Four simple but irresistible ways to jazz up a Jatz cracker

The humble Aussie Jatz cracker has become a defining ingredient of acclaimed Sydney chef Mitch Orr’s fine-dining career.

From its first appearance on the menu at Orr’s now-closed Rushcutters Bay restaurant ACME in 2014, to its current iteration at Ace Hotel Surry Hills restaurant Kiln (The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide’s New Restaurant of the Year last year), Orr has shown time and again the Arnott’s Biscuits cracker need not remain in ’90s cheese board purgatory.

Where Australian television icon Kath Day-Knight once paired the salted, scalloped cracker (first sold in 1952) with sliced cabanossi and cubes of cheddar cheese, Orr has consistently opted for high-end variations: loading them with everything from mustard butter and salami; to smoked butter with fat, salty anchovies.

The results have been divisive, earning both widespread praise and criticism. This year, the Kiln dish (inclusive of two such crackers) was dubbed “peak Sydney”, going viral for its $10 price tag.

Serve up these conversation-starters at your next party with this collection of Orr’s greatest Jatz’ hits.

Jatz with pickled onion and cheddar

Cipollini are round, flat Italian onions with a mild, sweet flavour. Start the pickling process the day before the party.

Ingredients

Malt vinegar pickle

• 3 parts malt vinegar
• 2 parts water
• 1 part sugar
• Cipollini onions, slice horizontally into quarters
• Jatz crackers
• mascarpone
• your favourite cheddar, cut into 1cm cubes

Method

1. To pickle the onions, bring the vinegar, water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
2. Place the sliced onions in a medium heatproof bowl and pour the hot liquor over them. When cool, transfer the onions to an airtight container and leave to pickle for a few hours or overnight.
3. To serve, smear a half teaspoon of mascarpone onto a cracker.
4. Top with a slice of pickled onion and a cube of cheddar.

Jatz with smoked butter and Olasagasti anchovy

Smoked butter is delicious on bread, steaks, fish or vegetables. Make a large batch and store in the fridge in an airtight container for future use. If you don’t want to smoke the butter, add Liquid Smoke to taste or look out for Pepe Saya smoked butter.

Ingredients

• good-quality cultured butter (such as Pepe Saya or CopperTree Farms)
• smoking chips
• Jatz crackers
• light soy sauce
• mirin
• good-quality anchovies (Olasagasti, Conservas Nardin or Ortiz at a minimum)

Method

1. Cut the butter into cubes and spread them out on a small baking tray so they are not touching, if possible. Keep cold.
2. In a metal bowl, light the smoking chips (do this either outside or under your exhaust fan).
3. Place the bowl of smoking chips into the bottom shelf of the unlit oven and place the butter on the top shelf (keep the exhaust fan on and the windows open).
4. Leave the oven closed and allow the butter to smoke for 15 minutes. You may need to relight the chips if they’re not smoking. You could also do this outside if you have a barbecue with a lid, such as a Weber.
5. Once the butter is smoky, leave it to soften (it doesn’t matter if it has melted a little), then transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and whip until the butter is light and airy. Season to taste with soy sauce and mirin. Transfer to a piping bag.
6. To serve, pipe a dollop of butter onto a cracker, and wrap an anchovy fillet around the butter.

Jatz with saucisson sec, mustard butter and pickled cucumber

Ingredients

• violet mustard (or use Dijon or seeded)
• good-quality cultured butter, softened
• good-quality saucisson sec (such as LP’s Quality Meats)
• Jatz crackers
• sliced dill pickles (I use Westmont)

Method

1. Mix the mustard with softened butter (1 part mustard, 2 parts butter).
2. Cut the saucisson sec into nice thick slices (0.5cm).
3. Place a dollop of mustard butter on a cracker, add a slice of saucisson sec and top with a slice of pickle.

Jatz with maple-glazed ham and frutta di mostarda

If you have leftover Christmas ham, these crackers would be a good to snack on while watching the Boxing Day Test.

Ingredients

• good-quality ham (either chunks or slices)
• frutta di mostardo, roughly chopped*

For the maple glaze

• 100g maple syrup
• 80ml mirin
• 50ml light soy sauce
• 20g Dijon mustard
• 1 spring onion top
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 slice ginger

Method

1. For the glaze, place all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat and reduce to a syrupy consistency. Remove the spring onion top, garlic and ginger.
2. Dip the ham into the glaze, allowing the excess to drip off.
3. Arrange glazed ham on a cracker and place a couple of pieces of mustard fruits on top of the ham.

*Frutta di mostarda (mustard fruits), is a sweet-savoury northern Italian condiment available in specialist grocers.