SHETLAND based Lerwick Brewery have launched a gift pack with a difference this year. The unique Christmas gift includes ingredients and recipe cards for recipients to be able to make the Shetland delicacy of reestit muton with tattie soup and bannocks.
The packs contain two bottles of the brewery’s 60° North lager, a joint of reestit mutton, a bag of local flour and recipes to prepare the reestit mutton, and make the traditional accompaniment of soup and bannocks.
Reestit mutton is lamb or mutton that has been cured and dried to preserve it. To prepare for soup, it is first boiled to reconstitute and remove excess salt, before changing the water and adding root vegetables to create a hearty and very traditional soup.
To this day, houses in Shetland often have joints of reestit mutton hanging over Rayburns in the kitchen to dry. Bannocks could be compared to a flatbread or scone, and are buttered to accompany the sliced mutton and soup.
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Jonny Sandison, Head Brewer, said: “Nothing says ‘Shetland’ more than a warm bowl of tattie soup with reestit mutton and bannocks. This Shetland delicacy is often eaten around New Year and Up Helly Aa.
“Our reestit mutton gift pack lets your re-create Shetland’s ‘national dish’ no matter where you are. A joint of reestit mutton is paired with a bag of flour from Voe bakery to make delicious bannocks, and two bottles of 60 North lager to wash it down. Recipes are provided on how to prepare the reestit mutton and make the soup and bannocks.”
In addition to the Reestit Mutton and Bannocks gift pack, the brewery have launched a second gift pack featuring a beanie hat and shampoo bar, alongside their Tushkar Oatmeal Stout. For this pack, Lerwick Brewery have joined forces with fellow local business, Love From Shetland, who use the brewery’s Tushkar Oatmeal Stout to make shampoo bars using the best sourced, natural ingredients including goat’s milk from their very own goat, Connor.
Jonny continued: “We love supporting other local businesses to showcase the quality of Shetland made items, so developing a gift pack using Love From Shetland’s shampoo bars made complete sense. The flour in our Reestit Mutton and Bannocks gift pack is from ‘Da Voe Bakery’, based in the north of Shetland. Using this particular flour mix is important to give the bannocks their authenticity”.
The gift packs are available now to purchase on the brewery’s website, retailing at £22 for the Reestit Mutton and Bannocks gift pack and £28 for the Tushkar Beanie Hat and Shampoo Bar gift pack.
