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Southern
Rocklobster Limited
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number three
July 2008
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In our last issue we promised some revolutionary news. A
simple new TECHNIQUE that
allows fast and super efficient extraction of green, SASHIMI
GRADE meat
from the entire Australian Southern Rocklobster. Improved
meat to shell ratios that in four months of testing have
consistently been above 50% – READ
MORE
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GENIUS AT WORK - CHEF PROFILE
KENJI ITO
In this issue of Southern Rocklobster CHEF NEWS we celebrate
one of our own, Kenji Ito a rising star in the Australian culinary
scene. Young and adventurous in much of his cooking Ito is a
classically trained Japanese master chef and shares with us a
traditional Kyoto sashimi technique.
PRESIDENT'S LETTER
Welcome
to our to our third CHEF NEWS. Southern Rocklobster Limited’s CLEAN GREEN product certification program is not merely a world first, but an outstanding success. More than 50% of active fishers have taken up the CLEAN GREEN program and we are on track to achieve the targeted 100 percent fisher uptake by 2011.
A decade of investment has paid off. Ten years ago in the general community there
was less emphasis on WILD CAUGHT or SUSTAINABLE or CLEAN
GREEN but
today chefs, and diners want to know where their food comes from and under what
conditions it was grown and harvested. Southern Rocklobster Limited fishers’ philosophy
is deeply embedded in their local environment and utterly pristine fishing waters;
a generational business they saw the need to preserve the beauty of their pristine
waters and ensure the longevity of their fishing for future generations.
Southern Rocklobster Limited offers unique transparency for both the chef and the diner and our CLEAN GREEN brand
is not just the guarantee of superb quality but environmental sensitivity, world’s
best practice starting with animal welfare right through the product chain to
the restaurant kitchen door.
Dr Patrick Hone, Executive Director of the Australian Government’s Fisheries
Research & Development Corporation and a program sponsor believes that the program
is an incredible achievement, setting a world benchmark for the implementation
of an integrated accreditation system. Dr Hone is already working with Southern
Rocklobster Limited to explore ways to transfer the wild fishery system to other
sectors of the Australian fishing industry.
We are proud that we did not have to be bullied into conservation, that we were early adopters with solutions for environmental concerns and delighted that Southern Rocklobster Limited’s CLEAN GREEN tag
is rapidly becoming the only choice for the world’s greatest chefs.
President Southern Rocklobster Limited |
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 Sashimi of Australian Southern Rocklobster Tail with Pomegranate |
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 Sashimi of Australian Southern Rocklobster Tail with Cuttlefish Ink Mayonnaise and Pearls
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Click on the image to find the recipe
on our web site
Lucy Hinge has just joined our American team as part of the front running group headed by Matthew Muggleton (pictured
right) to introduce live Clean Green Australian Southern Rocklobster to the great chefs of America.
The daughter of a former South Australian Rocklobster fisherman
Lucy’s parents now fish deep–sea fish out of Darwin.
Born in the idyllic fishing village Port Elliot in one of South Australia’s
most picturesque beach, fishing and wine regions, the fishing
industry is not new to Lucy.
A boarding school girl for five years, before heading to university Lucy took
a year off to travel extensively through Europe and spent three months working
in London. On her return she attended Adelaide University where she majored in Marketing & Management.
The opportunity to work with Southern Rocklobster Limited became available in March 2007. A strong and positive work ethic, in combination with market knowledge embedded in the Australian fishing industry she quickly took over maintaining their web site and many of the communications details including fisher liaison. Lucy rapidly became extremely valuable to the company. When it was clear Matt would have to come backwards and forwards from the US Southern Rocklobster Limited started grooming Lucy to second him in America.
Schooled in chef speak by our CHEF NEWS food editor and chef, Lucy has quickly grasped not just the intensity of the lifestyle, but the needs of the chef and the importance of TECHNIQUE and product knowledge, meat to shell ratios etc. She also understands that ringing a chef during service times is idiotic. Lucy will say she likes to eat (not cook), but a few days with our chef gave her an understanding of bag cooking techniques and the new ice salt slurry green meat extraction method developed by Southern Rocklobster Limited.
Confident and intelligent (and fun),
Lucy is a no-fuss girl who lists her interests in this order; socializing
with friends, eating and music so we just know she is destined to get on
with chefs. Lucy is hard working and committed but like all of the members
of our company has a zest for life and living. So, when you see a good looking
Aussie girl at the kitchen door, you’ll know why she’s there!
