0:00:02 > 0:00:05We're on the road to find regional recipes to rev up your appetite.
0:00:05 > 0:00:10We're going from county to county to discover, cook and enjoy it the best of British.
0:00:10 > 0:00:11Come on!
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Today, We're in search of the real taste of Aberdeenshire.
0:00:41 > 0:00:42Oh, man!
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Dude, here we are, Aberdeenshire.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48One of the most northerly counties we visit.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50IN ABERDONIAN ACCENT: Fit like noo?!
0:00:50 > 0:00:55It's so remote, it's practically got its own language. I lived here for 15 year.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58"Fit like noo?" means, "How you doing, young man?"
0:00:58 > 0:01:04Right. Aberdeenshire is famous for the Aberdeen Angus cow.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09Great meat. It's also famous for the Highland cow, you know the one you get on the toffee bars?
0:01:09 > 0:01:16Could it be a piece or a fancy piece? That means, could it be a sandwich or a cake?
0:01:16 > 0:01:21- OK.- Do you know, I'm so happy to be here in me Highland home.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26- We've got to get on, then. - O'er yonder brae.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35On our quest to define the true flavours of Aberdeenshire,
0:01:35 > 0:01:39we make a naughty treat that's not very healthy but is too good to resist.
0:01:39 > 0:01:44- We need some world famous beef, Aberdeen Angus, and we're allowed a little nibble.- Get in there!
0:01:44 > 0:01:47I get to set the wheels in motion when you visit an oat mill
0:01:47 > 0:01:50that's proud to celebrate its traditional methods.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Representing Aberdeenshire in the cook-off later is David Littlewood.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57Will we be able to beat him in a blind tasting judged by local diners?
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Were in Stonehaven. It's raining.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09We're 15 miles south of Aberdeen.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12It's a bit of a food haven, Stonehaven, isn't it?
0:02:12 > 0:02:15It is. It's been called North East Scotland's food town.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18There's one thing, in particular, why we're here.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20One product, dude. Let's go.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27- Chef?- Yes, sir?- Could we have, please, two of your house specials?
0:02:27 > 0:02:30- Can I have two Mars bars, Doug? - The Scottish legend.
0:02:30 > 0:02:31Tom, how did it all start?
0:02:31 > 0:02:34It started with two young laddies betting each other
0:02:34 > 0:02:37to do this and do that, and this laddie, John Davy,
0:02:37 > 0:02:42said to Brian McDonald, "I bet you wouldn't eat a fried Mars bar..."
0:02:42 > 0:02:46So they put the order in to Evelyn Balgowan, who was the fryer at the time,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50she phoned upstairs to the guy who owned it at the time, Ingram Mowat,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54and said, "Can we do this?" and Ingram said, "Yes, of course you can do it, it's not a problem."
0:02:54 > 0:03:00A wee coating of water, into the flour, then into the batter and into the fat.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03That's how it all started in 1992.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06I would swear that was a sausage.
0:03:06 > 0:03:07How do you know when they're done?
0:03:07 > 0:03:12It is. It's nice and soft on the inside so it has cooked.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Don't do it in a one-er, don't, it's hot.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18- Told you.- Boiling caramel.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Eat the inside out, dude.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28- It works.- It does, it's like a chocolate fritter, isn't it? - It is, it's great.
0:03:28 > 0:03:34We have found an Aberdeenshire speciality, now it's time to find some more.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39- Aberdeenshire food, what's great? - You must know all about Aberdeen Angus.- We've eaten several herds.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41I can see that.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45- What d'you mean? - Beef olives.- What is the beef olive?
0:03:45 > 0:03:50Aberdeen Angus steak, wrapped around either sausage meat or haggis.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54How about skirlie? It's a bit like oatmeal and onions all mixed together
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and you can use it as a stuffing or beside your mince and tatties.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Aberdeen Angus from McHardy's over there.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Some of the finest steak you'll ever get your hands on. Absolutely grand.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07There's something for you all to enjoy. I heard you were in town so...
0:04:07 > 0:04:08Scottish hospitality.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12We've got beef olives with haggis, beef olives with oatmeal...
0:04:12 > 0:04:16The quality of beef in Aberdeen and the Aberdeen area is second to none.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20I'm going to try one of the beef olives. Is this the one with the haggis?
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Look at that. There's oatmeal, haggis, nice Aberdeen Angus...
0:04:28 > 0:04:31- That's sublime, isn't it? - Are you enjoying it? I'm glad.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35I love that mixture of the beef, the haggis, the oatmeal.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39That to me is really Aberdonian. So is this like skirlie?
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Yes. Skirlie.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45- It's a tradition up here. - It's quite different.- We are very proud of our oatmeal up here.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50All that oatmeal is going to draw in and take all the lovely flavours.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52What's your recipe for skirlie?
0:04:52 > 0:04:55- It's handed down. It's a trade secret.- It's good, man.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59That beef's really tender as well.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Skirlie, we know that it's got some suet in it, so it tastes really, really juicy.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08Each little bit of oatmeal is full of flavour from the beef and from the gravy.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12- I'm happy in a place of wonderful belly loveliness.- I'm glad.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14We have stovies.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16- We love our stovies.- What's a stovie?
0:05:16 > 0:05:18It's the leftovers from the Sunday roast.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Potatoes, the onions, small bits of meat, the gravy.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Then you add a little bit of water and just let it cook.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29- Have them with oatcakes...- Oatcakes? - ..and a glass of milk.
