Rattlesnake Nigiri

30 minutes

Sushi Rice:

• 2 cups sushi rice
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 orange, juiced
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Rattlesnake & Rattlesnake Glaze:

• 1 rattlesnake
• Salt, to taste
• 1 shallot, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup sake
• 1/2 cup Gochujang Sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• Toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons Perilla oil

Thai Basil Jalapeno Emulsion:

• 2 whole eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 2 whole shallots, sliced
• 2 jalapeno, sliced
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves, plucked
• 1 cup spinach
• 3 cups olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 limes, zested and juiced

Garnish:

• Shaved fennel
• Pineapple
• Yuzu
• Olive oil

Sushi Rice:

1. Wash the sushi rice very well with several changes of water, until water runs clear. Cover rice with 2 cups of water and put the pot on the stove at medium high heat. The rice mixture will come to a soft boil. At that point, cover the pot with a lid. Bring rice mixture down to a simmer. Simmer for about 1/2 an hour at a low temperature. You should see holes at the top of the rice. The rice should be tender, but not mushy. Take off heat and let rest uncovered for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, stir together the rice wine vinegar, mirin, agave nectar, lemon and orange juice, and salt in a bowl. Put rice in a bowl and with a rubber spatula fold in the rice wine mixture until evenly mixed. Let cool.

Rattlesnake & Glaze:

1. Using a Chinese cleaver, cut through the snake bone and breakdown the snake into 2-inch pieces. Filet the rattlesnake on the left and the right side of the backbone. Reserve the filets onto the sheet tray lined with paper/silpat. Salt evenly to cure for 10 minutes.
2. Heat Perilla oil in a sauté pan. Sauté shallots until caramelized. Deglaze with half of the sake and reduce until 1/2 is gone. Add Gochujang Sauce and stir fry a little. Add the rest of the sake, honey and sesame seeds and reduce to a glaze. Strain.
3. Cover snake with Gochujang glaze and boil for 5 minutes.

Thai Basil Jalapeno Emulsion:

1. Sauté shallots, Thai basil, and spinach quickly.
2. In a blender, puree eggs and egg yolks rice wine vinegar, and mustard then add shallots, basil, spinach and jalapenos and puree until smooth. Slowly drizzle oil until thick enough to coat a spoon. Season with salt and pepper and add lime juice and zest.

Assembly:

1. Place rattlesnake on yop of molded sushi rice.
2. Place shaved fennel and pineapple tossed with yuzu and olive oil on top of sushi drizzles with emulsion.

source: http://www.bravotv.com/foodies/recipes/rattlesnake-nigiri