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| CLEAN
AND GREEN.........................the fundamental philosophy
of our member fishermen and management |
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CLEAN
AND GREEN
Is the industry commitment
to see businesses continue to prosper with sustainable
fishing in some of the world’s most pristine
waters. |  |
Clean
Green Program Update — Certified
Sustainable Wild Caught With more than 50 percent of active fishers involved in the CLEAN GREEN program, which operates in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, Southern Rocklobster Limited is able to offer unrivalled consistency in both quality and meat to shell ratios.
In the 1990s when the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Bill was being developed there were so many bad examples of industry practice that it seemed almost too obvious. Listing the bad practices, we set about finding solutions and evolving a single environmentally sustainable, utterly transparent process that would have an enduring position in the world market.
CLEAN GREEN just made good sense, not just for industry longevity but the entire moral food chain and the early adoption has given us enviable market advantage. CLEAN GREEN has allowed our members to hold their heads high at a time when growing and harvesting practices are being questioned world-wide. Environmentally attuned chefs and service staff relish the ease with which the superb quality high margin CLEAN GREEN Australian Southern Rocklobster sells and the customer appreciation of the product.
- The Southern Rocklobster Limited CLEAN GREEN model was ground–breaking and has become the envy of other less visionary fishery systems.
CLEAN GREEN is the chef and diners’ guarantee of the world’ s best practice, best quality Rocklobster in the world today.
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Our land. Our
Plan. Our Future |
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| FISHERMAN
PROFILE Dean
Woodward |
DEAN WOODWARD (Woody)
is another early adopter of Southern Rocklobster
Limited’s Clean
Green fishing program. From an old fishing
family his brother David and Darryl work on the shore side
of Clean Green selecting, tagging
and dispatching fish to the world market. When asked why Clean
Green Dean
Wooward explains that it’s “just common sense” and
goes on to talk about wanting a future for the industry.
Dean talks about the benefits of being able to guarantee
premium quality animals by adopting world’s
best practice, not ruining the environment they make their
living from and ensuring that there is a future for their
children.
Like so many of our member fishers the generational association with the Australian Rocklobster industry has meant that the common sense of the Clean Green fisher
program was basically formalizing their philosophy and
ensuring that new industry members were forced to show
the same respect to the animal and the environment. Southern
Rocklobster Limited fishers have had ample opportunity
to see the disastrous environmental alternatives that have
resulted from greed and lack of long–term
planning. Dean fishes out of the South Australian port
of
ROBE, which is a beautiful village set in the middle of the Mount Benson and Coonawarra wine regions.
Top — left Rodney Silvester,
right Dean Woodward
Middle — Big beauties identified
with
Dean’s fisher number
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PRIDE
AND JOY
After his family and footy team (Australian Rules of course) his boat Dajana
FAVOURITE BEER
Melbourne Bitter
FAVOURITE WINE
Australian Shiraz from any of the very fine producers of his local Coonawarra wine region
FAVOURITE HOME DISH
Straight from the boat, green tail cut into chunks and quickly fried with fabulous local extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper
FAVOURITE RESTAURANT DISH
Never eaten anything as good as his favourite home dish in a restaurant, but admits the one hour from water to plate might be something of an unfair advantage.
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| TECHNIQUE
GREEN MEAT EXTRACTION for Clean Green Australian
Southern Rocklobster |
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Sometimes a chance remark can spark a good
idea, and when Jordan Theodoros (seriously talented young South
Australian chef) mentioned a method used to crack giant crab claw
in Asia using salt and ice slurry it seemed worth a try. Salt and
ice to lower temperature would not be new to anyone old enough
to remember their grandmother’s ice cream maker.
All previous methods of extracting green meat were cumbersome and slow and we had never managed to extract the green leg and knuckle meat at a rate that was financially viable or at a meat to shell ratio that was as good as blanching. In addition the horn was impossible and the painful pinprick cuts for the tiny amount of meat extracted never seemed worth the effort. Anything that made green meat extraction easy and less labour intensive had to be a bonus.
The first experiments to develop a technique that would work
in the same way for the whole animal were disastrous. Too short
a time in the ice slurry didn’t work at all, 30 minutes
too long and the whole animal was frozen and the shell clung
tighter to the meat than any other method.
The journey to perfecting extracting green meat from a whole
Australian Southern Rocklobster has had its moments, but three
months later it’s mastered. We have cut the tail extraction
time down to a COUPLE OF MINUTES and the knuckle,
leg and horn to less than 15 MINUTES PER ANIMAL .
