Surf & Turf at the Mothership this past weekend

MeatChurch · September 2016

I had a great time cooking a Chef's Table dinner Friday evening and then Surf & Turf all day Saturday at the Culinary Center in Atlanta.

Friday night we started with a Bowmore and Laphroaig Scotch tasting. Then we made smoked yellow fin tuna dip, crab stuffed shrimp and grits w Banner butter, Grilled lobster tail with a lemon basil compound butter and grilled asparagus w whipped lemon aioli.

On Saturday we made smoked white fish (halibut) dip, cedar planked smoked salmon, grilled bbq oysters, tomahawk ribeyes and veal chops. Plus we had pig shots and jalapeno poppers for snacks.

Enjoy some photos.

PS - Come by my culinary tent and demo at Eggtoberfest!

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/ko/w736hohw9amt.jpg

Grilled oysters

Smoked salmon. Brined in teriyaki, doused with maple syrup at the end.

Grilled lobster w lemon basil butter

Shrimp and grits

Saturday Surf

Smoked yellow fin dip

Salmon on real cedar. 3 filets completely filled a XXL.

Tomahawk finished caveman directly on the coals.

Tomahawks finishing on cast iron.

Smoked halibut getting ready to become dip.

Veal chops finished with local roasted garlic, basil and parsley Banner butter.

Finishing some ribeyes directly on the coals.

tikigriller · September 2016

How do you not get ash on the meat and what is the reasoning behind finishing them directly on the coals?

Photo Egg · September 2016

I don't care what John Henry and Chris from Dizzy Pig say about you...You got madddd skills buddy.

NPHuskerFL · September 2016

Dayumn Matt!

That's some fantastic eats my friend.

Big_Green_Craig · September 2016

Killer!

The_Buffalo · September 2016

FANTASTIC....sorry I missed ya!

johnkitchens · September 2016

I am suddenly feeling inadequate.

bluebird66 · September 2016

Fantastic!

Hans61 · September 2016

Sounds like the adult version of this!

Eggcelsior · September 2016

tikigriller said:

How do you not get ash on the meat and what is the reasoning behind finishing them directly on the coals?

The ash typically falls right off. In terms of reasoning, it looks cool. There is no other benefit over cooking it on a grid or cast iron pan.

MeatChurch · September 2016

tikigriller said:

How do you not get ash on the meat and what is the reasoning behind finishing them directly on the coals?

You won't get much ash at all, if any. I typically use a fire that isn't so "ashy" and use more black coals and wood. However, these fires had burned all day as the steaks were cooked at the end of class. With that said, if you get a touch of ash, you simply knock it off easily with the tap of your tongs.

When I teach steak, we often reverse sear, finishing at least 3 different ways so folks can taste the difference; cast iron (my favorite), grates or caveman (aka dirty). They all taste different. Different surfaces give you different levels of "crust" and different levels of maillard reaction. I like the maximum coverage of cast iron, but everyone in class including me can taste a difference in the steaks directly on the coals. You impart a good wood fired taste that way.

Alternatively you can cook the steaks entirely on the coals from the beginning for some serious flavor. See below for the "Dirty flank steak" with truffle ginger aioli served with a lime ginger chile vinaigrette salad I cooked in Sweden on a XXL a couple weeks back. AMAZING flavor!!