Salt Beef Soft Shell Tacos

We are always looking for new ways to use salt beef... it is one of our favourite pieces of meat and I never get tired of brining and eating a good brisket. Recently we got hold of some dried chilies of ranging heats and flavours so we've become a little obsessed with Mexican food, so it seemed only right that we blend these two passions, and what better way than with tacos.

I love making flat breads, whether its naans and rotis to eat with a curry, or pittas for greek salads and dips. They are always simple to make, don't need time to rise and can be cooked using just a hot frying pan. So, unlike a crunchy taco shell, that will inevitably collapse, resulting in guacamole over the entire face and a sour cream covered shirt, we went for soft tacos, which are more manoeuvrable and durable, and will hold all the delicious filling you can cram in.

To accompany the salt beef we had a homemade guacamole, and pico de gallo (tomato salsa), as well as chimichurri, an Argentinian salsa verde. This vibrant fresh herb sauce is incredible with everything from salad, to steak, to fish and can even be used as a BBQ marinade. Traditionally made with parsley, fresh oregano, garlic and chilli, to work with the salt beef I added dill and gherkins with cider vinegar.

Recipe serves 3-4 (don't be put off by the number of items in the list - most of them are the kinds of things you will have in the fridge or cupboards)

For the tacos
200g plain flour
2 egg yolks
25g lard/butter
100ml water
A pinch of salt

For the chimichurri (to add to 400g salt beef)
Half a bunch parsley
Half a bunch oregano
Half a bunch dill
1 chilli (or more if you fancy)
3 midsize gherkins
A glug of cider vinegar
A pinch of salt

Guacamole
An avocado
Half a red onion
Juice of 1 lime
Half a chilli

Pico de Gallo
10 cherry tomatoes
2 spring onions
Half a chilli
A splash of balsamic vinegar
A good pinch of salt
A pinch of sugar

Method

Start with the Pico de Gallo, as that will continue improving in flavour until its ready to eat (this can be prepared the day before and kept in the fridge). Chop the tomatoes in half and the onions as finely as you can and place in a bowl. Chop the chilli as big as you fancy and add it to the malaise. To this add the vinegar, salt and sugar: while the sugar may seem out of place, it will help to soften the onions' strength and frankly it's brill with tomatoes.

The guacamole is best done on the day as the avocado can have a tendency to blacken which isn't too great to eat. First, halve and de-stone the avocado: to do this, slice directly down to the stone and cut all the way round. Next, grab the avocado so you can see the cut between your thumbs and simply twist in opposite directions and pull apart. Then firmly strike the stone with a sharp knife and twist the stone, it will stay with the knife and be freed from the fleshy avocado joy.

Once the avocado is in half with the stone removed, use a spoon to scoop out the 70s bathroom coloured innards leaving behind the skin. Then chop as finely as desired. I like my guacamole quite coarsely chopped, but if you like your guac smooth then simply mash with a fork. To this, add some finely chopped red onion, chilli and the juice of a lime (the acid will help stop the discolouration).

The bread is a simple case of putting all the ingredients in a bowl and bringing together until a dough is formed. Knead on a floured surface until the dough is smooth, leave to rest for about 20 minutes, then knead again and split into 8 equal pieces before rolling into thin circles. Cook in a dry hot frying pan, turning occasionally to keep them from burning. When the breads have puffed up slightly and coloured to a golden brown put to one side in a warm oven.

The chimichurri is not particularly graceful to make - simply chuck everything into a blender until smooth. Again this is a personal choice: if you fancy a more coarse sauce then just chop them together until you've got a consistency to your liking.

The last step is to heat the meat. As the salt beef is already cooked, it is just a re-heat jobby, so on a medium heat in a lightly oiled pan, place thinly sliced meat to warm through. Turn once and then add the chimichurri atop the meat. Heat in the pan for another minute and then you're ready to construct the best taco you'll have today! Pop everything into a warm taco, and serve with a dollop of sour cream, grated cheese and a side of salad.



 Enjoy,

Jim

A Smokey Bank Holiday Weekend

Having had a keen interest in smoking my own meat for ages, and with my wife getting fed up of smoky clothes from my earlier method of putting a smoking tray of chips in the oven (don't try this at home, kids), I decided to build a cold smoking unit which could be kept outdoors. For weeks I had almost finished the construction, and a sunny bank holiday weekend finally provided the opportunity to get the door affixed and the first smoke going.