0:05:29 > 0:05:35There's tablet, obviously, a baking thing, but a local delicacy, a sweet, a fantastic thing to have.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39You've got Giulianotti's, the shop, the old style sweet shop just there.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42- Have you tried Scottish tablet? - No. I'm up for that.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47This is a butter tablet that we sell.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51- Would you like a big bit? - No, just a little... Give me a big bit but Dave a little bit.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53I'm more of a savoury soul.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55- That's nice.- Do you like that?
0:05:55 > 0:05:57It's quite different, isn't it?
0:05:57 > 0:06:00- It's quite soft.- I'm anxious to try the Scottish macaroon.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03This is another delicacy from Scotland.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Macaroon is basically a fondant, like a vanilla fondant.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11- Who wants the big bit?- Me. - I'll give you another bit, if you like.- Thank you.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14The outside of it is coated with chocolate and toasted coconut.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17There's coconut and fondant. It melts away.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24I've got the worst sweet tooth.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26What else have we got? Butteries.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Yes, you have to try a buttery.
0:06:28 > 0:06:34- Full of salt and fat and really bad for you but it's absolutely delicious.- They're lovely!
0:06:34 > 0:06:38They look like a flattened bun, really.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Pastry like.
0:06:41 > 0:06:42Very greasy.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Very nice, but probably not too good for you.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Every now and again doesn't hurt, does it?
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Now these really are unique to Aberdeenshire, aren't they?
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Yes they are. They're a local delicacy.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Delicacy is the word.
0:07:00 > 0:07:01I love them.
0:07:01 > 0:07:07A little bit like a croissant but much more substance. It's like a rich croissant.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09It's very much like the croissant,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13but the French are quite particular about rolling them and shaping them
0:07:13 > 0:07:15and we just push them out flat on a tray.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Do you know what the history is?
0:07:18 > 0:07:21I believe the history was they were made to go out on ships,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23hence the high salt content - so they lasted longer.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27If we were to make our own butteries, do you have any tips?
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Just get your hands in and make a mess. The more mess you make, the better it is.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34You know, I think we need to introduce the nation to butteries.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Aberdeenshire has kept the secret to itself for far too long.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39- That's it now, isn't it?- Absolutely.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43- We're going to export them around the UK.- No problem at all.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44The people have spoken.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Aberdeenshire has loads of great local foods,
0:07:47 > 0:07:52but butteries sound like they're truly unique to the county and a well-kept culinary secret.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55We have to try making them for the residents of Aberdeen,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57and then we can show them off to the rest of the UK.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Butteries are layers of pastry, butter and lard baked till they are golden brown.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Naughty but nice.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07So, we are going to attempt the martial art of buttery making.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09So you start off with plain flour.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Half a kilo.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14You add one sachet of dried yeast.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19I've got some brown sugar, sprinkle that in, and I have got clean hands.
0:08:19 > 0:08:20About a tablespoon of brown sugar.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25And three teaspoons of salt. The buttery has to be salty.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29The next step, we want 350ml of tepid water.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34It needs to be warm enough to activate the yeast, but not too hot or you'll kill it.
0:08:34 > 0:08:40- It does need kneading, this dough... - It does, it needs kneading for about 10 minutes and you'll be fine.
0:08:40 > 0:08:47You need to knock the lights out of this for about 10 minutes.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49You could put windows in with this.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52That is how it's meant to be.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Give it more. Is it working now?
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Nearly there.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59What you need to do is to get a bowl,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03oil the bowl, because you don't want the dough to stick to the bowl.
0:09:03 > 0:09:04I'll take over.
0:09:07 > 0:09:13You put that dough into an oiled bowl, cover it with some cling film,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16bit of oil...
0:09:16 > 0:09:18and then just place it over the bowl.
0:09:18 > 0:09:25That needs to go in a draft-free place for about an hour until it's doubled in size.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30However, this is telly land, so here's one we did earlier.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35There's one that has doubled in size. Has got to be kneaded for about another four minutes.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Go on, mate!
0:09:37 > 0:09:39You're very good.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44It's lovely! But the heart of the buttery is lard and butter.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Butter, lard.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50Creaming the butter and the lard together, it's hard work but it's worth it.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53At this point we have a bowl of dough.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55We have a brain!
0:09:55 > 0:09:58We have a bowl of lard....!
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Now, flour your board, you need a lot of flour.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07That on there. It's a bit like making puff pastry.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12- Take a quarter of the butter and lard and spread it over two thirds of the pastry.- Look at that, man!
0:10:12 > 0:10:18You fold the virgin side over, roll that one up to there,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22then we roll out again and you've got to do this four times.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25As you can see, there's a lot of lard in here.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Take some more lard and butter, spread it out to create another layer!
0:10:29 > 0:10:33When I lived in Huntley, one of the nicest treats was you'd go out to the pubs,
0:10:33 > 0:10:38and you know in Scotland, you've always been flexible with your opening and closing times.
0:10:39 > 0:10:45And the bakers would start making the butteries about four o'clock and the smell would come down the street
0:10:45 > 0:10:51so you'd be going down the street, that euphoric glow, buy a bag of six butteries straight from the oven,
0:10:51 > 0:10:56just sit there in the street and just sup up your evening. It was a perfect end.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58The final rolling out.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01- Can you get a couple of baking trays, lightly oiled?- Yes.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04It's hard work down the buttery mines.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Right, with the buttery, you take your pastry, turn it over,
0:11:10 > 0:11:16turn the corners in and this gives it a distinctive buttery shape.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21And just bosh it down.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24And that means it's gonna come out all lumpy on the top.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27- They're mega! - They are, aren't they?- Yeah!
