Pot Roasted Elk (Kikoklu)

We had better start at the beginning. We have been on a tour of the Baltic states and all the way round Linda had been wanting to cross paths with an Elk, she had photographed the Elk Beware signs in the Baltic (each one has a different symbol for the elk). Alas her prayers had not been answered, she hadn't seen a one, much like the bears of USA last year. But we did manage to get a big hunk of elk from a game butchers in Stockholm's Haymarket. This he kindly vacuum packed for us, told us how to cook it. I plonked it in our freezer in the camper and transported it back to Germany. I was also able to visit an Elk Park in South Sweden and also got her an Elk Tooth.

Wild board, Red Deer, Reindeer and my Elk

A very fine cheerful butcher

You will require

1500g elk meat

300g thin cut lightly smoked streaky bacon

1 large onion diced

2 carrots cut each cut into 4 length ways

1 bunch of soup vegetables (suppengrün) diced

1 bunch of herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, bay leaves) bound together

6 juniper berries crushed

10 pepper corns crushed

1 glass of red wine

400ml of game stock (failing that a good beef stock)

2 Tblsp of vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

Wrap the meat in an elastic net along its length, this one had already been done.

Heat oven to 180°C

Using a knife sharpening steel, pierce the meat along its length slowly removing it and pushing a length of carrot along the resulting hole, it is easier if the carrot follows the steel as it is slowly removed. Repeat this 4 or 5 times.

Rub the meat with salt and pepper.

Cover the meat with the bacon, push it under the net, so that it is completely covered.

Heat the oil until smoking in a cast iron pot roaster with lid .

Fry the meat all over until the bacon takes on colour.

Remove the meat and reduce the heat add the onions, then the rest of the vegetables, the juniper berries along with the crushed pepper corns.

Add the stock, the wine and the bunch of herbs, bring to the boil on thje top of the stove.

Put into the oven covered, I pushed an electronic thermometer into the center so that I could get an exact reading.

After 1 hour remove the lid and reduce the heat to 150°C for a further 20 minutes or so, I use the temperature, I removed from the oven and out of the stock when the temperature of the meat (inside) reached 60°C.

Pour the sauce through a sieve into a saucepan and reduce to thicken.

Slice the meat into thickish slices (1cm), place on a serving platter and decorate with red and black currents.

Serve with roasted rosemary potatoes broad beans, young carrots and pearl onions poached in chicken stock.

Martin had made 2 old soups to start the meal, 1 was a beetroot, the other a cucumber, served together and with Kalles homemade baguette.  A Rose was drunk, well some did Martin and I drank beer

Next followed a wonderful fresh salad with apricots, red onions, young salad leaves, tomatoes. This accompanied  minted lamb chops, Adana kebabs and spicy merguez sausages. A nice Spanish Tempranillo reserva was drunk, well they did Martin and I stayed with the beer

Kebabs, chops and sausages on the BBQ

After a pause, the main followed. I served a very good French Cotes du Rousillon, but this was very special as my colleague of many years had presented it to me on my retirement, he had relabeled it.

To complete the evening Carolyn had made a mascapone, ammarettini, amaretto blue berry composition, they only allowed me to have a small glass.

Theirs

Mine

We ended as normal with various shorts to settle the stomach.

And at popular request (Richard) the Kikoklu

This was the first time I had cooked and served Elk, it is a very lean meat a bit like red deer, but it doesn't have such a game taste. It was very tasty indeed. I shall have to see about getting a piece for Christmas.

Circumnavigation of the Baltic 14 - Running for home

2^nd Day on Rømø

 Next morning I visited the Nørreland and Juvre, this is a military testing area and at the end of the road and the car park is the “end of the road”, you can if you wish go angling in a well laid out small lake, or climb the dyke, the grass kept short by the mouths of many sheep and one solitary Shire Horse. You can do (as I did) some bird watching, as from the top of the dyke, you have a wonderful uninterrupted view across the salt marsh, with the bombing range and gun targets in the distance. No one doing any bombing practice today.

