Camel Fest - Dromedary Delights in N5

What would you say if someone offered you a Camel burger?  I’m pretty sure the normal thing would be a polite no thanks but when we found ourselves in that exact situation, courtesy of Kezie foods, for some reason we jumped at the offer!

A chance conversation on twitter turned into a little more and at the weekend our Camel adventure culminated in the cooking and eating of the beast in as many ways possible.  Hosted by the charming Stefan Gates and the delightful Georgia Glynn Smith we piled round for an eye opening meal.

Firstly the premise of the evening was that we all had a go at cooking Camel and in as many ways possible and I’d like to think we really went for it.  Surprisingly Camel actually loves very little adulteration!  I whipped up a quick Camel Tartare with the dromedary equivalent of rib eye which I’m pleased to say was enjoyed by all.

Stefan prepared us some extremely interesting Kebabs, when marinated and seasoned with Sumac actually proved to be pretty good.  The meat was on the tough side but this was more down to the cut used than any over cooking. 

Henry Dimbleby and Will Leigh were our resident grill masters cooking up some steaks.  Though the meat was cooked brilliantly I think that it doesn’t love the heat of the grill.  They were tough and a bit chewy, with sadly little flavour.  It was helped along by some delicious herb butter and it went down in the end with only a bit of a fight.

The queen of Catalan Cooking Rachel McCormack gave us a master class in the Empanada and everyone joined in rolling out these little pastry treats and when stuffed with a little pre-cooked Camel goodness they were well received.

Stand out success of the evening for me was MiMi of Meemalee's Kitchen amazing Cinnamon Camel.  A celebration of Burmese cooking this deeply flavoured dish won the hearts of all proving that Camel loves a good slow cook.

Distinct and conspicuous because of its lack of Camel was the most amazing flour-less Chocolate Cake I’ve ever seen courtesy of Becca Rothwell, this literally had us coo-ing with delight at the end of the meal.

What was the verdict?  Well some of the dishes worked better than others, Camel is quite delicate and a good cut treated well can be delicious.  MiMi went as far as to say the Tartare was as good as the Steak Tartare at Bob Bob Ricard…

Slow cooking definitely seemed to highlight the subtle taste and worked well in the rich Burmese Cinnamon sauce but the fierce heat of the grill left the steaks and the Kebabs slightly tough so a gentle approach is definitely recommended.

Camel is definitely one to try and I’d like to give Kezie a massive thank you for providing us with the meat that made this all possible and another quick thank you to Stefan and Georgia for allowing this group of Camel obsessed carnivores into their home and being so incredibly welcoming.

Also a big thank you to Tom Bowles for cataloguing the event with these amazing photos all credit to him as he did a great job.