The first things to go in the smoker were small pieces of steak strips, simply marinaded in salt, sugar and black pepper to begin to draw the water out of the meat. They were hung in the smoker over charring whisky oak dust for an hour. To accompany them were bulbs of garlic and a handful of chillies (although they were to spend another four hours bathed in smoke the following day). The smoked beef became our Sunday brunch after hanging overnight, fried and served with bagels, scrambled egg and beans.

Buoyed by the success of the beef, the next day witnessed a longer smoke of chicken wings and turkey breast. The wings were marinaded again in salt, sugar and pepper, but this time with the addition of cumin, coriander powder, and paprika. The turkey was coated in a dry rub of garam masala, turmeric and salt.

The wings, baked until crispy, were served with salad and chilli bread croutons, and the turkey became a risotto with courgettes and spring onions. 

Not only were we enjoying the bank holiday with smoked food, we also booked a return trip with some friends to the wonderful island of Islay, so a more liquid celebration was in order. Meaning I got to open this lovely thing...

Slainte,

Jim

Whisky Review: Ardmore

The Ardmore traditional cask is one of our favourite whiskies: an all round wonderful whisky that sings with peaty notes. As it is a whisky without an age statement, it will likely put off some of the 'purists', but it has been aged in quarter casks, thus tasting older and more refined than it possibly should do. For a whisky of 46% you get a boldness in body that frankly stands above its cost in terms of value for money.

It has a sticky, almost honey nose with a rich oaky sweetness akin to apple crumble, which is followed through with strong peaty notes as the dram opens up. The lovely caramel eye sparkles through the glass.

The taste is initially oaty, with a chew of barley, and the stewed apple aroma remains present in the flavour too. It continues to grow in bold peatedness throughout the mouth, which develops on the palate with spice and hints of cinnamon and vanilla towards the end.

Ardmore Heel Slain 

The finish is not particularly long but does linger for a while, with the spice continuing and the smoke pleasantly holding its own.

Not overly complex, it's a good one to reach for when you're not sure what kind of whisky you fancy. We always try and have a bottle of this whisky in and due to its cost (around £30) it is easy to keep a supply running.

Slainte,

Jim

Whisky Reviews: The Beginning

When it comes comes to whisky reviews, we at Mashtun and Meow have not really embraced the writing down of our drams. Whilst there are a few reviews of tastings, we don't tend to comment on our own supply. This will begin to change, but instead of launching in at first tasting, we will go down the route of Last Dram Reviews. This way we will let you know what the whisky was like to live with, whether it was worth the money we spent on the bottle, and if it was exciting from the first nose to the last swallow.

The experience of drinking a whisky isn't solely about the contents of the Glencairn, it's as much the situation, the company and the location.

My first ever dram was a Glenmorangie 10 year old, in my late teens, enjoyed with my mum as she told a story of Scottish hospitality on a trip we took as a family to Mull for a week of walking and otters: in a B&B the night before the 2 hour boat trip from Oban to Tobermory, my parents sat in the bar (with me asleep upstairs behind a door that didn't shut, due to a large crumple of carpet caused by a combination of badly fitted carpet and a poorly planed door). In the bar, they were confronted by a couple on a dirty weekend, with a chap so in lust he felt compelled to buy the clientele (mum and dad) a drink. Sadly this happened to be a Rusty Nail (2 parts whisky and 1 part Drambuie)... a beverage that Mr Mashtun Snr. cannot abide. In response to the drinks being presented to the pair my mother (whom i take after whole heartedly) supped the drinks pretty sharpish to save my poor father, but each time my mum was caught dram handed, and thus another was bought for dad. After my mum had hammered away a few Rusty Nails too many, she had to plead with Mr M. Snr. to finally imbibe the sticky drink in front of his new friend. The next morning, the boat to the beautiful island of Mull had a few very poorly passengers (and not solely on account of our atrocious sealegs!). I'd like to add that my very first dram was happily Drambuie-free.

Drinking wash at Laphroaig.

A whisky does not always give you everything at first impressions: cover judging doesn't work with music or films, so why should it work with the craft of whisky? Taking a minute or two, or a month or three, to drink and consult a dram is for me what is great about whisky.

So, with our continuing acquisition and consumption of all varieties of whisky from single malts to blends to bourbons, we will endeavour to write our humble opinions in an aid to partially inform and hopefully entertain.

As ever,

Slainte

Jim

Bakewell Food Festival

Always on the lookout for a local event to pop along to, an unexpectedly sunny Saturday resulted in an impromptu trip to Bakewell Food Festival today, and a real treat it was too!

