Due to trackwork between Sydney and Melbourne which required a rail to coach transfer before the crack or dawn in the middle of nowhere (Albury I believe) and no Farm Fresh Bus Tour running this year as part of The Harvest Festival, my plans were scraped.
Instead today I took the train to Parramatta about an hour out of Sydney and am waiting for the free shuttle bus out to Elizabeth Farm for "THE EEL FESTIVAL" - yes you heard correctly "THE EEL FESTIVAL". Not quite the Harvest Festival down in Bacchus Marsh Victoria that I had planned to attend but at least it is still food related.
I would have liked to have caught the ferry out to Paramatta Wharf but it was not showing up as a trip planner option so I took the train. I probably won't be able to catch the ferry back to Circular Quay in the afternoon as the transport NSW website stated buses will replace ferries due to low tides all afternoon. Low tide - more like no tide, the free shuttle was running to and from Parramatta Wharf but there were no ferries to be seen and no passengers to pick up or drop off. One look down onto Parramatta River and the ferry wharf makes you wonder how a ferry could actually dock there as the river is so narrow and the water level is so low. Pity it is quite a nice day and not too hot.
Hopped on the shuttle bus which was an original Sydney bus from 1958 restored to be used for special events such as this one. It is slow and rickety compared to the buses of today but it was free and it has windows that actually open to let fresh air in!!! On another what has become stinking hot day it is nice to let the breeze in as there was no such thing as air conditioning on a 1958 bus!
The actual Eel Festival was very informative. First stop was to find the 1816 eel demonstration - a colonial gastronomy class on how to prepare a collared eel step by step from an original recipe back in the 1800s. People didn't have recipe books then they compiled their own handwritten ones and adapted ingredients found to existing English or European recipes.
Preparing collared eel looked very much like making a jumbo sushi roll!
The eel was first deboned then seasoned with spices such as all spice mace cloves etc then sprinkled with herbs. The eel fillet was then rolled up very tightly and held together with a band of cloth similar to cheese cloth or muslin which back in the 1800s may have been used to strain milk cream or make puddings. The rolled eel was then placed in a pot of boiling water possibly salted or pickling solution until cooked.
The result a gelatinous flavoured dish of collared eel which some described as fancy or gourmet catfood.
Note we were advised that, not mentioned in the recipe, is to retain the shape of the collared eel something heavy has to be placed on top of the eel roll so the spiral does not unravel upwards whilst cooking. It is very easy to obtain a ramekin or something similar to use today but back in the 1800s I can't imagine what may have been used - a brick or piece of sandstone perhaps?
We didn't get to taste the collared eel as it took hours to cook over the traditional woodfire stove in the kitchen. We did however get to sample of commercially available smoked eel presented on a cucumber slice and garnished with a dill sprig. Tasty just like smoked salmon or trout.
Photos attached of the Free Shuttle Bus & 1816 Eel Demonstration
Next was finding Fred's Bush Tucker and Cultural Cook Up. Eel cooked the traditional Aboriginal way whole wrapped in paperbark on an open fire covered in coals.
If only I had my stick, mashmellows and mini roasted potatos with me today! It reminds me so much of my nights out in Montreal during En Lumiere except in freezing cold instead of boiling hot temperatures.
Again very informative with a step by step instruction on how an eel is cooked whole.
The eel is left whole and wrapped in paperbark that has been soaked for several hours in water to stop it from burning in the open fire. Lilly leaves are wrapped around the eel to act as a layer of baking paper before the paperbark is wrapped around the eel. The lilly leaves are also broken up and used as ties to hold the paperbark and lily leaves wrapped around the eel tightly together. The wrapped eels are then placed over the open fire and covered with more hot coals and ash and left to cook for about 30 minutes to an hour.
The lilly leaves and paperbark also impart a smoky flavour to the eel as it steams.
While the eels were cooking I took the opportunity to have a look around Elizabeth Farm and the market stalls. I grabed a cup of cool lilly pilli cordial for $2 (Someone noted on the bottom of the cup there is the statement " Before European settlement Indigenous Australians spoke over 250 langages.www.ccab net.au" - unsure why this was at the bottom of the cups .) and a sausage on a roll with onion for $4. I thought about purchasing the crocodile kangaroo emu combo skewers with slaw but could not bring myself to eat our native wildlife.
About 30 minutes to 1 hour later it was time to go back to Fred's Bush Tucker and Cultural Cook Up to check if the eels are cooked and to taste some - It tastes like chicken!" but everything tastes like chicken was the response except for crocodile apparently which tastes like crocodile. To me the eel actually tasted just like a white fish - the skin crispy from being bbqed tasted very fishy but the flesh was bland white and soft with very small bones through it that needed to be picked out - reminded me of the fish in a dish I ate at The Quay Restaurant very soft and tasty.
Photos attached of Fred's Bush Tucker & Cultural Cook Up
Rating : 8/10 Another 10 am - 4 pm a free family fun day Sunday out courtesy of Sydney Living Museums.
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