Tītī-licious - Part II

Continuing with the Tītī-licious theme, it was time to start cooking. I chose to cook it the old fashioned way as Māori would - boil-up i.e. boiled and served with potatoes, watercress and doughboys. I've always have been the advocate to try dishes first in its original state before you chose to add or create new dishes from it. This not only gives you a better perception of taste but also provides a base for understanding basic flavour concepts.

You start off with putting the tītī (mutton bird) in a pot full of cold water until it covers the bird. Then you cover it and bring it to a boil. A lot of people would say now, as a word of caution to make sure your windows are opened and your hood range on at the highest level as there will be a pungent aroma that will soon fill the room. It is this pungent flavour and the resulting description of the fishy smell that puts off a lot of people from cooking this bird at home. I say, nay. The smell even though pungent, I find to be not any more stronger than when cooking dried fish. So, if you want, feel free to follow the ventilation instructions or just soldier on. As you see the water come to a boil, you will see a lot of fat being rendered out of the bird (photos above). This is because the bird has a high fat layer that insulates it and keeps it warm in the bitter southern cold. 

After the water comes to a full rolling boil, you let it remain like that for at least 30-45 mins depending on the number of birds you are cooking. If like me you are cooking just one, then half an hour is enough. The whole reason for the first boil is to render as much fat and salt out of the bird as possible. After 30 mins, you take it off the heat and then drain off all the water along with the rendered fat in it. Personally, I like to keep a bit of the water from this first boil separately and use it later to cook, but more about that later. 

After you have drained all the water from the first boil, you add more cold water (same as the first time) and put the pot back on the heat and bring it to another boil for another 30-45 minutes. The second boil is more to cook the bird through and render out any remaining fat out of the bird. This process of changing water after boiling will be dictated by the fat layer on the bird. The more fat the bird has, the more you have to change its water. So just repeat the process.

I drained the water out from the second boil and added fresh water again and put the pot back on the heat to finish cooking the bird. This time, I only added enough water to accommodate the potatoes and watercress and be left with a slight broth to accompany the dish. Personally, I do not like a lot of water in my boil up. I also added potatoes (peeled and halved) along with the bird and let the water come up to a simmer. As the water comes up to a gentle simmer, I add my doughboys. The size and shape of doughboys is a topic of constant debate and your tribal affiliations are often identified by the way you make your doughboys. Flat, small, round, big; I like mine flat (thanks to the King Whānau who introduced me to the world of Maori cuisine and that is how they make theirs). Being flat, it also helps to mop up and remaining broth right at the end.

Usually you would put your water cress or puha before you put your doughboys in. This is to help cook the greens through as most of them come with thick stalks that need a few extra minutes to cook right through. Mine however were just the baby shoots and young leaves so did not require much cooking. So I added them after I put my doughboys in. This is basically the last step to the entire cooking process. You just now let it come to a gentle boil so as to cook the greens out. 

By the time the whole thing is done, your potatoes would also be cooked and so would be your doughboys and cress. Note that no where during the cooking process did I add salt. This is because the mutton bird is quite salty due to its curing process and so you don't need to add any extra salt as by the time the bird is served, it is properly seasoned and doesn't need any extra salt. 

Voila! The boil up is ready. Mmmmm time to go and eat.

Tītī-licious - Part I

The tītī or muttonbird or Sooty Shearwaters is perhaps one of the more eclectic dishes within the  Māori repertoire. When you first mention the name, immediate reactions can be grouped into two camps - either they get all teary eyed and nostalgic and consider it to be food heaven within the realms of Māori cuisine, or those whose facial expressions basically say they prefer to be at least a few kilometres away from anywhere this bird is being cooked. This love-hate relationship that Māori have towards this bird is something that influences the status of this bird and its significance within Māori cuisine. 

Its distinct taste is discerning to even most Māori palettes who consider this to be one of the traditional dishes as well as being an important part of life, especially to the Rakiura Māori (Ngai Tahu iwi), the Māori people from the southernmost region of of New Zealand and their descendants who are the only people that have the rights to harvest this bird within the 36 islands around the area. To say it is an acquired taste would be the most affable way to describe the palatability of this dish and one that I fell in love with the first time I tried it. 

The name somewhat is confusing especially given that it is a bird, but the reason why it has earned this nickname is because of its taste which apparently resembles that of mutton. I don't agree with this as I find the taste to be more gamy and resembling that of a really well hung wild duck with a slight fishy after taste. Somehow, the description of its taste never does proper justice to the bird and the uninitiated often get put off based on that. Over the years and after numerous discussions around this dish, I think the reason why people have such strong emotions and opinions is perhaps not because of the taste of the bird itself, but rather, the aromas that are associated during the cooking process which unfortunately influence the perceptions of how it tastes. 

Traditionally the bird was boiled and served alongside potatoes, puha/watercress and dough boys (dumplings). Tītī's have a very limited season and are quite hard to get hold off. The harvest season starts from the 01 April and runs through until 31 May and most birds harvested during the season get snapped up sometimes even before they make it to the market. You either have to know someone who can get hold of it from the South Island or hope that your local delicatessen might stock some when in season. Luckily for me, the usual Saturday morning visit to the Auckland Fish market today resulted in me being able to get one myself. It is expensive for a bird that is not that yielding in portion size, but the flavour is unparalleled.

So, with a muttonbird in hand and some cress and potatoes, I think dinner tonight is sorted. Let the cooking begin.