Goodness Gracious...Great Balls of Meat

Who would have thought a restaurant could survive serving meat balls alone? Well, these talented Melbourne folk at The Meatball and Wine Bar have succeeded in just that. Then again, google tells me that the humble meatball was a staple for the Romans, with a recipe for the meatball appearing in one of the first ever cookbooks …. In 25 AD!

I can’t rave enough about this place, from the novelty factor of the “balls”, the schmick interiors, our charming waiter.. the fact that you didn’t have to queue and can actually book a table, makes this place a cracker.

We took a seat outside and had a drink whist we waited for our table.  We loved that you could see inside and check out the balls being served to other diners in the window (good for preventing ball envy later in the eve).

We started with a pinot grigio delivered in this super cute carafe (labelled with our wine of choice).

Half a glass down, we were then swiftly seated at our table, and presented with the menu…

 We all loved the simplicity and variety of the menu...made for some relatively easy choices

We started with the truffle salami, the fior di latte and the mini balls. 

At the last minute we threw in the sliders (loved that you could choose your meat and your sauce). 

On the advice of our waiter, we chose the Pork slider with a white sauce

The truffle salami had a melt in your mouth texture, it was so delicately flavoured and went perfectly with the fior di latte

As for the mini balls, these are a must.. they came with three sauces a home-made tomato based bbq sauce, an aioli and a green sauce… all three were delicious, although we loved the salsa verde the most and it was a must for the ordering of the next course.

At the The Meatball and Wine Bar they are passionate about the source of their meats… and big on pork here. The pork comes from Kurobuta in Bryon Bay and is from the black Berkshire pig…apparently the wagu of pork!

For your main... or the "big balls" as we called them, you choose your ball and your sauce (red, white or green). We went for the fishballs (locally sourced fish, dill and lemon) with a white sauce

and the chicken balls (Lilydale chicken, pistachio, muscatels and Parmesan) with salsa verde.

Not only did we have a delicious meal but the atmosphere was great, music was loud but non intrusive, and the staff full of facts about meatballs!  

Our only regret of the evening is that we didn’t order dessert… Whoopie Mac (homemade ice-cream sandwiched between two macaroons). That was our own fault as we couldn’t decide on the flavour. There goes our excuse to go back and check out the rest of the menu.

Enough from me….. the ball’s in your court now so go and check it out!

(Be prepared to make bad ball jokes throughout the evening it's addictive)

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Feasting like a Big Fat Duck

Having a slight obsession with Heston.... I was very excited when three months out from my recent trip to the UK my friend Steph secured us a booking at  The Fat Duck (thanks to Steph whose telephone manner excelled itself - that was no mean feat!)

The Fat duck itself was in an understated old cottage with exposed beams and low ceilings and a tiny front door..built for shorties

Words can not really express what a wonderful afternoon we had in Bray.. close to five hours of eating and drinking.......

We thought we would get started with a virgin mary at the pub next door....the drink was passionately created with freshly grated horseradish and its own secret spice mix that apparently Heston's Chefs would love to get their hands on

I really have tried to keep this brief ...as I don't think anything I write can truly capture the gastronomic brilliance that was rolled out that afternoon... It truly enlightened all of our five senses...and more.   So let's get straight into it. 

First up a glass of champers and a canape of dried beetroot and goats cheese filling.

These tiny morsels were a wee burst of concentrated flavours...amazing my eyes already began to pop open and this was only a taster of what was to come

Next up we had a tour of the kitchen, which was surprisingly small, there were 12 chefs on this shift and about 30 people dining. We got to meet the head chef and ask him any questions...admittedly I got a bit star stuck and ended up talking about The Hawkes Bay rather than the nitty gritty of kitchen gadgets surrounding us!

The chefs in the kitchen, apparently Heston is still hands on and oversees all of the menus (ironically he was in Australia for our visit) 

We get briefed on the menu (we had the tasting menu and wine match) then it is all systems go...we start the meal with a nitro poached aperitif....

This was where the fun started, There was a selection of vodka green tea, campari and blood orange, or a gin and tonic..We chose one of each (it looked to be just an egg white mixed in with the drink, poached in the nitrogen and dusted with blood orange or green tea extract...simple ha!)

Of course I did not listen to the waiters instructions which was to consume in one go I took a bit and the rest of it melted on my plate. It was still delish...for those of you have tried the mojito bubble this is no comparison! Sublime.

