Llama Steak

At the Bath & West Show recently, there were a couple of stalls selling unusual meats, and always being up for trying something new, I bought a couple of llama steaks which were the only meats there that we had not tasted before.

It's a very lean meat and should apparently be flash fried over a high heat to a rare or medium rare. The steaks looked very good, and for the first few bites its denseness came across more than anything else. As I got nearer the centre of the steak, it became disappointingly tough. There wasn't a strong flavour to the meat, however, and the taste was very pleasant. I doubt if I'll bother again though, as I didn't feel they were worth the cost.

I served the steaks with jacket wedges, garlic mushrooms, broccoli, grilled tomatoes and a green peppercorn sauce. The steaks certainly needed the sauce, being really quite dry.

To make the garlic mushrooms, slice a few cloves of garlic and fry in a little Fry Light for a few minutes until fragrant and slightly browned, taking care not to burn. Add quartered chestnut mushrooms and fry for a couple more minutes, then add about 1 cm of water to the pan along with a stock cube or a teaspoon of bouillon powder. Simmer over a medium heat until all the liquid has been absorbed, around 5-7 minutes.