0:11:27 > 0:11:30All we need to do with these, cover them over lightly,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34leave them for about another three-quarters of an hour.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38We haven't got time, have we? Cos we're on the telly.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41- So here's some we made earlier. - Are you ready?
0:11:44 > 0:11:47- As you see, they've puffed up a treat.- They have.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53380, 200 degrees centigrade, about 15 minutes.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01- Do you know what?- What? - I think they're ready.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The big hand on the big clock says they're ready.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Right-o! The clock says they're ready, then they're ready.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16- You've got them face down. - Really?- Turn them over.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18- Turn 'em over?!- Yeah.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22- That's a buttery. - So that's the right side?- Yeah!
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Ah!
0:12:25 > 0:12:29That's it! Thank you very much! That's our butteries.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31APPLAUSE
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Thank you!
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Butteries might not be too good for the arteries,
0:12:37 > 0:12:40but ours proved a treat for the palates of local people.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44Time to hear what they think. Here you are, love. Hairy bikers butteries.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Set up a stall. You'll sell them, no bother.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53- They are amazing. - Not recommended eating for somebody who's just had a triple heart bypass!
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Set you up for a quadruple!
0:12:55 > 0:12:58- Best buttery I've had all day.- Is it?
0:12:58 > 0:13:00How many have you had?
0:13:00 > 0:13:05- Are they as good as the ones you get from the baker's or are they better? - Better!
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- They're fine!- That's an Aberdonian one, "They're fine".
0:13:08 > 0:13:12- Probably the nicest one I've had. - There you are!
0:13:12 > 0:13:17- I think that was fairly successful. - So do I.- We've officially made the Aberdeenshire buttery.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20- We've recreated a legend. Triumphed. - Yes, we have.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Our super-buttery butteries went down brilliantly with the locals.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27But next, a bigger challenge is just around the corner.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30We're taking on one of the county's top chefs, using local ingredients
0:13:30 > 0:13:34to see who can best define the taste of the region.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38It will be up to local diners to decide whose dish best represents the true flavours of Aberdeenshire.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Our opponent today is
0:13:40 > 0:13:44David Littlewood, executive chef of the Milton in Banchory.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48At just 26, David's already been a finalist in the Scottish Chef Of The Year.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53The Milton has also won awards for its dedication to the local produce of Aberdeenshire.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56I never really wanted to be a chef. I kinda fell into it, really.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01I was at university studying law and took a job in a small restaurant
0:14:01 > 0:14:07and became inspired by seeing the chefs producing fantastic things and flavours from raw ingredients.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09I decided that that's what I wanted to be.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12I think we're very lucky in Aberdeenshire, in that we've got
0:14:12 > 0:14:16just about every possible source of produce that you can imagine,
0:14:16 > 0:14:22from the wild venison in the hills to the game birds to the salmon in the rivers, the Aberdeen Angus beef.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26As for the food, using quality ingredients, you don't need to do much to them.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29The food's very simple, but it's fresh, local and tasty.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32I think it's important to keep your team inspired and in order to do that,
0:14:32 > 0:14:37we have to keep changing ourselves and evolve and better ourselves.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41The most important thing is the customers, just to keep them coming back.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46It's very easy for some chefs to cook for their egos and to lose sight of who's important.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50At the end of the day, that's the customer, the person that's eating the food.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55To take on the bikers, my taste of Aberdeenshire is
0:14:55 > 0:14:58loin and slow-braised shin of Aberdeenshire venison
0:14:58 > 0:15:00with pancetta and potato dumplings.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05This is it, the Milton.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10- Hello!- Great to see you. Cracking weather, eh?- We brought it with us!
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Magic. Let's get the kettle on.
0:15:12 > 0:15:13The magic words!
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Dude! Headline your dish!
0:15:17 > 0:15:21I'm going to do a loin and a braised shin of roe deer from Aberdeenshire
0:15:21 > 0:15:25with a bit of pancetta and some potato dumplings, a little pearl barley.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29First of all I'm going to do the braised shin. We need to get that on. It'll take about two hours.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33- I'll grab some oil, shift you out of the way.- Aye.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38In the hot pan, I'll just start this sealing off.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43Now that I've got that burning away, I'm gonna get another pan on with a bit of oil.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Cold-pressed rapeseed oil. It's not like an olive oil, it doesn't burn.
0:15:46 > 0:15:52- It's got a much higher flashpoint, it doesn't go bitter.- It's nutty, isn't it?- Great flavour.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55While the oil is heating up, I'll get a little bit of root vegetables.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00A bit of celery, carrot, some shallots, and I'm going to roughly chop these up.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Roast this off on a high heat.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07This is going to flavour the stock that I'm going to cook the shin in.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12I'll take this bulb of garlic, straight through the middle and straight in the pan.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15A couple of sprigs of thyme, I'll rub that.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17Chuck in my star anise.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19A couple of these juniper berries.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Just give 'em a wee squeeze in my fingers, like that.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26A few peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29I wish you could smell that at home.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34- It's lovely. - I'm going to put just a little bit of tomato paste in there as well.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Whack this bad boy straight into here.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Deglaze that pan with a little bit of red wine.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44And then I'm going to pour it straight into there.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48To that I'm going to add some nice home-made venison stock.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Just enough to cover the meat.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53- You see the steam?- Yes. - It's just about to come to the boil.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57The last thing I want to do is for this to boil. Because the meat will toughen.