Next came the red cabbage gazpacho, with a pommery grain mustard ice cream ...so smooth and uniquely flavoursome

The attention to detail of each dish inclusive of the plate choice, cutlery shape and size really make each course extremely special, so much thought has gone into the presentation and each course really is its own work of art.

Out taste buds were well and truly awakened and ready for the next course.....

We weren't prepared for what came next.....The oak moss was grown in a customised box. It arrived on our table with three little films....

Fat Duck Film...yes you are not mistaken it is like the listerine strip but infused with the essence of oak to prepare your taste buds...genius (I will be trying to re-create at home)

An atomiser was sprayed awakening our senses with a forest like aroma and was quickly followed up with a teapot pouring liquid on the moss and then a foggy mist flowed gracefully across the table...Wow....

Our eyes then focused on the jelly of quail, crayfish, chicken liver parfait, oak moss and truffle toast. 

I was a bit stunned and was well and truly transported to the forest floor under the oak tree where truffles are harvested...I think even the unimaginative would have been taken to another place

This course came with instructions....make sure you eat all four layers at once.  This time I obeyed the instructions and consumed all three layers of the jelly/parfait at the same time....in between taking mouthfuls of the delicate truffle toast....small bits of caviar were lined are up across the toast with three delicate slices of mini radish placed along the top of the toast....unbelievable...the whole dish was a umami taste explosion!

This was a hard act to follow....next the famous snail porridge, which was a bright green porridge with Iberico ballota ham, shaved fennel and very very slow cooked snails.....

Mmmmmm snails

Roasted foie gras, barberry, braised konbu and crab biscuit

An hour and a half in and we hand not even go half way down the first page of the menu....time for the mad hatter's tea party (c.1850) mock turtle soup, a pocket watch and a toast sandwich.

The pocket watch is a consomme wrapped in an embossed gold leaf. It takes the chefs ten days to make this part of the dish

 Like the rest of the dishes the soup was perfectly seasoned and all the individual components were so delicately balanced.

The consomme ever so delicately dissolves in the water to make a tea which you pour over the soup ingredients which consisted of a reformed egg

Perhaps one of Heston's most famous dishes the sound of the sea was up next. A shell arrived with headphones and then a dish that really did taste like the sea...abalone, seaweed, shitake tapioca and a foam broth...

In my greed I unfortunately had a big mouthful of foam with out anything else...which gave me a shock almost like I had been dunked by a wave!  

This course was matched with daiginjo masumi nanago sake from the Miyasaka Brewery in Japan. This was crisp, dry and of a perfect temperature to truly bring out the flavours of the dish...perhaps my favourite beverage so far.

End of page one of the menu.... Just when you thought it was time for dessert... the duck arrived.

Powder duck was a slice of rare duck, blood pudding pureed so smooth it was mayonnaise like in texture, umbels and apache potato purée. 

Last but not least on the savoury menu we had the salmon poached in a liquorice gel, with asparagus, vanilla mayo and golden trout roe.

Again this was amazing, small giggle to self, I thought the trout row was blood orange pearls...lucky we got a menu to take away

So we are about three hours in by now..I was full but not so uncomfortably full that I couldn't fit in dessert!

Before dessert we had a small break for the hot and cold tea....this really is indescribable its a teas that is hot and cold at the same time....mind blowing.

At last dessert....macerated strawberries, with an olive oil biscuit, chamomile and coriander jelly with an ice cream cornet.

Coriander jelly and ice cream cornet, so petite and equally as cute (lets face it everyone loves something that is mini!) 

I really am finding it hard to pick a favourite dish, but this dish was just gorgeous, it was designed to be a picnic. With a silky white chocolate table cloth so thoughtfully draped though across the dish...of course it was beautiful as well, the dessert wine was a Sicilian passion di pantelleria.....has just taken over the sake as my favourite tipple so far....although at this stage all three of us were double parked!

Plated up were macerated strawberries, with an olive oil biscuit, chamomile

It's time for the "BFG" Black Forest Gateau.... Pictures again can only describe this one which is paradise for a chocolate lover.

Before...not quite sure I can fit it in....

During....managed to find room....lets just say there was no need to show the after shot...there was nothing left on the plate

Next up was a global tour of whiskey wine gums... Amazingly enough the wine gum gels had magnificent flavour release you could taste the smoky notes from the Scottish whisky and the peaty notes from the Irish....loved how they even had Jack Daniels on the tasting menu...

