La Carne Meat-up 4: The Virtual Silver Fern Experience
Last July 3, something incredible happened! 8 meat enthusiasts came together not in body, but in spirit to cook some amazing meat.
You may wonder, what is the La Carne Meat-up?
It actually started with a few customers sending me a lot of their videos and photos of dishes they made with our meat, and we would end up having lengthy conversations about meat, cooking it and complementary matters too like grills, hot sauce and sides and dessert you would have after eating meat!
So we began getting together at one home and then we did 2 others like it but each time experimenting with really cool meat cuts. This time we were sponsored by Silver Fern Farms New Zealand who graciously provided us 1 Grass-fed Lamb Rack and 1 uber thick Reserve Grass-fed Ribeye Steak each!
La Carne Virtual Meat-up reaches Dubai!
The task was pretty simple- do what you would to a delicious Silver Fern Farms Grass-fed New Zealand Rack of Lamb and a 2-inch thick Reserve Grass-fed Ribeye!
The event started at 5pm with some having pre-cooked their meat while some prepared it virtually from start to finish (me included)!
It was awesomely different because in the past, one person would mostly do the cooking. This time we all had to take responsibility for our feast!
What I did with mine: Pistachio Herb crusted Silver Fern Farms Grass-fed Lamb Rack and Reverse Seared Silver Fern Farms Grass-fed Reserve Ribeye Steak
I actually opted for a non-frenched lamb rack, as I thought removing the cap and meat on the bones would be a waste of meat. However after watching so many lamb rack cooking videos, it seemed that frenching a lamb rack is truly the way to go! So I frenched it myself. It put into perspective how much work our butchers put into frenching lamb racks- it is not a quick or easy task! (Tip: google masterchef frenching a lamb rack featuring Gordon Ramsey to get an idea)
Frenching a lamb rack is easier bought than done!
So after frenching my lamb rack (not beautifully I must add), I did a quick season and sear on a pan before cutting it in half, brushing it with some dijon mustard and coating it in my scrumptious nutty herb mix (bread, pistachios, salt and pepper, parmesan and rosemary blitzed together). I then placed the racks, criss-crossed, in a low oven along with the grass-fed ribeye which was simply seasoned with S&P until both reached 56C for medium.
Meanwhile near the Corniche area.. the meat connoisseurs took great charge of their meat- Mr. Issam and Mr. Nick!
Incredible sous vide job by Chef Issam, look at that uniform doneness throughout the Silver Fern Farms Grass-fed Reserve Ribeye!
Also very much loved the pomegranate molasses and extra nutty chunky crumb on the rack with a side of hummus!
Here we have culinary master Nick beautifully cooking his Silver Fern Farms Grass-fed Reserve Ribeye steak and rack to medium rare. Love the extra crunchy crumb on his rack- a mix of parm and panko perhaps?
Meanwhile in Ruwais, Youssuf was chilled and ahead of us all as he opted to braise his Silver Fern Farms Lamb Rack and sous vide his Silver Fern Farms Grass-fed Reserve Ribeye in advance!
I think he ate it all btw...
Below, is Markus' only picture of the event as he was too busy being "Top Chef" in the kitchen and everything basically disappeared before he could take more pics! Love the bacon wrapped string beans and sweet potato mash on the side!
Over in Dubai, Jovy decided to take the Silver Fern Farms Grass-fed Reserve Ribeye on a spanish tapas route, making a dish called Beef Salpicao! It's a delicious and addictive concoction of butter, garlic, worcestershire sauce and olive oil! Amazing on crusty bread. Yum!
He also ordered the Silver Fern Farms Lamb Rack in chops and did a mediterranean marinade on them for a tasty and easy pan-grilled lamb main course!
Below is Nahyan's simple but sweet 2-inch Silver Fern Farms Reserve Ribeye cooked on his pellet grill (Lamb chops already inhaled we suppose). He zoomed us from all the way in New Al Falah!
And last but definitely not least, Marcos, all the way in Al Reef, cooked his Silver Fern Farms lamb chops and Reserve Grass-fed Ribeye sous vide as well. What an awesome job! Love the roast potato side dish.. mmm...
In Conclusion...
It was our first virtual Meat-up but definitely not our last! It was awesome seeing how 2 cuts of meat can turn out so different and can be enjoyed by people together universally regardless of our distance between each other.
Silver Fern Farms Grass-fed Reserve Ribeye and Lamb Racks are our top recommendations for those looking for Grass-fed options. Tasty, tender and absolutely delicious. Btw, lamb rack is definitely not the easiest so do contact us if you have any questions on how to order its preparation and recommended ways of cooking it!
Special thanks to Silver Fern Farms New Zealand for sponsoring our first ever Virtual Meat-up!
Thank you to our Meat-up participants - Markus, Nahyan, Marcos, Nick, Issam, Youssuf and Jovy! Appreciate your support, passion and love for good quality food.
Want to join the next Meat-up? Email me at joan@asiagulfcompanies.com!
Thanks and wishing you a great day,
Joan, Culinary Business Manager at La Carne
