Mt Karioi and chorizo

Mt Karioi and chorizo

 

Over the next few weeks I will be competing in the Jumbo-Holdsworth Race. I see this as a warm up for the Tararua Mountain Race held five weeks later. As part of my training I decided to go to the top of Karioi mountain near Raglan.

 

 

This is an old volcano that is close to the coast and stands dominant in the Raglan landscape at 756 metres above sea level. The route I took was up the Te Toto Gorge. This route follows the ridge on the true left of the gorge. It is not subtle, in fact it just goes straight up - deviations to make the route easier are not part of this track. There are even a couple of ladders provided to get over small rocky bluffs. In a number of spots chains are anchored into the rock, these assist the ascent and descent over a few precipitous points. The route follows the only place in the North Island where bush cover runs from the coast to peak. This bush is not majestic and the trees are not particularly large, maybe three to four metres high, however I was traveling up the ridge and I assume the exposure to the weather stunts the growth of the trees. The track is extremely rugged and gnarly, as I was travelling alone I did not push it too hard as it would be easy to do an ankle over the uneven terrain.

 

Raglan Harbour

 

When I reached the summit the view to Raglan Harbour to the north and Aotea Harbour to the south was well worth the effort of getting to the top. On a rock at the summit; surprise, surprise I found two sausages. Who would have thought? After tasting, and due consideration, I determined one of them was my favourite, chorizo criollo from Park Ave Quality Meats in Lower Hutt. I often mention this snarler and I still consider it is the best sausage available in Wellington. The other snarler was a Spanish chorizo from Top Cut Butchers in Raglan. This chorizo lacks complexity and balance in comparison - it is just hot flavour, too much chilli, pimenton or smoked paprika that dominates the sausage, a quality chorizo has balance with other flavours also present, I was not keen on this snarler.

 

 

On the way down you there were great vantage points looking into the gorge. You could see good bush and even a small flock of keruru or wood pigeons flying down the gorge. From above they did not look like the slow flying lumbering fat birds you see from the ground level when they take off from trees, they gracefully glided down the gorge.

An added extra:

We took a day trip to Kawhia. I had never been there before so we visited Ocean Beach, just to the north of the harbour. On the beach there were a pair of NZ dotterels nesting, signs identified them and their nest site was cordoned off by stakes and rope. Dotterels are endangered, there are less dotterels that there are kiwis. About twenty birds live south of Auckland, so it was a privilege to see this bird and their distinctive run across the sand. Below is a photo of one of the pair.

 

 

For other blog posts about being the hills, see this index.

Spanish Chorizo - Jonathan's, Collingwood

Spanish Chorizo - Jonathan's, Collingwood 

 

The third review from my visit to Jonathan’s butchers of Collingwood. Refer to the previous posts.

These were a solid chunky sausages. One was larger than the others and could almost be a meal by itself, if one was a smaller eater. However I do not fit into this category.

 

.

I am a fan of chorizo style sausage, and this is a good example of chorizo. On the continuum of chorizo reviewed, this is a moderately flavoured chorizo that gets the balance between meat and flavour right. The paprika and chilli enhance and complement the flavour of the meat, but they do not overpower it. This sausage is a medium to coarse grind.

By the time this sausage was served we were onto the third snarler. My wife thought it was very tasty and would work really well in a paella, risotto or soup. I would have to agree.

 

 

As the third and final review from Jonathan’s the conclusion I reached was that this is a butcher who knows how to make superior sausages. My view is good cuts of meat, fresh herbs and spices, along with love go into making these sausages.

The restaurants of Melbourne also vote with their menus. Over 100 restaurants have Jonathan’s sausages on the menu. If you are on the hunt for quality snarlers in Melbourne, I would highly recommend going to Smith St, Collingwood and trying a few snags from Jonathan’s. Well worth the visit. 

Cost per kilo: AUD $22.99

 

And as an addenda here is a shot of all the snarlers prior to cooking.

 

 

Mussels and Chorizo Hotpot

Mussels and Chorizo Hotpot

Tonight my wife made a dish from a magazine she had been reading. It was a mussel and chorizo hotpot.

The chorizo she used was a Swiss Deli Spanish Chorizo. This was purchased from Moore Wilsons. This maker is not known to me. They are based in East Tamaki in Auckland. The chorizo is nice to eat, the dried smoked red peppers give the sausage its colour, coupled with paprika for strong flavour it makes for pleasant eating. The initial flavour on the palate is mild; although it does have a stronger, and pleasant after taste. The texture of the sausage was a medium to coarse. The mussels are New Zealand green lipped mussels.

 

The mussel and chorizo hotpot is an easy dish to make. The chorizo sausage was an adjunct to the dish, not the primary focus or flavour, this belongs to the mussels. Coupled with summer salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and sun flower seeds a pleasant meal was had by all. It would also be good accompanied by crusty bread to soak up some of the juices.

 

The link to the recipe is http://www.nzlifeandleisure.co.nz/taste

Cost per kilo: $35.71