Smoked Kutai Crumbed Poppers

Welcome back and yes another Kutai recipe as they just deserve it. For those of you who are new to Kutai let me recap.

Kutai, the Greenlip Mussel aka “Perna canaliculus”; this being the Latin description, but actually named by a German naturalist in the late 1700’s. Once endemic naturally, the coastal Kutai is now under threat by the most recent predator commonly known as the bus and bucket brigade. Be aware when harvesting that you always maintain maximum distance from this predator.

If you don’t feel like searching the shoreline for Tangaroa’s tasty morsels, option B is to source from your local fishmonger or supermarket live-tank. Smoking Kutai is another long-held ritual both for flavour and preservation; nowadays smoked Kutai are also readily available at most supermarkets.

Fun fact: Kutai only come in two genders. He is creamy white; she is apricot in colour. For the connoisseur, there are mild taste differences; either one I find delicious.

This version of crumbed Kutai is kind of like Poppers. Poppers surfaced in the 70’s and were Texan in origin. With all evolution and menu fusion, different flavours and textures come and go.

Kutai are flavour-packed and, thanks to some greater deity full of omega 3, protein, Iron, B12 and more. A veritable multivitamin that is now a multi-million dollar industry. It is only fair that we take this nugget of health and pack it with cheese and fry it.

Generally speaking, most Popper-style menu items are deep fried, but for this recipe you can bake or shallow fry, turning constantly till you reach the golden brown exterior.

I know by nature I don’t follow rigid menu guidelines as alchemy and practice play a part in any good elixir, but as a guide follow on below.

Ingredients:

½ cup cream cheese

½ cup firm feta

½ cup grated mozzarella

Smoked Kutai

Your choice of fresh chopped herbs.

½ teaspoon hot smoked paprika

Fresh ground pepper

Don’t add salt until cooked and served

Add to a bowl: half cup cream cheese, half cup firm feta, half cup grated mozzarella. Mix well till all integrated, then fold in one cup smoked Kutai and your choice of fresh chopped herbs. I like hot smoked paprika, so half a teaspoon along with fresh ground pepper. Don’t add salt until cooked and served.

As shown in the picture that accompanies this menutorial, we chose to shallow fry as an easier, safer nautical option. Spoon out the mix and shape into a ball, then flatten it onto parchment paper. Once complete, dredge through egg wash and then coat in Panko.

Preheat a pan with half an inch of oil to medium-high, circa 170C. Lay your crumbed Kutai, turning every 20 seconds until you guessed it golden brown. Once cooked, remove to a rack to cool and then plate up with your favourite condiments.

Note that, as we did not add any flour to the mixture, should you cook at less than 170C it is likely that oil will penetrate the popper mix before the oil seals the exterior of the Popper, resulting in an oily mush. You could alleviate this potential issue by placing your raw Poppers into the freezer for 20 minutes prior to cooking. As mentioned previously, you can bake your Poppers in a pre-heated 170C oven for circa 12-15 minutes for a similar result without the hot oil burden.

Kia nui te kai!