“The Type Of Meal That Makes You Feel Truly South African!”

Recently while shopping I saw a pack of Ostrich Neck, I had never tried it before and felt it should cook exactly the way you do Oxtail. I love cooking with beer (Obviously!) and was thinking to go to the old faithful Black or White Vanilla Porter. Once I started putting together the spices I thought “Nah”, I need something a little more vibrant as the spices were getting quite vibrant themselves. I then decided on Copper Dawn because of that extra hoppiness the beer has, and I drank it once with some spicy food and they complimented one another so well. The last ingredient in the meal is Samp, doesn’t this stuff make you feel like a true South African when eating it? The whole thing though about Samp is the mission of preparation, but with Ace’s new 20 Minute Samp it’s made life so much easier and you can cook Samp on the fly! So let’s get started!

Ostrich Neck Stew

Ingredients

• 44oml Copper Dawn
• 1 Kg Ostrich Neck Pieces
• 200g Bacon
• 500ml Beef Stock
• 1 Chopped Onion
• Chopped Carrots (Go on how much you want here)
• 2 Chopped Garlic Cloves
• 2 Sprigs of Rosemary
• 2 Sprigs of Thyme
• 1 Star of Anise
• Pinch of Clove
• 2 tsp Mustard Seed
• 1 Chopped Chilli
• Lime Zest
• Bay Leaves 2 to 4
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 2 tsp Soya Sauce
• 2 tsp Brown Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Method:

• Slow fry/Sweat the chopped onion, carrots, garlic, chilli and spices (Rosemary, Thyme, Anise, Clove, Mustard Seed, bay leaves, paprika) for about 10 minutes in olive oil, try not let the mustard seeds pop, if they poppin’ you can stop. The set-aside.
• Brown up the Ostrich and Bacon together, adding the lime zest, tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper until meat becomes a bit sticky.
• The add the bottle of Copper Dawn and the soya sauce, drop the temperature and let it slowly cook until the beer has halved.
• Once the beer has halved add the Onion, Carrot and Spice mix we set aside, and add 250ml of the beef stock.
• Let the whole mixture slow-cook for about 2-3 hours, adding stock as the liquid amount drops.

Obviously, I recommend a glass of Great Tasting Beer to go with the meal, and no, it’s never too much beer.

Samp

The only thing I found with the samp is that the amount in a cup can be deceiving once cooked because it looks more like popcorn when in the bag. So when Tracy and I cook it we use 4 Cups for the two of us with a bit left over for the next day’s lunch. So in essence 2 Cups is not going to feed three people. I do follow instructions on the packet, but feel 1 Cup Samp to 2 Cups Water is a bit too much and have had better results with 1 ¹⁄₂ Cups water. Remember that you can always strain the water when cooked, and let the excess steam out for a bit. All in all a great product, very creamy and very very tasty!

(Picture from Ace Maize Facebook Page)

Our first time having Ostrich Neck and it was fantastic, and with the Samp it felt like a truly South African meal. I already have an idea with Madala’s Gold and the Samp for a new recipe soon, but will need to test in the coming week or so.

– Woodrow-

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