Scott Pickett's Westholme Striploin Skewer with Sweet Fish Sauce Caramel and Finger Lime
Scott Pickett
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.
In some ways it feels outrageously decadent to use wagyu striploin for skewers. But on the other hand, slicing, skewering and grilling the meat is a beautiful way to show off the marbling, the rendering and the flavour of this incredible meat.
We brush the skewers with the sweet dressing as they cook, which promotes extra caramelisation. Add the finger lime at the end and you end up with an incredible contrast in each mouthful: it’s meaty, sweet and spicy with pops of acid from the citrus and umami from the fried garlic.
Ingredients
Skewers
Skewers
1 Westholme sirloin steak, portioned into 75g fingers
2 metal skeweres
10g finger lime
5g crispy fried garlic
Sweet fish sauce dressing (see below)
Sweet Fish Sauce Dressing
Sweet Fish Sauce Dressing
750g palm sugar
125g water
125g red onion, diced
25g whole lime leaves
250g galangal, roughly chopped
250g ginger, roughly chopped
20g chilli flakes
125g fish sauce
125g beef glace
375g tamarind pulp
Method
Sweet fish sauce dressing
In a heavy-based pan, dissolve the sugar in the water over low heat.
Add onion, lime leaves, galangal, ginger and chilli to the pan and continue cooking so that the sugar lightly caramelises.
Stop the cooking process by adding the fish sauce, beef glace and tamarind.
Strain the liquid and allow to cool.
Bring to room temperature before using because it will firm up when chilled.
Skewers
Light barbecue well ahead of time. You want flames to die down and coals to glow red before starting to cook.
Place 2 pieces of beef on to the skewer, season with salt and pepper and brush with a little vegetable oil.
Place on the grill and cook, turning often to achieve a nice caramelisation all over. The meat should only take a few minutes to cook.
Once it has been turned all over, start brushing with the caramel so that it chars nicely over the heat and sticks to the meat.
Rest the meat, brushing again with the caramel. Dress with a little finger lime and finally finish with some crispy garlic.