The whole town completely embraced the foodie mood, and there was a true celebratory feel in the streets, with around 80 stalls showcasing a vast array of local produce. 

We decided to try Union Spanish-Italian street food for lunch, as their "Boccas" were something we had never come across before: Italian flatbread with choices of fillings including grilled mackerel, serrano ham and manchego cheese, and paprika-marinated chicken. They were served stuffed with lovely peppery rocket and topped with a balsamic glaze which brought the whole thing together in a burst of flavour. Lovely.

Boccas!
L - serrano ham and manchego
R - Spanish chicken

A quick stop-off in Chatsworth farm shop on the way home too, and we were definitely well stocked with delicious treats!

Note the traditional Bakewell pudding in the bottom left photo!

One of our favourites of the stalls we came across was The Sunflower Bakery, making a selection of traditional loaves alongside more unusual options such as Russian Borodinsky bread, a type of sourdough made with dark rye. We selected the Dragon loaf, made with fresh chilli.

It's great to see so much fantastic fresh produce on offer, we can't wait to dive in!

Cheers,

L & J

Smoke in the Water

Ah, another day, another whisky tasting. This was our second StarmoreBoss experience, and not only was it focused around our favourite peaty whiskies (hence the "Smoke in the Water" title), but it just so happened to be hosted in our lovely local, The Sheaf View. Hideously convenient!

The five whiskies selected for the occasion were all from Scotland, but not all from quite the areas you might expect. Proceedings were presided over by the super knowledgeable and all round top bloke Jeff, as was our previous StarmoreBoss tasting (which you can read all about here), and followed the format of sampling the whiskies to get a good unbiased opinion before discovering what kind of a dram was in your glass.

1. We started the evening with whiffs of apples, pears, and a fresh piny palate. This whisky held quite a sweet smoke and was not overly peaty but still had that familiar warmth. As expected of the first dram of the night, this was the lightest of the bunch which made it not as popular with the peat purists in the room (although saying that, it's whopping 50% abv packed a punch!) This was revealed to be (somewhat unusually) a Speyside whisky - Old Ballantruan 'The Peated Malt' from Tomintoul distillery. It had a very long lingering finish given the strength, which took us nicely on to the next dram of the night.

2. We could tell straight away that this dram had a higher ppm rating but less abv than the first, as it felt harsher on the nose but smoother on the palate. Key flavours we pulled out were raw rolling tobacco, and brambles, and the taste continually opened up as you drank it. This had quite a short finish but the lingering notes reminded us both of the sea. This whisky turned out to be the Islay Ileach Peaty which had been the final whisky chosen at the previous StarmoreBoss tasting, so it was particularly interesting to have it under a different context as a more entry-level flavour. We were actually on Islay this time two years ago on our honeymoon, so we had a nice little reminisce over our dram.

Best enjoyed in an Islay garden!

3. Ah here it is, that unmistakeable seaweedy aroma! As well as this there was a fruitier smell of raisins, a bit Christmas Pudding-esque. The flavour was of burnt honey which tingled on the lips, and was surprisingly sweet to say this is a whisky which is peated to 50ppm. This dram came from the Campeltown distillery of Springbank - Longrow Heavily Peated. Springbank has a great story and every task involved in the production of their whisky is done at the distillery itself. We'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys Islay whiskies but is looking for something a little lighter. 

4. In a nutshell, this one smelled like leather and tasted like a firework. Spiced rich undertones were complemented by fruitier top notes and a long warming finish. This was the Benromach Peat Smoke, which was the peatiest of the night at 67ppm (and not something you usually get from a Speyside distillery). Benromach has produced some fantastic whiskies (their Sassicaia Wood Finish being Laura's all-time favourite), and this definitely met with our expectations. 

5. Ridiculously smoky! Our final dram had a nose like an antique piece of furniture and a taste like sipping on a BBQ. The hickory flavour was very woody and with a surprisingly short finish. We guessed straight away that this originated from Islay, and we were correct, this being the Caol Isla 1999 Connoisseurs Choice, bottled by Gordon & MacPhail. The overwhelming smokiness meant that this was most definitely a worthy way to end the night.

All the whiskies we sampled were reasonably priced to buy by the bottle, so the event was ideal for anyone looking for a new favourite. Coupled with a few very nice hoppy beers and one of the Sheaf's famous pork pies, I think it's fair to say it was a great evening, and we headed home humming along to Deep Purple.

Slainte,

Laura and Jim 

Caturday Saturday #7

Make mine a G&T please

Love,

Tosin x