I got a beautiful llama ribeye from Exotic Meat Market. It was a much larger piece of meat than the llama porterhouse I tried about four years ago.
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| Llamas in Peru. |
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| Llama ribeye |
I've been experimenting with brining and marinade and decided to brine this ribeye (1 tablespoon of salt for each cup of water) for about two hours with added orange juice (squeezed from mandarin oranges on our own tree) and some spicy sesame oil.
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| Llama in brine and marinade. |
Then I grilled it on our outdoor gas grill. The meat really started to puff-up, it looked like a small roast. I worried about getting it cooked through and eventually cut it in half, lengthwise, and cooked it on the ends for awhile. I've not been able to find anything on-line to explain why the meat puffed up as it did, but ultimately it tasted great, although parts were still quite rare. Llama is not gamy, but it does have a more robust flavor than regular beef.
We had some left over that I warmed up in the microwave and had several days later and it was wonderful. This is one I may need to try again and perhaps sous vide it for awhile, or perhaps cut it into strips to allow for more even grilling.
It's surprising how much the manner of cooking affects the taste. This llama didn't taste like the llama we had in Peru that was cooked in the big brick oven. I'm game (no pun intended) to try more llama cooked in a few more ways.
ReplyDeleteI have a kid's book called "Llama Llama Misses Mama". Now I know why. You ate her.
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