My gums started to melt before I got my chops around them...on a nerdy note it's a food technologist dream, to get such good flavour release from a gel

To finish the afternoon we were taken back to the theme of the meal "like a kid in a sweet shop"

I couldn't help myself but started tasting the selecting in the cute pink stripy bag before went left the restaurant...we all wished the beautiful Sophie Conran plate was also to take away

The whole meal was genius...a work of art. So much detail, thought, style, craftsmanship and love has gone into making all the dishes, you can tell by the atmosphere of the restaurant that the staff love their jobs and receive great pleasure by seeing the delight on diners faces. The restaurant staff were gorgeous, not pretentious just genuinely wanting to make sure we had an unforgettable afternoon.

Thanks to Steph and Johnny for making the afternoon so special...next time you are back in Melbourne...I may just try to recreate our own Heston inspired feast...well at least have one course involving liquid nitrogen!

My favourite in the bag, a hand crafted white chocolate playing card with a raspberry centre in it's own little envelop with Heston's seal

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Meat Liquor...so juicy right now....

Everyone has an opinion on who makes the best burger...in my time of eating burgers they really have come full circle.  Burgers started getting too posh for my liking..with aged wagu, patties with three types of mince, brioche buns and the list goes on.... But now we are seeing burger joints going back to basics..thank goodness...although I was quite partial to the gourmet mini wagu burger often found on a canapé tray.

When I was recently in London I went to Meat Liquor a trendy burger joint that is all about meat and liquor... old fashioned diner style burgers....they claim to be definitely not gourmet!
We joined the queue which was about 30 deep when we got there. Surprisingly it was 27 deg in London town and we had a thirst up for a beer. We paper scissor rocked who was going for lager and settled in alongside other excited dinners queuing to get in. The kitchen came out with the house speciality the deep fried gherkins and onion rings...wow the tart, juicy gherkin oozed flavour through an extra crispy batter..a secret recipe no doubt.....it was become clear that it was going to be well worth the wait.
 

We were in....Matt Packed-ham could not get through the meat curtains fast enough to be seated at our table....

We get inside and it it is almost like a funked up abattoir with street art like pictures on the wall and a hum of excited diners eating burger under a red lit hue.

Meat Art......

Even the roof was cool....so much thought and personality had been put into the fit to make you really feel like a greasy burger... of the meat variety.

Meat Family on the roof over looking diners.... one times smug looking pig.

  
There was a selection of craft beers, four different burgers...the classic, the cheese, the jalapeño, chips and cheese (which I couldn't fathom..although my British counterparts were salivating at the thought), onion rings, deep fried gherkins, sides of house slaw.....ketchup and mayo. Oh and a lonely vegetarian haloumi burger (pretty sure if I was a vego I wouldn't be eating at a place called meat liquor).

The menu was basic but in a good way...the more and more I eat out the more I like limited choice!

We ordered an Old Sckat Amber Ale from Portland Oregon....which was perfect accompaniment to our burger to follow. There was also house cocktails which looked amazing...given the hot night we all just glossed over these on the menu.

This picture does not do the burger justice... lets just say its juicy, messy and super tasty....

Our dinner arrived and we were all pretty silent, greedily eating our burgers...

Here goes.. Matt and Toby in the ultimate tasting....

The burger patties were so juicy they made you salivate for more! 

I think this picture requires no caption....

I agree with Toby that it was quite possibly the best burger I have ever eaten and let's face it I have eaten a lot of burgers in my time.  The buns were not too sweet and the salad to meat ratio just right. I had the jalepeno relish which had just enough kick to it without overpowering the burger.

Rumour on the street had it that they have mastered a special technique in the kitchen where on the grill they have pot like lid that they put over the patty to lock the flavour and juices in (yes I have already tried this at home...). We couldn't get enough of the deep fried gherkins.... and as for the shoe string fries, they were perfectly crunchy and the tart mayo worked so well with the fries and the burger cutting through the grease of the meal, almosts refreshed the pallet.

These guys also could not get these burgers down their gobs quick enough....

This place is a lot of fun and well worth the queueing....I loved the whole get up....the meat curtains...strips, the red hue and the ambiance was bang on.
I can see why they chose the name Meat Liquor as the burgers were so damn juicy....just like meat liquor...best you not picture that in your head until you have tried it for yourselves...