0:16:57 > 0:17:03I'm going to tinfoil it up, into the oven, 200-odd degrees in a conventional oven.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08Next job, parsnip puree. I'm going to roughly chop these bad boys.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12The last one, I'm going to take
0:17:12 > 0:17:18a standard peeler and take a few shavings off of this and I'll show you what I'll do with that later.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20We'll cook these in some milk.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24When you cook it in milk, you get a much smoother texture at the end.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28I'll get a pan on here and we'll make some choux pastry to make our dumplings.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Water in the pan and some butter.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34In the meantime, I've had potatoes boiling away.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39- They're nice and tender. - Tatties!- Tatties! - These are for our potato dumplings.
0:17:39 > 0:17:45Stick them in there. With these, I'm going to whack them in a mixer
0:17:45 > 0:17:48and let that mash the potatoes down.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53- Dave, could you get me a mixing bowl from over there, please?- Yes, chef!
0:17:53 > 0:17:55We'll get this choux pastry on the go.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58I've taken the flour, which I've already sifted,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00and this is my water with the butter,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04which I've only just brought to the boil, and I'm going to stir in this...
0:18:04 > 0:18:06- Is that big enough?- Perfect.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09I'll stir this into here.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13We're gonna put it back onto the stove and just allow it to dry out.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15- Is this dough for your dumplings? - Yeah.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20What I'm going to do is fold the choux pastry through the mashed potato
0:18:20 > 0:18:24and that's going to help it to hold and it'll give it a nice, light dumpling.
0:18:24 > 0:18:30What we're gonna do is move the potatoes into this bowl.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33We'll take some eggs, four eggs for this recipe.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Into the mixing bowl.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39This is basically a lazy way of folding this dough through the eggs.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43You can do it in the pan but I've got other things to do.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45We'll put this into the mixer.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55- You can see how that's...- Wow. - Lovely choux pastry.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57We'll take...
0:18:57 > 0:19:01our mashed potatoes, our wild garlic. Just add that into there.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03That's going into the potato?
0:19:03 > 0:19:04Straight into the potato.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08I'm going to season that up again with some salt.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Have you got Italian ancestors?
0:19:11 > 0:19:15- Look at the size of that!- I'm going to take some of the pastry now,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19about two thirds potato to one third choux pastry.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23I'm going to fold that in together.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25I'm going to add a little bit of nutmeg.
0:19:25 > 0:19:26There you are, chef.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Just a pinch, we don't want it to be too strong.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33I've got some vegetable oil here, so I'll take some little balls,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36- dip the spoon in the vegetable oil. - Ah!
0:19:36 > 0:19:38And using my hand,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40I'm just gonna run...
0:19:40 > 0:19:45the potato across the palm of my hand like that, and that's gonna give me a perfect quenelle.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47That's impressive.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52Scottish flat kale. If you could do me a favour and just strip some of this off and take that...
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Meanwhile, I'm just gonna chop up a clove or two of garlic.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59So we're just gonna put some of the smoked pancetta into the hot pan.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Neeps and carrots into there.
0:20:02 > 0:20:03A little bit of shallot,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06- and that garlic. - Are you done with this, chef?
0:20:06 > 0:20:10Yeah, finished with those. What I'm doing with this is just roughly chopping it.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12I'm just gonna add this to the pan now as well.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17- That's that cooking down now. Gonna put these parsnips into the thermal mix.- Thermal mix!
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Note the thermal mix, ladies and gentlemen.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24It blends, it mixes, it also heats at the same time.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28- It's perfect for making, say, hollandaise sauce, would I be right? - Yeah.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33Just adding a little bit of butter to this parsnip now as well. Seasoning.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38We can add our cream to our kale, now.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43- There's one thing that we haven't touched upon yet, the other bit of venison.- The loin?
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- Yeah!- That's the loin piece, there.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49- I was just curious.- You can turn that off now, it should be ready.
0:20:49 > 0:20:55Right, little bit of salt and pepper, nice hot pan and then the meat in straightaway.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59Getting a nice colour on there, you see? Turn that over.
0:20:59 > 0:21:05What I'm gonna do is pull that aside and I'm gonna take a couple of knobs of butter
0:21:05 > 0:21:09and just add it into this pan. So what I'm doing is I've put the butter into the pan,
0:21:09 > 0:21:13I've allowed it to melt down and then we're just basting the meat with the butter.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- Oh, this is fantastic. - So we're just going to move this into the oven now.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- So what's missing?- Gravy!- Magic.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25Right, next one. I've got some pearl barley here which I've soaked in cold water overnight.
0:21:25 > 0:21:32What we're gonna use for the sauce is the cooking liquor from the shin that we've made, so I'm just gonna...
0:21:32 > 0:21:33Hold that for you?
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Yeah, thanks. Just gonna pour that through that sieve, there.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40I'm gonna bring it to the boil and let it reduce by just a very small amount.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45- We're gonna warm a little bit of this barley through it as well. - Let's check the venison.
0:21:45 > 0:21:46And just let it rest.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50- I tell you what you can do... - Yes, chef?
0:21:50 > 0:21:53You can go and fry me these nice parsnip crisps that I did earlier.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57On its way, chef.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59- Here you are, Si.- Thanks, mate.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02- Bit of blue roll.- Lovely.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07The dumplings...
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Then I think we're just about ready to go.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Spoonful of our parsnip puree onto each plate...
0:22:19 > 0:22:25Then I'm gonna take a little bit of our kale and just put a little bit on the plate.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27A piece of our braised shin,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30and sit it on the top, there, on each one.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32One of our dumplings,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34like that.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37And then we're gonna carve the venison.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Oh, that is perfect.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45A couple of our parsnip crisps to garnish each one up,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48and then our barley gravy.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52- So, there you go. - Name that dish, dude.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55So we've got loin and slow braised shin of venison
0:22:55 > 0:22:58with a potato dumpling and pearl barley.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02We've got some parsnip puree and some creamed black kale as well.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Oh, congratulations. Absolutely superb.
