Culinary Demonstration – Yachtsman Steakhouse – Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2012

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2012

Culinary Demonstration – Michael Gonsalves –
Yachtsman Steakhouse, Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club

October 1, 2012

Chef Michael (L) is explaining how they make the sausages using a “stuffer”

Wine: Domaine Skouras St George

Ted Diamantis, President, Diamond Importers (Greece)

Ted from Diamond Importers -wine

Greek Wine and this wine in particular (Diamond Importers)

• greek reds tend to go well with lamb
• lamb and goat are the most common red meat in Greece, usually consumed during holidays or celebrations; there isn’t enough flat grazing land for cattle
• so, if it’s a special occasion food, why is there so much lamb on Greek restaurant menus in the U.S.? because when the Greek immigrants came to America, the lamb was so inexpensive that they could consume it more often and make every day a holiday
• Greece is very mountainous and surrounded by water (both of these factors contribute to cooling the grapes and thus improving the wine) – the soil is rich in organic matter and has volcanic origins both of which influence the taste of the wine
• Today’s Wine… Skouras, St George, Aghiorghitiko, Nemea, 2010 (Skouras is the producer, St George is the grape, Aghiorghitiko is St George in Greek, Nemea is the appellation, and 2010 is the year)
  • Nemea is the birthplace of Hercules, when Christianity came, a church was built on the site of the temple to Hercules and Hercules was exchanged for St George (both of them slayed large mythical creatures and saved a peoples; Hercules killed the Nemean Lion and St George killed a dragon) – strong red greek wine is sometimes still called blood of the lion
• Today’s wine is 100% St George grapes, aged for 1 year in french oak and Skouras wants you to “taste the grape”
• This wine should have lighter and more velvety tannins, be a bit peppery, and have notes of fruit – it is similar to a pinot noir and cabernet lovers should like it
• Without food – nice nose, very friendly with rich fruitiness and a very pleasant taste (we both liked it on its own)

Our glasses of St George

Wine isn’t a “drink”

Menu

Colorado Lamb Duo (lamb sausage, seared lamb loin, cranberry agrodolce)

Lamb Sausage and Lamb Loin

The food:

• Today’s recipe uses 100% of the lamb rack; the smaller pieces that are cut away to make the loin become sausage and the loin is cooked in the fat.
• We were served lamb sausage, loin of lamb, red curry squash puree (this isn’t a curry dish, the name of the squash is “red curry squash”), chanterelle mushroom, sunflower sprouts, and cranberry agrodolce.
• “Agrodolce” means sour (“agro”) and sweet (“dolce”). Traditionally it contains vinegar for the sour. It is very similar to a “gastrique.” And Wikipedia says it was brought to Sicily by the Arabs.
• Yachtman Steakhouse claims to have the only house-made charcuterie at WDW. [we need to verify this with bluezoo because they just added a charcuterie to their menu] Charcuterie showcases the process of preserving meat; salt and fat are the most common and earliest methods of preserving meat and charcuteries do not typically include smoked meats (the other very common and ancient way to preserve meat).
• Nora liked everything, at first nick wasn’t too sure of the sausage because of the herbs in it. He didn’t really change his opinion, the loin was better to him. Nora thought that the dish came together well. The sausage and agrodolce went together very nicely, and the wine with this taste combination was yum.
• The chef and his assistant did a much better job than the chef from Sanaa. The chef was talkative, informative, comfortable, and entertaining.
• The service was slow and ineffective again. This is the 4th day of the Festival, this same staff has served food at least 9 or 10 times together, but they really aren’t doing a good job. We aren’t sure if the food was supposed to be served warm or cool, it was definitely at room temperature (seems a bit unsafe considering that Chef talked about food safety a lot!)

Recipes (serves 12)

Lamb Sausage:

• 2 lbs lamb meat, cleaned
• 3 oz pork back fat, cubed (nick said “so, you just go and ask for pork back fat?” and nora replied “you go ask for unsalted fat back” — reference to growing up in NC)
• 1.5 sprigs rosemary, no stems
• 2 sprigs thyme, no stems
• 1/8th bunch of parsley, no stems
• kosher salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 tbs garlic, freshly minced
• 1 tbs TCM (Tinted Curing Mixture/Pink Salt — for reference, you use 4 oz of TCM for 100 lbs of meat)
• ice water, as needed
• hog casing, soaked and rinsed, as needed

1. place lamb meat, pork back fat, rosemary, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic in a large mixing bowl; place over a bowl of ice to keep cool
2. grind the mixture through the medium dice once, into a chilled bowl over ice (the grind was quite coarse)
3. place chilled mixing bowl on mixer and paddle while drizzling on ice water as needed (emulsification – most important step); add TCM; goal is to reach a lightly tacky product, approximately 1 minute
4. pan fry a small portion to taste for flavor, adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste as needed
5. pipe into hog casings (the machine is actually called a “ground meat stuffer”), piping each link to 2.5 inches in link, turning between each link to separate the sausages (tip: alternate the twist so that the sausages don’t untwist themselves)
6. allow sausage to rest overnight under refrigeration
7. next day, bake in a 250F oven for 15 minutes, until cooked through to an internal temperature of 155F
8. cool and hold in refrigerator
9. when ready to serve, pan sear until cooked through and browned

Seared Lamb Loin

(note: this is not how our lamb or how lamb loin at the Yachtsman Steakhouse is prepared… those are prepared with the Suvee Method, basically prepared under vacuum and simmered/cooked very slowly; it makes meat very tender)

• one lamb loin, cleaned of fat and sinew
• 1 oz rendered lamb fat
• kosher salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 sprig thyme, pulled from stem
• 1 sprig rosemary, pulled from stem

1. heat rendered lamb fat in sauté pan over medium heat
2. season lamb loin with salt and pepper; place meat in pan, sprinkled with herbs
3. use a spoon in a basting fashion to cover meat with fat
4. sear on all sides until desired doneness is achieved, allow to rest before slicing

Ocean Spray(r) Craisins(r) Agrodolce

• 8 oz Ocean Spray Craisins
• 4 oz warm water
• 2.5 oz Malbec wine (any full bodied red wine will substitute)
• kosher salt, to taste
• 1 oz orange juice (acid source)
• 1/5th orange zest
• 0.5 oz sugar (seems odd that this isn’t given as TBS or TSP)
• pinch of cinnamon
• 1 or 2 spikes of star anise

1. rehydrate cranberries in warm water
2. heat a pan over medium heat; add wine and simmer until reduced by half
3. add salt, orange juice, orange zest, sugar, cinnamon, star anise, cranberries and soaking water; simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated but not all of it
4. remove star anise and run mixture through blender on high until smooth
5. run through a fine mesh sieve and hold until ready to serve
6. if consistency is too thick, can thin with a little water