The many

The one

I then retraced my tracks, along the Juvrevej and turned off along what is an extension of the causeway to the island the Vesterhavevej. I suppose by the sound of its name it must have been a harbour, but today Lakolk is a nice holiday seaside village, here the end of the Vesterhavevej, is a windsurfer and strand sailors paradise a great expanse of flat sand, you can drive your car or in my case the camper right up to the water’s edge and enjoy the sunshine, the sea and the view (water and sand). As there was no wind there was also no surfers or sand sailors to spoil it.

I then left the beach and hanging a right followed the road around until I reached Kongsmark and then onto Rømø Kirkeby, the island church and very well kept Church Yard, both very interesting, I found many grave headstones, bearing the name Hansan, so more than likely they would be related to Heinz Hansen. Inside was a set of pews  inscribed with N.H.Hansen.

I would like to think that this had been the seats of his parents. Though Heinz had been brought up as a RC in NRW and not a very religious man, he would have enjoyed the nice carved, pews, lectern and pulpit, as well as the sailing ships dangling from the rafters. 

I then drove down to the harbour of Havenby, but first stopping off at the small but well stocked supermarket to re-victual. I then sat outside (it wasn’t as sunny as yesterday at the harbour) and drank an Ice Coffee and watched the boats bobbing in the harbour. 

I then walked down to the harbour wall and done a bit of bird watching.

A Selvet Scoter

I then visited the National Museum garden at Toftum and a few other interesting buildings on this ancient Viking outpost in the North Sea.

The whale bone fence

I then chugged my way back to the campsite, got setup once again and made supper.  It was almost time to watch the sandman.

I left the campsite just after 08:00 and I wanted to take a couple of photo’s that I had read about, one the smallest and oldest school house not only on Rømø but in the whole of Denmark, it was just a short way from the campsite. It was also not far away from the fence made out of whales jawbones (in times gone by the men of Rømø either tilled the land or ploughed the seas.
I had parked in the entrance to the museum building, there was also another house on the land, I looked at the post box and thought was this one of the old sub-mariners relations.

That done I crossed the causeway

and headed for the German border.

then on into Husum.

I have been in Husum many times and the last three I have always stayed at the Loof RV park, this is within easy walking distance of both the town and the harbour. I got myself a spot and got the lass plugged in and went and paid my €10 and have a walk around town.

It was Saturday, so the market was going on, things of interest, strawberries and brown shrimp. I popped into the Watt (Saltmarsh) Information shop (you can get a load of information about the Watt National Park there), I had been aiming to get a trip out to the sand banks to visit the Heulers (baby seals), alas I was informed that the boat no longer left from Husum but left from Nordstrand the next port up the coast (I spent a very nice long weekend there with my daughter about 15 years ago). 

The tide was in so all of the boats doing the trips would be out, and wouldn't be returning until the tide turned, this did not suit my plans (not that I had made any).

I went for a pint at the Irish Pub called the Anchor, had a bowl of shrimp soup (to be recommended) took a photo of a very nice old dresser, walked along the inner harbour

and had an ice in a very nice Italian Ice Cream Parlour (do you still call them that?) and headed back via the working harbour and krabben Kutters, stopping off to have a last beer before hitting the hay.

Next morning I was up very early as I wanted to head down to the Watt, the tide was right out and do some photography, this I did and discovered a smashing campsite right on the point, I think I shall give this one a try next time, it will of course cost more, but you get nowt for nowt these days.

The Campsite down on the Watt

A hare doing a runner

A pair of Oyster Catchers

Grey lagged geese

It was still early so I decided to drive to Nordstrand and visit the harbour at Norderhafen to find out about the boats from the Adler shipping Co. across to Pellworm, Amrum, Föhr, the Halligs, also the trips to sand banks and the seals. I now have the information so by marrying that up with the tide times I may at least be able to get a trip out next time I am here.

A field full of Curlews (Peewits)

With that I returned to Loof, gave up my toilet and shower key, had breakfast and headed off in the direction of the Ostsee, home and the completion of my journey around the Baltic.

It has been a smashing journey, we saw many new places and I revisited quite a few that have changed (most for the better) since I last visited this part of the world 40 years ago. I think it will not be long before we visit some of the Baltic States again.