Apart from the ease of extraction, the meat gain from the horn
and head has been amazing with up to 120g on a 2.3kg
(5 pound) Australian
Southern Rocklobster, meaning another two entrée or single
main course portions from the animal. The method has delivered
as high as 47%-52% meat to shell ratio, with
a consistent 30% of that meat being sashimi grade tail
meat. It is important to note that all Clean
Green Australian Southern Rocklobster is sashimi
grade and being able to extract green meat from the leg, knuckle
and horn opens a new spectrum of dishes and uses which are explained
in the COLD
RECIPES Sashimi section of our web site.
Read the full
GREEN MEAT EXTRACTION TECHNIQUE
READ
OUR COMPLETE TECHNIQUE ADVICE FOR AUSTRALIAN SOUTHERN ROCKLOBSTER
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| IDEAS
AND TRICKS — BOOK REVIEW SOUS–VIDE |
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SOUS–VIDE CUISINE
Joan Roca and Salvador Brugués
English edition published by Montagud Editores, H/B around $200 USD
Sous–Vide is nothing new. In fact it has been in use for at least 30 years with average degrees of success until the last eight years. Stretching the idea, adding lower temperature cooking has led to incredible advances in recent years. This is a brilliant book fully explaining the sous-vide (bag cooking) method, but what it is particularly valuable for is the explanations of how things can go wrong. How for instance what a 5°C temperature difference in cooking temperature can make. This book is written in succinct terms that will enable all levels of education to fully understand the process of sous–vide.
A very useful book for the modern and inquisitive kitchen.
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| GENIUS
AT WORK KENJI ITO, KENJI MODERN JAPANESE, ADELAIDE SOUTH AUSTRALIA |
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INSPIRATION
: Classically trained in Japanese cuisine Kenji
Ito has sought and found inspiration wherever he has
worked, both in Japan and Australia. Like all good
chefs Kenji finds the product he sources and the contact
he has with producers and suppliers defines and inspires
his cooking. Kenji’s enthusiasm for food and cooking
remains passionate, utterly undiminished after long years
of apprenticeship and as a consequence his
development of his own unique personal style is unending.
Kenji names David Swain, a highly acclaimed young South
Australian chef as his main source of inspiration. It
was the admiration of David’s food, says Kenji
that led me to ask to do estage with him and started
my journey with my own personal style of cuisine.
WEB
SITE : NOT AVAILABLE - telephone +61 8 8232 0944 dinner only Monday to Saturday
EMAIL
: kenjimodernjapanese@bigpong.com
CHEF PROFILE :
Kenji Ito is the new young darling
of the Adelaide dining scene. He first came to Australia
17 years ago as an exchange student and spent nine months
in Sydney before returning to Japan to complete a degree
in English Literature. Like so many obsessed chefs Kenji
fell into cooking doing a classical Japanese apprenticeship
mainly in Tokyo. He returned to Australia nine years ago
to work at the former Hemeji, a traditional Japanese restaurant.
Determined to learn more about Western cooking Kenji worked
with iconic young South Australian chefs David Swain (Fino),
Peter Reschke and Nigel Rich (d’Arry’s Verandah)
and at The Greedy Goose. Chef Kenji and his wife Noriko opened
Kenji Modern Japanese in early 06 and have created a gorgeous
intimate little restaurant which has quickly developed a
strong following.
In Adelaide, Kenji presents the best traditional Japanese cuisine and diners
flock to eat his modern Japanese food. Interestingly Kenji sees no cultural boundaries
as he includes newfound (to him) Western ingredients in his personal cuisine.
Kenji Ito is a master chef in terms of Japanese cooking but his inquisitive nature
will see his food develop into a personal style in much the same way as the now
globally famous South Australian chef Cheong Liew and we are following the evolvution
of his cuisine with deep interest.
Their wine list is written by Kenji’s wife Noriko who modestly says she
is learning (like when does that stop?) and has some very fine regional Australian
wines available by the bottle and the glass and even offers several good champagnes
and other old world wines. It is a small but very credible list that is constantly
evolving. Most interesting is that Noriko is clever when it comes to matching
wine to Kenji’s
food. One of the very refreshing aspects of Kenji Modern Japanese is their staff
training that sees all staff able to fully discuss the many complexities of Kenji’s
food with genuine enthusiasm.