0:23:07 > 0:23:12It's cooked perfectly well, isn't it? The shin's perfect.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Dumpling, Dave, dumpling...
0:23:15 > 0:23:17This is something I wanna cook at home.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22- Oh, what a mega plate of food that is.- This is such a generous plate of food.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25Whatever we do, we've got to find robust flavours...
0:23:25 > 0:23:29Again, though, reflecting the countryside and the environment that we are in.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Brilliant food. It's all very well what we think,
0:23:32 > 0:23:38but the real judges are the locals who will decide whose dish is best in a blind tasting coming up.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43David's deer was mouth-watering and a great example of the produce that's on offer in Aberdeenshire.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46We're gonna need something just as special to compete.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Everyone we speak to in the county can't help but be proud of Aberdeen Angus beef.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Well, it is world famous.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56So we have to check out this delicious breed for ourselves.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59The Store has been run by the Booth family for generations.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04They supply Aberdeen Angus to the best restaurants in the county. We're meeting farmer Andrew Booth.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07I'm quite excited, cos Aberdeen Angus is like...
0:24:07 > 0:24:12of all they single breeds, it's the most well-known kind of brand in the world, isn't it?
0:24:12 > 0:24:14There's no doubt about that. It is world renowned.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19We're from Aberdeen, so why do anything else but Aberdeen Angus? There is nothing else.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21How long have you been farming Aberdeen Angus?
0:24:21 > 0:24:25We've been concentrating on Aberdeen Angus for the last 10 years,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29and before that we were pretty much commercial production for the supermarkets.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33We're finding as we go around the country, people's attitude to food is changing.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37People are becoming much more clued-up to what they're eating.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40When we started 10 years ago, to try and sell dark, red, matured,
0:24:40 > 0:24:4621 day-plus matured beef, we were like, "Woah! That's not what we see every day in the supermarket."
0:24:46 > 0:24:50And that's completely changed. People are expecting it now.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53So, the beast's slaughtered, it's butchered, then what?
0:24:53 > 0:24:58We're fortunate enough to have our own hanging facility down at the shop, and butchery.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00- Why don't we go and have a look? - Perfect.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04- This is the chill.- Right.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09So, this is a major part of the whole process of what we're trying to do.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13We hang our beef for a minimum, on the bone, for three weeks.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16What does hanging beef do to the meat?
0:25:16 > 0:25:19Hanging it is slightly different from beef being matured.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23You sometimes see it in the supermarkets, "Matured for 21 days."
0:25:23 > 0:25:28Matured for 21 days in the supermarket sometimes just means like in a vacpack bag,
0:25:28 > 0:25:30so what we're getting here is blood loss.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33So by getting blood loss, we are taking weight loss.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38We are losing about between 5% and 10% of weight between that one and that one, between one and four weeks.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41So when you put your steak or whatever bit of beef it is into your grill,
0:25:41 > 0:25:44what you see is what you get, it doesn't shrink into nothing.
0:25:44 > 0:25:50The beef that you're buying, it's lost a lot of weight in blood, you've lost a lot of the trimmings,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54so what you're getting is absolutely really good condition to eat and you eat it all.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Yeah. It'll just melt in your mouth. It really will.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01We're gonna cut this bit of beef.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05This is the four week old roasting steak here, so let's cut it in half and see what happens.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Oh, man, you can tell!
0:26:08 > 0:26:10You can actually tell...
0:26:10 > 0:26:13- Oh!- Crikey, look at that!
0:26:13 > 0:26:14Oh, Mrs!
0:26:14 > 0:26:17This is a fresh bit of beef, four days old, bright red meat.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20So we're gonna cut it on the fifth rib as well.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- Cheers. - So we've got four day, four week.
0:26:23 > 0:26:30It's like a good red wine. You stick that in a glass and swirl it around, it'll be grabbing to the sides.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32- Good legs on it.- Good legs on it.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35There's a great word an old butcher uses here, plappy.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37- Plappy.- Plappy.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38- Look at that!- It's plappy.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42- Plappy. - That's just...- That's not plappy. - That's not plappy, that's firm.
0:26:42 > 0:26:47What we should do now is cut these, get a couple of rib eye steaks off them and maybe even try them.
0:26:47 > 0:26:48That would be really interesting.
0:26:48 > 0:26:54Cos all the talk about hanging meat and not, there's very few people actually get the chance...
0:26:54 > 0:26:56- To do it.- To do it.- Yeah.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01- So, guys, we've got the four week and the four day.- Right.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Plappy, not plappy.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05It's a sizzling sensation.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09How were you taught to tell what stage a steak was at?
0:27:09 > 0:27:12You'd use a temperature probe or just press it.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18So you've got medium rare, medium... and we don't do that.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21You don't go any further!
0:27:21 > 0:27:27And another top tip when you've got a steak on a barbecue, don't keep turning it and turning it.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30You see blokes on barbecues, oomph, oomph, oomph.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35- Every time you turn it, it's gonna, you know, get a bit tighter. - Four days, there,
0:27:35 > 0:27:37and the four week. Look at that!
0:27:37 > 0:27:40It's all about resting. Will we let them rest for a bit longer?
0:27:40 > 0:27:42- A minute.- A minute. - Two, three, four.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45- That'll do.- Get in there!
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Shall we taste the four day first?
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Mmm. Good meat.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Flavours are coming through.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57A wee bit of a chew to it. Right, let's try the four week old one.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Completely different, the way it's cutting.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04- The texture's totally different on the four week old one. - Absolutely totally different.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Flavour's different, the grain of the meat's different.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12If everybody could get that eating experience every time they cooked a steak...
