chefmattmoran's video: Matt Moran - Paddock to Plate - Cured Salon Caviar

'Citrus-cured Yarra Valley salmon, caviar with baby beetroot' Grab the full recipe on www.mattmoran.com.au While we all know you milk a cow, goat, and even sheep – the concept of milking fish isn’t so widely known – but at boutique aquaculture farm, Yarra Valley Caviar, on the base of the Rubicon River, that’s exactly what a small dedicated team do annually. For the entire month of May, thousands of Atlantic Salmon are individually hand-milked for caviar, and the 2012 season is set to see a record harvest, with more than 50,000 salmon milked resulting in 14 tonne of the culinary delicacy. The reason the event is so strategically timed, says General Manager Mark Fox, is to ensure the salmon are completely ready to release the eggs, and aren’t put under any undue stress. “We naturally anaesthetise our salmon with clove oil and then gently massage them by hand and place them in a recovery pond, before they go back in their earthen ponds until the next year. “By timing this precisely, the caviar simply flows out without any unnecessary stress put on our salmon, and the result is caviar that is plump and flawless.” The multi-award winning caviar is then washed and packaged on site, with no additives. “We truly believe that treating our fish humanely has a direct impact on the quality of the caviar, and the flesh of the fish, so we won’t use antibiotics, hormones or chemicals, and give our fish plenty of space to move. Consumers are also increasingly demanding to know the origin of the food they’re consuming and are encouraged by the way we operate.” Following all of the UK soil association guidelines for organic aquaculture, the farm ensures it sets the benchmark in not only the way it treats its salmon, but the sustainability of the river and surrounding environment.