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TRADITIONAL KYOTO STYLE ROCKLOBSTER SASHIMI
Sashimi two ways — Yaki Shimo and Arai
Serves 4
1 x 2k plus live Australian Southern Rocklobster
white miso
soy
dashi
sea salt
sake
mirin
ice
wooden skewers
Garnishes and condiments
shaved ice
bamboo leaves
sesame leaf
kara suma (preserved sea bream roe) finely julienned
limes
baby shiso
wasabi
shredded and crisped daikon
sushi mat folded in three
carrot and daikon curls, paper–thin carrot and daikon slices rolled around chopsticks and curled in ice water
seasoning soy, a combination of soy sauce, mirin and bonito then strained
sea salt
baby chives
baby shiso leaves
toasted nori to wrap
4 paper–thin radish slices
Paper–thin cucumber slices
Remove the tail from the body and extract the tomalley — SEE TIP Mix the tomalley with equal amounts of white miso, dash and soy and set to one side. Remove the green tail and split it lengthwise pulling and cut it into roughly 4 cm chunks and divide the green tail 60%–40%.
for the Yaki Shimo
Set up an ice bath. Lay the green lobster tail on a heat proof tray and sprinkle it generously with sea salt, then using a blowtorch scorch the salt to infuse it into the lobster meat. Arrest the heat in the ice bath for a couple of seconds, then remove and drain.READ
AND PRINT THE FULL RECIPE
Click on the last two images to see a larger image and full details of the plating
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ISSUE |
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If you are throwing the TOMALLEY in the bin we have recipes and ideas that will convince you there is not a single gram of Australian Southern Rocklobster that does not have a use.
Cougeres, truffle perfumed or not, soufflés to die
for. A double cooked soufflé amazingly compliant for
huge functions, (we’ve done them for 600) and another
recipe that is strictly to order and doesn’t wait for
anyone, especially the waiter who fails to hear the call soufflé.
More molecular elements, soups and consommés with clever embellishments. Consommé pearls and baubles, lobster dumplings in wonderful delicate transparent wrappers. A Sichuan lobster and mushroom hotpot a recipe from Ann’s recent work trip to Chengdu.
We invite you to get very excited with the exceptional food costs these simple and delicious techniques can achieve!
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| THIS
MONTH'S RECIPE SOUTHERN
ROCKLOBSTER CONSOMMÉ COLD ROLL |
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Author Ann Oliver, Food Editor Southern Rocklobster Limited
www.annoliver.com
INGREDIENTS
For the cold roll wrappers
Makes 10–12
1kg seasoned lobster consommé
5g agar agar
Once ready you need to work quickly, so lay out four trays 28cm/11” x 40cm/16” and one about half that size. Put the consommé on high heat and when it is boiling whisk in the agar agar and continue whisking and boiling for a couple of minutes. It is easy with agar agar to tell when it is ready because if you hold the whisk out of the pot, drops will immediately set on the whisk.
Working one tray at a time make a layer of not more than 1mm thickness, tipping and turning the tray to even it out. Repeat the process with the remaining three large trays then put anything remaining into the smaller tray — 3–4mm thickness is perfect for the tagliatelle.
For the wrappers we cut four to a tray, cover the trays with plastic food wrap and refrigerate. To remove them from the trays very carefully easy up an edge and peel it away. Once cut, they can be stored between plastic sheets the same way as prepared sashimi portions.
For the tagliatelle lift and edge and roll it into a flat loose roll. Put on a chopping board and cut into strips. Stored in air–tight containers in the fridge.
For the cold roll filling
Per 1, must be assembled to order
1 lobster consommé wrapper
50g lobster consommé tagliatelle
Take the wrapper and tagliatelle out of the fridge before you start assembling
the salad to give it time to warm up
30g cooked Rocklobster leg and knuckle meat
coriander leaves
Thai basil leaves
Mint
1 Thai chilli, very finely sliced
20g zucchini, julienned very finely
5g long stemmed radish sprouts
1 lemon grass stem, peeled back to the soft part, finely sliced
5g pickled ginger
10ml pickled ginger syrup
5ml fish sauce
half lime, strained juice – to order
15g crispy fried shallots — SEE TIP
Gently mix everything together and keeping a small garnish and roll it up in
a consommé wrapper.
Serving
Serve with a condiment tray with finely chopped Thai chilli, a dish of each of the dipping sauces (see below) and half a just cut lime. A cold towel is a nice touch.
TIP
Crispy fried shallots are best made by slow frying them in clean
oil. This extracts the moisture and they become deliciously
crunchy.