Love the graffiti....you just keep on pushin' my lover over the burger line......

And for those of you still reading this far... call me immature but I got the giggles when I saw the sign to the boys toilets!

The girls ones... said CHICKS in case you were wondering.

Pulled Pork....So Hot Right Now!

About a year ago I had the most spectacular pickled pulled pork sandwich at the duchess of spotswood.

I have been thinking about it ever since then.  On a recent visit to Sydney I went to the Stuffed Beaver in Bondi, and had the Happy Pig Dam Burger....a pulled pork sandwich, served with slaw and bbq sauce, on a brioche bun, it was delicious.

Not so easy to photograph, but the Happy Pig oozes goodness.

The next two days in Sydney I saw pulled pork sandwiches on the menu all over the place...that was it I was set to recreate the pulled pork at home.

So a bit of research later I came up with a few recipes to try with the goal of creating my very own pulled pork slider. Slider meaning mini burger.

Most of the recipes marinated and then cooked the boneless pork shoulder in a slow cooker.  I don't have a slow cooker so I cooked it in my favourite le creuset pot.  Not quite good friday fare but a good opportunity to try the sliders out on some willing taste testers and critics.

The Home Made Mini Pulled Pork Slider

I decided on using a pork shoulder with the bone in, rather than a deboned shoulder. Ask you butcher to prepare it for you by scoring the fat and also cutting through the bottom of the shoulder that will help to loosen the meat.  Depending on what size shoulder you use or if you use a slow cooker you may need to adjust the liquid to suit.

This is enough to feed all your mates on a Saturday night (10-12 peeps).

Ingredients

1 pork shoulder, about 3 kg, bone in
4 small-medium red onions, quartered
4 tsp of Chipotle Chillies
2 tbsp smoked paprika
4 tsp cumin seeds
6 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp salt
100 ml apple cider vinegar
100 ml tomato sauce
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Brown Sugar
4 250 ml Bottles of Bundaburg Ginger Beer (Full Sugar Only)

From here it's easy....

1. Mix all the spices together and rub along the surface of the pork.

2. Place the onions, cider vinegar, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar in the bottom of the pot. Add the pork. At this stage you can marinate the pork overnight, if you haven't got time, just cook it from here.

3. Cover the pork with 3 bottles of the ginger beer (or until it almost covers the pork).

4. Cook on 150 Deg C for 7 hours, or until the fat of the pork has rendered down and the meat is falling off the bone. You may need to flip the pork half way to make sure it cooks evenly. It may also need to be topped up the pot with liquid, more ginger beer or if you run our water is fine. If you prefer to use the slow cooker you can cook in the slow cooker for 8 hours on medium or 10 hours on low. The pork is ready when you can pull the pork off the bone with two forks. I found with cooking it in the oven the top of the pork caramelised beautifully, not sure this would work as well in the slow cooker.

5. Remove the pork form the juices and rest it for 30 mins, reserve the sauce.

6. Take the sauce and heat on high to reduce it. This should take 30-40 minutes. Be patient as it will caramelise and thicken. Taste the sauce as you go you may need to add some more brown sugar, cider vinegar or Worcestershire sauce. I added all of these, so that the sauce becomes bbq like in flavour and syrupy in texture.

7. Remove all the pork form the bone with the two forks so it is shredded, add back into the sauce so you get a sticker pork mixture, season to taste.


To make the Pulled Pork Slider.....

1. Mini buns or brioches (personally I find them a bit sweet with the pork which is very sweet). If you are nice to your local baker like the Brumbies baker in Albert park, he might bake you some mini white rolls (thanks ems). These just need to be warmed in the oven.

Mini buns...we even got to pick the sesame seeds on top!

2. Make a simple coleslaw out of red and white cabbage, thinly sliced apple and coriander. Add some chipotle and lime to a best foods mayo (or make your own) the dressing needs to be quite acidic to cut through the fatty pork).

Make sure you coleslaw is simple, tangy and adds some bite to the slider

3. Assemble the sliders with some pork, Tabasco sauce and coleslaw

Sweet and Juicy Pulled Pork

I guarantee your guests will be back for seconds....or in same cases fourths!

Rated 9.2 out of 10 by a anonymous critic.