0:28:12 > 0:28:15If we can keep doing this, and Aberdeen Angus can keep doing this,
0:28:15 > 0:28:20producing beef like this, whether it's here or the other side of the world, it's gotta be a winner.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24- That's really good. - The beef in Aberdeenshire is too special to ignore,
0:28:24 > 0:28:29and the idea of the beef olives we tasted in Stonehaven is great, so we'll make those.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33And there's another local speciality that I remember from my time living here
0:28:33 > 0:28:36that would be a perfect accompaniment to the olives, skirlie.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40But to make skirlies, we need to find the best oats in the county.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Oats have always been a staple ingredient in the Scottish diet.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Oatmeal has been produced in Montgarrie Mill since 1888.
0:28:48 > 0:28:53It's the last working mill of its kind as it produces flat kiln dried oats.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56This is it, the nirvana of the oat world.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59I used to come here and it's the best oatmeal you can get.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03Do you know, it's a water mill as well, which is handy on a day like today.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07Put your helmet on, it's raining, you loony!
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Hello. This must be the engine rooms?
0:29:09 > 0:29:11- It is, indeed.- Hello, I'm Dave.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Hi, I'm Gwen.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16- Nice to meet you.- Look at that!
0:29:16 > 0:29:20We use this for drying the corn before we make oatmeal.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23- Any chance of having a look round? - Yeah, surely. No problem.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Follow me.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33- What's that, Gwen? - That's how we get the corn upstairs to the kiln to be dried.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36- Can we go upstairs and see where that goes?- Surely can.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40What's going on in here, Gwen?
0:29:40 > 0:29:45That's Richie. He's laying the kiln, to dry the oats.
0:29:45 > 0:29:50That's what gives our oatmeal its...different flavour from your normal oatmeal.
0:29:50 > 0:29:51So does the floor get hot, then?
0:29:51 > 0:29:56- It does.- Right.- Of a lunch time it should be about 168 degrees.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58Is it warm in there, Richie?
0:29:58 > 0:30:03- Yeah, I'm roasting!- The fire that we saw, like, four storeys below us - is that what's heating the floor?
0:30:03 > 0:30:08That's right, yes. We keep that stoked up all day and that keeps the temperature nice and toasty.
0:30:08 > 0:30:15So what's the difference between yours and the others that you find in supermarkets on the shelves?
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Our oatmeal is dried down to about 4% moisture,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22which is a lot more than others. Others it's usually about 10%.
0:30:22 > 0:30:23Well, we've got the toasted oats.
0:30:23 > 0:30:28- What's next?- After this it goes downstairs and sits in a dry bed for a week,
0:30:28 > 0:30:33to reabsorb a little bit of moisture, which adds to the flavour.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35And then it goes off to be milled.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37Can we have a look?
0:30:37 > 0:30:39Surely can!
0:30:41 > 0:30:45- Gwen, as it's a watermill, presumably you have to let the water in.- Yes.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47- And that's the wheel that does it. - It is indeed.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49- Can I have a go?- On you go.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54There it comes. It's a tidal wave! Look!
0:30:54 > 0:30:57The only thing is, it's stuck behind another sluice.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00It's all right - I've found the next sluice.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04It's the pin that does the what-d'you-ma-call-it. That should help.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07Ooh! Ah, look at this.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13- Everything's come to life here, now. - It has.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Isn't that amazing?
0:31:15 > 0:31:16How incredible is that?
0:31:19 > 0:31:22It's all unleashed. What happens next, Gwen?
0:31:22 > 0:31:24The milling's begun.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26The first stone cracks the husk
0:31:26 > 0:31:29and it goes upstairs through a series of fans.
0:31:29 > 0:31:34It comes back to the second stone, which basically does the same job, in case it's missed any.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38- And then down to the milling stone. - Which is the third one. - That's right, yes.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43I've heard that you use something a bit bonkers to make the belts sticky.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46- Yes, we use treacle for making the belts sticky.- Treacle?
0:31:46 > 0:31:51Yes. Because the belts expand in the summer with the heat, because they're made out of canvas.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54So we stick them on to the pulleys with treacle.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57- I'd think you'd get through a lot of treacle.- We do!- I bet you do.- We do.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03So what's happening here, Gwen?
0:32:03 > 0:32:06These are the sieves. These help grade the oatmeal.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11We can change the sieves depending on what size we're making.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13Gwen, can you help us?
0:32:13 > 0:32:16We need some oatmeal to make some skirlies.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18Oh yes, we could. No problem.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20- You'll sort us out?- Yes, no problem.
0:32:20 > 0:32:21I think you need medium for that.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28- There you go.- So that's what we want for our skirlies, medium oatmeal.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30That looks just about spot-on.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34I fancy a quick bowl of porridge before we go. It's like drinking beer at the brewery tap.
0:32:38 > 0:32:43- Here we are, in the engine room of the mill, all the workers' lockers.- There's such history here.
0:32:43 > 0:32:49Look, C McPherson, killed the 25th September, 1915.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54Jack Boat, killed here on 14th December 1918, deeply regretted.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57There's lives on these walls, such history.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59- Hundreds of years of little ditties. - Ah, it's superb.
0:32:59 > 0:33:05- Well, I think the writing's on the wall for the recipe. Don't you? - It is. Look, beef and skirlies.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07Can't knock it. Oh, yes!
0:33:07 > 0:33:09- Long live porridge.- It's lovely!
