SPIKE GJERDE’S CAST IRON ROCKFISH & SUCCOTASH ‘CHESAPEAKE TERROIR’
Photo Credit
Eric Vance for Butter Pat Industries
Woodberry Kitchen - Baltimore Maryland
INGREDIENTS
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Skin on filet of Chesapeake rockfish, about 2lb (from a 5-6lb fish)
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Salt
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Fish pepper powder
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Sunflower or canola oil
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1 medium sweet potato, diced
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1 cup cooked beans or field (e.g. crowder or black-eyed) peas, cooked
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2 cups corn, frozen from last summer
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2 tbsp. butter
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Generous pinch of minced parsley, thyme, or other herb
METHOD
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Place Butter Pat Skillet in oven and preheat to 500ºF
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Place rockfish skin side up on a cutting board. Using the back of a knife, firmly squeegee any moisture out of the skin, then blot dry with a paper towel.
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Season skin side with salt; flesh side with salt and fish pepper. Portion fish into desired size filets. Set aside while preparing vegetables.
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Remove hot skillet from oven and carefully add a swirl of oil, immediately add sweet potatoes. If potatoes do not sizzle vigorously in oil, place over high heat for a minute or two…add beans and corn, then herbs, season with salt and fish pepper, and toss to combine.
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Return to oven. Cook until sweet potatoes are just tender, stir in butter, and spoon onto warmed serving platter. Wipe out hot pan with a paper towel.
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Heat skillet over high heat. add oil to a depth of ¼”. VERY carefully place rockfish into skillet skin side down, being cautious not to splatter oil. Return to oven. After 3 minutes, check the fish skin -- it should be brown and crisp. Turn over and cook an additional 3-5 minutes, until just cooked through.
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Arrange rockfish over vegetables on platter, and serve -- the sooner the better.
SEAFOOD FRITTERS
The Eastern Shore of Virginia is, for all intents and purposes, clam country. In fact, the Old Dominion State has the largest clam fishery in the United States, hauling in hundreds of millions of both farm-raised and wild varieties, from little necks, cherrystones, and razors along the coastal peninsula’s Chesapeake Bay shorelines to quahogs off the banks of the Atlantic Ocean. And if you’re not eating them raw or roasted, there are few ways better to indulge than the local delicacy of a pan-fried fritter.
CHESAPEAKE OYSTER STUFFING
A round of oysters is always cause for celebration, and this time of year on the Chesapeake Bay, that shows up in the form of oyster stuffing. Whether stuffed into a bird or cooked in a cast-iron pan, it’s a time-honored tradition during the holiday season. Or, as Harris’s book reports The Baltimore Sun putting it in 1914, “Inside the oyster belt at Thanksgiving time, it is nothing short of heresy to fail to serve turkey with good old-fashioned oyster stuffing.” Throw it into a Joan and consider it tradition.
SEARED HANGER STEAK WITH CHARRED SCALLION SALSA
There was a time not that long ago when you’d walk into certain butcher shops, ask for a hanger steak, and get a quizzical look. Perhaps that’s because, for some time, the secondary cut was also known as a “Hanging Tender,” hailing from inside the ribcage (in fact, it’s part of the diaphragm), as well as “the Butcher’s Steak,” with those cunning meatmongers often keeping this deeply flavorful, textured specimen for themselves. “But the gig is up,” says Pryles, who shares her pan-cooked version with us, featuring wagyu, no less, and a bright salsa to boot.
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