Scott Pickett's Wagyu Tartare with Smoked Egg Yolk and Buckwheat Crackers1 portion, with extra accompaniments • 15 minutes assembly, plus overnight infusing, curing and dehydrating • Wagyu tartare

Scott Pickett's Wagyu Tartare with Smoked Egg Yolk and Buckwheat Crackers


1 portion, with extra accompaniments • 15 minutes assembly, plus overnight infusing, curing and dehydrating • Wagyu tartare
Scott PickettRECIPE BY
Scott Pickett

Leading Australian chef Scott Pickett is steeped in tradition, a proud custodian of his profession’s heritage yet equally passionate about mentoring and finding energy in the next generation. “I love everything about restaurants,” he says. “The energy. The organised chaos. The tired feeling in your bones after a great service. The camaraderie too.” ‘Chefo’ to all. Pickett owns venues in Melbourne. Rather than being linked by cuisine - Chancery Lane is French, Longrain is Thai, stately Matilda is a contemporary grill - his restaurants are characterised by real cooking and heartfelt hospitality.

Tartare is a classic, but it’s also a dish that can be very contemporary, as we see here.

There are quite a few elements too, but the wagyu is still the hero, with its rich melting notes coming through on the palate.

It’s a simple dish, though it uses a few techniques, and it presents really beautifully. There’s something so special about Traditional tartare is raw; this wagyu is barely cooked but we still get smoky notes from the smoked egg yolk emulsion – it’s a double smoky whammy actually, with smoked oil and another layer of flavour from smoked hay. There’s texture from wattleseed and a dehydrated buckwheat cracker plus plenty of splashes of pretty colour from flowers and herbs. In all, this is a beautiful starter that entrances to the last mouthful while still keeping the appetite roaring for the next course.

Featured Image

Ingredients

01 / 08
Smoked Oil

  • 1 litre vegetable oil

  • 500g cherrywood chips or 2 pieces charcoal

02 / 08
Confit Shallots

  • 200g smoked oil

  • 50g shallots, diced

03 / 08
Smoked Egg Yolk

  • 200g salt

  • 200g sugar

  • 6 egg yolks

  • 20g hay

04 / 08
Smoked Emulsion

  • 8 eggs yolks

  • 45g warm water

  • 100g Dijon mustard

  • 75g smoked vinegar

  • 18g salt

  • 1 lemon, juice only

  • 1500ml smoked oil

05 / 08
Egg Yolk Gel

  • 22 whole eggs (to make 320g cooked egg yolks)

  • 13g smoked vinegar

  • 4g salt

  • 32g water

  • 1g sugar

06 / 08
Buckwheat Cracker

  • 500g buckwheat

  • 2 litres water

  • 25g salt

  • 2g sushi vinegar powder

07 / 08
Wagyu Tartare

  • 80g wagyu sirloin, seared and diced

  • 15g confit shallot

  • 0.5g pepper

  • 1g toasted wattleseed

  • 8g finger lime

  • 10g smoked oil (reserved from confit shallots)

  • 1g salt flakes

  • 2g parsley

  • 2g chives

08 / 08
To Serve

  • 5 large pieces buckwheat cracker

  • 3 leaves wood sorrel

  • 5 wild garlic flowers

  • 4 wild celery leaves

  • 3 dots egg yolk gel

  • 3 dots smoked emulsion

  • 1 smoked egg yolk

Method

Smoked Oil

  1. Smoke oil in shallow gastro trays in smoker using cherrywood chips for around 3 hours. Alternatively, heat charcoal in barbecue until glowing red. Put oil in large pot (making sure the pot is no more than half full), place charcoal into oil with long tongs and cover with lid and infuse overnight.

  2. Strain through oil filter.

Confit Shallots

  1. Combine oil and shallots in a saucepan. Heat to 115C / 240F then remove from heat. Leave to stand for 1 hour.

  2. Strain shallots and reserve oil.

Smoked Egg Yolk

  1. Cover egg yolks with salt and sugar and cure for 24 hours.

  2. Wash egg yolks and pat dry.

  3. Place egg yolks in smoking chamber or deep gastro with lid.

  4. Light hay on fire. Once all hay is on fire, extinguish and place in gastro tray or smoking chamber. Leave for 10 minutes.

  5. Dehydrate eggs at 69C / 156F for 12 hours.

Smoked Emulsion

  1. Place all ingredients except oil into Thermomix and blitz.

  2. Slowly add the oil. Add a splash of water as needed while mixing to prevent it getting too thick.

  3. Check seasoning and transfer to piping bags.

Egg Yolk Gel

  1. Cook eggs in water bath at 69C / 156F for 90 minutes.

  2. Ice eggs then separate yolks from white and shell. Discard whites and shell.

  3. Take 320g cooked egg yolks and blend with vinegar, salt and water until smooth. Check seasoning and transfer to piping bags.

Buckwheat Cracker

  1. Combine buckwheat, water and salt in a large pot. Boil for 40 minutes.

  2. Blend for 30 seconds on high speed.

  3. Spread mix 5mm / 0.2in thick onto baking paper and cover with another sheet of baking paper.

  4. Dehydrate at 55C / 131F for 3 hours.

  5. Fry in oil at 200C / 392F until crispy and season with sushi vinegar powder while hot.

Wagyu Tartare

  1. Combine ingredients. Check seasoning.

To Serve

  1. Place a 9cm circle pastry cutter in middle of plate and pack wagyu tartare into it, flatting the top with a spoon. Remove ring.

  2. Garnish with dots of egg yolk gel, smoked emulsion, wood sorrel, wild garlic flowers and wild celery.

  3. Grate smoked egg yolk over the top.

  4. Serve buckwheat crackers in a bowl of toasted buckwheat kernels.

final dish
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