix that with breadcrumbs.

 

[moikel]

OK went with breadcrumbs,spread mix  across meat rolled it tied it.I tried to use South American ingredients,bacon's a stretch but hey they have pigs over there.Ive got it neat side up for photo.Im going to save chilli water,stock & add shiraz/malbec to it.Put in a pan under my rolled roast to catch drippings.Will also keep it moist with the st

em.Malbec is the most successful red wine grape in Argentina & Chile.It goes in blends here,Ive had a great straight Malbec

 at Boca grill an Argentinian restaurant that does that charcoal grilling very well.

 75%of wine list was imported from Argentina. 

When I  was young you could buy rolled stuffed shoulder or breast of lamb in country town butchers.Stuffing was mostly breadcrumbs & parsley,very bland.My version is a bit" big city" but we all got to grow up. I figure 3 hours in MES at 100c over mesquite. Lets hope its tender by then ,but he was a big Alpaca.

 

[venture]

Can't wait for this one!

From your flavor description, I would treat it like lamb.  But tenderness?  They must be saying this is a tougher little critter.

Keep us posted, this is fascinating.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[moikel]

Running out to try to get caul fat now.930 AM  here. I dont know about the tenderness deal. Every recipe I  found was a braise,including a really good looking one involving,beer ,cilantro & lime. Traditional Peruvian.

Its not available retail at all. The idea was they were releasing it to chefs ,serving it at the big dinner for our Gourmet Food Festival,running free skills class for chefs so that was handled a particular way.So didnt get a bad rap early by people who ignored instructions & grilled it etc.

The head guy was a good old boy from the west of the

he state originally. Like me.Didnt need that much persuading to let me have a shot. Ive even got an open invitation to come to the farm.

I do figure Im eating older animal,but hes been standing around in a paddock in the gently rolling hills of old dairy country not running up & down the Andes in Peru.

 It will hit the MES  in about  4 hours time. Ive got 3+kg in the freezer so I ve got more options.

 

[moikel]

No caul fat,but friends at the butcher shop intrigued,especially the maoris who like the idea of giant legs of lamb.

 

[moikel]

OK we are out of the chute! Red wine ,water that the dried chilli soaked in,Alpaca stock,sliced onion ,1/2 head of garlic ,cbp,bayleaves

,all in the pan which then didnt

 fit into MES

 so it got transferred to drip tray!! I went with mesquite first time with it as well. 3 hours at 100c is the plan.Wine for anybody interested is by Blue Manna (named after a type of crab) shiraz malbec

 

[moikel]

Sorry about the photo quality the camera  that I  used has been misplaced by wife after trip back in 2 cars from Greenwell Point.All these are from my phone.

 

[venture]

Why do I keep coming back to this post when others seem to take days for me to see them?

Red wine, chili, onion and garlic? Some bay leaves that look like the Mexican or California Bay Laurel in my area?

What could possibly go wrong from here? 

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[moikel]

Why do I keep coming back to this post when others seem to take days for me to see them?

Red wine, chili, onion and garlic? Some bay leaves that look like the Mexican or California Bay Laurel in my area?

What could possibly go wrong from here? 

Good luck and good smoking.

I nailed it,I mean nailed it

.It was in MES for 2 1/2 at 100c .It was soft ,TENDER,MOIST it just sang.I made a little salad ,tomato,cucumber,onion,avocado,cilantro,dressed that with lime juice ,chilli oil,palm sugar,EVO   & did a few shop bought tortillas in a pan.It tastes like ... Alpaca.Not being a smart arse but its not interchangeable with another animal. Lamb is closest but it doesnt have the smell .I used bottom round I couldnt put my hand on my heart & say that a bit of lamb rump at $38 a plate in some up market joint would be more tender than this was. Backstrap yes but thats $30+ in the butcher shop.Cutlets are $25 a kg & this was leg off a bigger old guy Alpaca I knocked back the pan juices with some sherry vinegar,palm sugar & boiled it hard till iy was syrupy . Nice but it didnt need it

 

 

[moikel]

This is pretty rare but the way lamb is served here in top end restaurants,the outside had some chewy bits but I  didnt trim all the sinew because there was fat over it & but I  figured I needed it. Dam it was tasty.The stuffing was a good match.If this is my take on round or silverside whats prime cut like

er side whats prime cut like?

 

[moikel]

Bear view, you would have loved this mate!

 

[moikel]

Other half, got leftovers will take them up to butchers on monday. Cant get over how tender this was bearing in mind what cut it was. He must have had an easy life.No Andes mountain climbing for this guy. He must have sat around all day in the gently rolling green hills of the South Coast of the state his whole life.

 

[alelover]

Man that looks awesome. If the next throwdown is Alpaca you would surely win.

That should make some great sammies. It looks like roast beef. Great job.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Totally awesome Mick!..Looks amazing!...JJ

 

[sprky]

 I would eat it in a heart beat.

 

[venture]

Superb!

I'll take mine just like that!

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[moikel]

Sunday roast when I  was a kid was leg of lamb,roast potato"s,pumpkin,&a green veg. Gravy &/or mint sauce. In your lunch box the next day or minced & turned into shepherds pie. 

I have a wood fired oven,a pan big enough .A 5+kg leg would feed 16 people or 12 maori's . Stay tuned.

Thanks for all your kind words.I had a lot of fun with it from the moment I  saw it on the menu at the Hungry Duck,then tracking down the farmer & so on.

The traditional Peruvian dish with beer ,lime,cilantro will probably be next but thats stove top not smoked.