Palm sugar chilli dipping sauce
100g palm sugar, a dark one, finely shaved
6 lemon grass stems, peeled back to the soft part and finely chopped
15g peeled weight garlic, finely chopped
15g peeled weight young ginger, finely chopped
6 Kaffir lime leaves, stripped of veins and chopped to pinhead size
30g (approx 1 bunch coriander roots), washed and very finely chopped
2 drops sesame oil
10g roasted sesame seeds
50g light soy
100ml fresh strained limejuice
Mix everything together – keep refrigerated.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE PRINT FRIENDLY VERSION
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 WINE
RECOMMENDATIONS |
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The
recent South Australian vintage, the shortest in its history
was probably the most difficult ever. Taking place through
the state’s worst heat wave since meteorological records
began with 15 days of over 35°C – 40°C/95°F-104
°F, and never dropping below 30°C/86°F during
the night.
Picking grapes at baume 20 has left some winemakers wishing
they had stills and could turn it into brandy, marc or some
other useful spirit. Yet, in the most peculiar of vintages
there have been some spectacular parcels and no surprise
it is with those winemakers who always make brilliant wine.
Incredibly winemakers are predicting some of their best yet
and even more fascinating these extraordinary vintages are
coming from vines that have not received a drop of water
other than from the heavens. In the grip of severe drought
in it’s third
year, conventional viticulture considers this is an insufficient
amount of water. Native trees fall to the ground with a rapid
breath of wind and throughout South Australia, European species
are dying with depressing frequency. Making great wine is
a symbiotic relationship between the winemaker, the land,
the viticulturist and perhaps God (if you believe
in that sort of thing).
We are finding more and more of our favourite wines are grown with a good environmental approach. The Australian organic wine industry is rapidly being taken into the biodynamic sphere won over by their more holistic approach that starts with the soil. The issue of water in Australia particularly in South Australia has become critical, yet those winemakers who have not irrigated their vines unless they were under impossible stress have produced exceptional wines and are elated at the prospects of the 08 vintage when for some it has been their worst nightmare.
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AUSTRALIA – SHIRAZ – 2005
PAXTON QUANGONG FARM
Biodynamics is a process that in every way exceeds organic;
a process that equally takes care of the soil as well as
the plant it is a total process that encompasses the sustainability
of the land and the wise use of water. It takes time and
patience and dedication, but if PAXTON’S QUANDONG
FARM SHIRAZ is an indication of the end result it
is a celebration of the fruits of labour. This wine is a
personal favourite from the Paxton range. It is perfection
when it comes to structure, soft but defined on the nose
and on the palate there is fruit and fragrant spice that
is so harmoniously combined the finish is long and balanced
and so, so drinkable. This spectacular wine has a subtlety
that does not confine it to traditional matches and we love
it with the SOUTHERN
ROCKLOBSTER CONSOMMÉ COLD ROLL because
it is a wine that takes very kindly to a little (even a
lot of chilli). PAXTON VINEYARDS
OLIVIER LEFLAIVE MERSAULT ’TILLETS’ 2005
Like an exquisite, perfectly costumed ballerina in a white
tutu, the Margot Fonteyn of white burgundy, all delicacy,
poise and balance and charm the Olivier Leflaive
Mersault ’TILLETS’ 2005 is as an outstanding
performer. Like Fonteyn on point, perfectly balanced, delicate
but powerful with overriding clean fresh fruit, flintiness,
almost aloofness with brilliant oak balance and persistence
with length of palate that makes a wine a real star. Drink
with
SASHIMI OF AUSTRALIAN SOUTHERN ROCKLOBSTER TAIL WITH WASABI MAYONNAISE
AND WASABI FLAVOURED FLYING FISH ROE and experience a brilliant
food and wine match.
OLIVIER LEFLAIVE
AUSTRALIA – SHIRAZ – 2005
COATES WINES SHIRAZ
Owner and winemaker Duane Coates is a Francophile when it comes to wine making.
The wines that he makes under his own label as well as those he makes for clients
of his Free Run consultancy services are proof that Australian shiraz
can have the elegance and subtlety of the greatest of the French Sryah for
about a tenth of the price. The wine palate of Australian drinkers is also
changing as more and more drinkers succumb to less volatile more balanced wines
with a softness to them that is brilliantly compatible to food. This Shiraz
whilst not certified organic is made from certified organically grown grapes
from South Australia’s McLaren Vale region. A stunning match with the
ROCKLOBSTER AND BONE MARROW combinations. The wines of
this brilliant young winemaker have spectacular balance, length of finish and
are further indication of the coming of age of the Australian wine industry.
COATES WINES
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