0:33:10 > 0:33:14Ee, Dave, you've set us a challenge. You know, that was good food.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17We know we've got to have good taste in food to stand any chance whatsoever,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20and we've gone with what we think is Aberdonian tradition.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23- Yes!- So we've got Aberdeen Angus beef olives.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25Served on a bed of skirlies.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27- With a fondant neep. - Some champit potatoes.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29And Scottish spring water carrots.
0:33:29 > 0:33:34But will the local diners think our dish is good enough to beat David's in the blind tasting?
0:33:34 > 0:33:38This is Aberdeen Angus topside, slices of.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42I'm going to put it in between two pieces of clingfilm and beat it out nice and thinly,
0:33:42 > 0:33:46and then we're going to repeat the process with the other three.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49Put your spuds on. These are for the champit potatoes.
0:33:49 > 0:33:54While Mr King is creating chaos, I'll try and assemble the stuffing.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56Some breadcrumbs.
0:33:56 > 0:34:02- Some beef suet.- There's nowt like it, is there?- No. Good handful of chopped onions.
0:34:02 > 0:34:03That'll be enough.
0:34:03 > 0:34:04Some pork sausage meat.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07The zest of half a lemon.
0:34:07 > 0:34:12A teaspoon of lemon juice.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Freshly chopped parsley.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18- Four rashers of local bacon. - Streaky!
0:34:18 > 0:34:20One beaten egg.
0:34:20 > 0:34:26Black pepper. Sea salt flakes. Some good old-fashioned dried mixed herbs.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28You know, nothing fancy.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31A bit of this, a bit of that. It's gonna cook so the flavour will come out.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33- There's good flavours there. - Oh, definitely.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36Once I've beaten that really, really thinly,
0:34:36 > 0:34:40we're just going to put a lovely smear of Scottish mustard.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Mr King's topside burgers.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47I'm going to get the gravy pan on. The mustard goes on.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52- Let me take a bowl of stuffing. I'm bad with stuffing. I always put too much in.- Don't, Dave, don't!
0:34:52 > 0:34:54I'm just sauteing my onions off.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Some stuffing about the size of a mouse.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59Wrap that over like that.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Now we've got to tie these. We've got these new-fangled things.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04I was going to use string
0:35:04 > 0:35:09but the people who we got the beef from said they always use these for the beef olives.
0:35:09 > 0:35:10We call them a trussing band.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14- I'll just repeat.- That's trussed to an inch of its life, that, dude, I tell you.
0:35:14 > 0:35:20All of the onions are now soft. We're going to add some diced kidney.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24What we do next is get your pan, some butter...
0:35:24 > 0:35:27..a big glug of olive oil.
0:35:27 > 0:35:33- Get that to heat.- While that pan's coming up to heat, I'm going to add about a tablespoon of flour.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35And then just cook that through.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38The olives, we're just going to roll them now in seasoned flour.
0:35:38 > 0:35:44Now, to this pan, what we're going to do is I'm going to add...
0:35:44 > 0:35:45To this pan, I thee wed...
0:35:45 > 0:35:47..red wine.
0:35:50 > 0:35:51And some beef stock.
0:35:51 > 0:35:59Right, and the last thing to go in here now is a tablespoon of tomato puree. Right?
0:35:59 > 0:36:03Now, these are just going to be browned. There you go.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06There's butter for flavour and a bit of oil to stop the butter burning.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11What we're going to do now is pour the kidney-onion gravy mixture onto the beef olives.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14What I reckon is we give this half an hour with foil on
0:36:14 > 0:36:16and then the last half hour with the lid off.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18Well, let's see how it is. That's the beef olives on.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23OK, the Scottish classic - the neep.
0:36:23 > 0:36:29The swede, turnip. We're doing a fondant neep because we're trying to do a restaurant version of turnips.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34- Not a fondant neep!- We've never done it before. Need to cut those now. Put that on there like that.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38- Oh!- Mr Myers.
0:36:38 > 0:36:43While Dave's knocking those out, I'm going to put some sour cream...
0:36:44 > 0:36:46..some milk...
0:36:46 > 0:36:50- Gone off there. - Has it gone off one?- Aye.
0:36:50 > 0:36:55..and some nice, finely sliced spring onion.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Into this pan...I've got a lot of butter.
0:36:58 > 0:37:03And the butter we flavour with garlic and thyme.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05Sprig of thyme. Garlic.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09Just give it a bash to release the flavour.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11Put that on to warm on there.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13Now, this is called a barrel sieve
0:37:13 > 0:37:16and we're going to push those potatoes through that sieve
0:37:16 > 0:37:19- so they're lovely, nice and fabulous.- Super-finest mash.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22In with the turnip. Swede.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24Neep. These are bubbling away beautifully.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28I bet there's a lot of people down south don't know what a skirlie is.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32First off, I've got some suet, onions in the suet, and we're just going to soften the onions.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34That's what you're after.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38Fluffy, lovely mashed potato.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41I'm going to add some butter.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43Some finely chopped chive.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46Some sour cream.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50Right, let's see how these are doing. Yes!
0:37:50 > 0:37:52I need some stock.
0:37:52 > 0:37:57And you can get the skirlies on now. This is medium oatmeal, that we got from Alford.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01So you put that in there. I may put some water in.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06- That's it. - We've got our sour cream into the potatoes. We've got our butter.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08We've got some seasoning and chopped chives.
0:38:08 > 0:38:15What we'll do, a little bit at a time, we'll add the milk that's been infusing with the spring onions.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17So I'm just going to add a bit of that.
0:38:17 > 0:38:18Mix it in.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23And I'm going to season it up now. Potatoes and white pepper.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26I think they're a match made in heaven.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30I've just got some pinhead oatmeal in here that I'm dry-frying off,
0:38:30 > 0:38:32this is going to be a crunchy topping on the fondant turnip.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36Our Scottish carrot puree starts out in the pan, looking like this.
0:38:36 > 0:38:42Now, what we got in the pan is some carrots, obviously, some butter and the zest of half an orange.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44To that we add
0:38:44 > 0:38:47about two teaspoons of caster sugar.
0:38:47 > 0:38:53What we're going to do is put that in, sparkling water. That'll do. We're just covering it, look.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56We're going to put them on.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00The neeps are done. Yes. I'll get the beef out to rest.
0:39:00 > 0:39:01Great. That's fine.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07We can let that moulder. Is that going down, Kingy?
0:39:07 > 0:39:10- Yeah, it's good.- Right.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Not a puree. Nicely mashed, though.
0:39:13 > 0:39:14- Kingy, would you hold my bag?- Yes.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18I wonder what the chef thinks of skirlies.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22- Thanks, chef.- Ah, chef!
0:39:22 > 0:39:24Where are we having these quenelles?
0:39:24 > 0:39:26I think we should put the quenelle in the centre.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33It's like the sun setting over the North Sea.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35I have an inkling of a sprinkling.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43We're just going to put a little bit over here.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46- That's just wrong. - There we have it.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48Here is our dish. We have an Aberdeen Angus beef olive.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51- Served on a bed of skirlie. - With a neep fondant.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53And our carrot puree from Scotland.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56With champit potatoes and banging gravy with kidneys,
0:39:56 > 0:39:58made with the beef olives.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00- Bob's your uncle.- I'd eat it.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02What do you think, David?
0:40:02 > 0:40:04It looks great, eh?
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Yeah, it's good. It is good.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08Though I hate to admit it.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11- Skirlies. - You need gravy with your skirlies.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13It's not as good as my mum used to make, eh.
0:40:13 > 0:40:18- No, I can...- Sorry, boys. But it's good. It's good.- Just eat plenty of gravy with it.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21Right, the beef olives.
0:40:21 > 0:40:22What do we reckon?
0:40:27 > 0:40:29It's good, eh.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31- Very good.- Good beef.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33Well, chef, it's all in the hands of the tasters.
0:40:33 > 0:40:38- Then we can go to the pub.- Best of luck, boys. You're going to need it. - Yeah?- Well, well...
0:40:38 > 0:40:43It's the moment of truth. The diners here will taste both dishes without any idea of who cooked which.
0:40:43 > 0:40:48First up is David's roe deer with potato dumplings, parsnip puree and pearl barley.
0:40:48 > 0:40:49I thought it was delicious.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53The shin of roe deer, I shall certainly be looking for it locally to cook myself.
0:40:53 > 0:40:59The word shin made me think it was a cheaper cut of the roe deer, but it was absolutely delicious.
0:40:59 > 0:41:04The meat itself looked slightly underdone. It was slightly rose.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07the potato dumpling might have been the ingredient to lose.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11The gravy worked for me. Yes, it wasn't too rich,
0:41:11 > 0:41:15and the pancetta flavour was coming through, and it was very tasty.
0:41:15 > 0:41:21The pear barley somehow just gives a little nod to Aberdeenshire's more rustic roots.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24It would be a dish anybody could be proud of round here.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27Well, they seemed to like that. Next to be served is our dish.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29Fingers crossed.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34- It's very tasty, and you got the taste on the first bite.- Quite attractive but but not a knockout.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38I actually thought it looked a lovely homey dish and I couldn't wait to try it.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42- Potatoes a little too smooth. - The kidney gravy was fantastic.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46I was very pleasantly surprised with the turnip.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48It's grown widely throughout the North East.
0:41:48 > 0:41:53The vast majority of the crop goes for animal feed, but lucky animals!
0:41:53 > 0:41:56- Because it really was very, very nice.- I eat a lot of skirlie.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59This is very like my mother's, which is perhaps why I liked it so much.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02This was a typical Aberdeenshire dish.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05If this is Aberdeenshire, it's Aberdeenshire on a weekday.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08It's not Aberdeenshire at the weekend.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10Hello there. Good evening. How are you?
0:42:10 > 0:42:13Well, hello.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16- Oh, thank you. - Thank you very much.
0:42:16 > 0:42:21It's great to come back to Aberdeenshire. It's a county that Si and I know very well.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23I lived here for 15 years.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26We hate this bit. We're going to ask you to vote.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30You're voting for flavour, of course, but you're also voting
0:42:30 > 0:42:34for what you thought represented your county best.
0:42:34 > 0:42:40A show of hands, please, for the venison dish.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43That's one, two, three, four, five, six. Thank you very much.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45So that's six for the venison.
0:42:45 > 0:42:50A show of hands, please, for the beef olives with skirlies.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53One, two, three. Thank you very much.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57So I'm pleased to say the venison dish was...David's.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00APPLAUSE
0:43:00 > 0:43:04- Sorry, boys.- No, not at all. It was great. Absolutely great.
0:43:04 > 0:43:10I must say, you've got a very, very talented young chef in this area.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14- You should be very proud of him. Back on the bikes. - Yes. Well done.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16- Thank you.- Thank you. Goodnight.- Bye.
0:43:16 > 0:43:22David's roe deer was too good to beat but at least our beef olives and skirlies were truly local.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26Aberdeenshire has so much great produce on offer, and wonderful people.
0:43:26 > 0:43:31It was great to be back in this county and be reminded of the all the foodie treasures it holds.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34With Aberdonian hospitality, you'll ne'er go 'wa hungry.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
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