James Arthur Vineyards "Top Chef"

 On Saturday May 5th I took part in a competition at James Arthur Vineyards which is a local winery here in Southeast NE.  The competition was supposed to be "Top Chef" style were we made samples of food for guests and judges to taste. 

The competition is put on by the local ACF chapter the Professional Chefs and Apprentices of NE which I have been a part of for several years. Rob our chapter president organized the competition along with Jim Ballard of James Arthur Vineyards and Rob talked me into competing again this year which I won it last year.  

This year I went as the chef for Single Barrel.  We figured it would be a good way to get out and get some publicity for the restaurant since we are hopefully opening in about a month and a lot of the people that would be there would be our target market guests.  

 Another sponsor of this event was Nebraska Bison which I was really excited about.  Rob had met them when we went with us out to visit the farm for Single Barrel and they donated Bison Chuck to us to use in one of our dishes.

The rules of the competition were that we had to use Bison chuck (obvious) in one dish and had to use a James Arthur wine in a cooking application with one dish and the dish that we didn't use the wine to cook with we had to pair with a James Arthur Vineyards wine. 

So when we got the word that we had to use Bison chuck the first thing that came to mind was to make sausage.  If you know me it shouldn't be a big surprise that that is what I went with.  So we (Ross, Angela and Myself. The SB Culinary team follow us @sbchefs on twitter) thought it would be best if we did a Bison version of our Bangers and Mash that we are going to have on the menu at SB.  We used James Arthur Vineyards Norton wine in the sausage and in the onion sauce that we served with it.  After we made the sausage we really liked it and think that it will probably make some appearances on the SB menu.

For our second dish we decided to do a pork belly (again no big surprise).  The only bummer about the pork was that we weren't able to get it from TD Niche and had to order it from our broad line supplier.  Unfortunately we don't get our first pigs in from Travis until next week.  We slow roasted the pork belly and served it with a sunflower honey-chili glaze and pickled fennel.  The pork belly dish was awesome in it simplicity alone plus it just brought some great flavor along with it.  We chose to pair this dish with James Arthur Vineyards Horizon wine.  It is a rose that balanced great with the dish.  I must really like that wine since I used it as a pairing in last years competition as well.

Angela and I went out to present the food at the competition.  We were really busy since both of our dishes had several components to them that took a bit of work to plate plus Angela was pouring the wine as well.  We served at least 100 plus portions of food and got great feed back from guests and got a lot of interest sparked for the restaurant to open. 

In the end we were able to pull out the overall win in the competition.  It was a great experience and was good for us and the restaurant.

The Menu

                                                         Angela and I serving guests

                                                                         Still plating

                                                             Our Bangers and Mash

Getting the award from Rob for the overall win

Beer drank while writing this post:  Tart Lychee by New Belgium Brewing Co. out of Fort Collins, CO.

Single Barrel Hog Roast

When we were trying to decide what to do for the all of the Husker football games at Single Barrel we were wanting to come up with something a little different than just the same typical foods that every body else would serve and we wanted to do our version of a tailgate. So someone (we can't remember who) had the idea that since all of us chefs at Single Barrel loves pork why not do a hog roast. It just seemed to fit with what we were all about. So we decided to test it out for the spring game.

When we talked about this with Travis from TD Niche Pork he was really excited about it. He has always been extremely excited aboout us using his pork at Single Barrel and I've always wanted to use his pork in a restaurant because his pork is superior to anything else that I've had and I can't wait to highlight it full time on our menu. Anyways, back to the meat of this post. After talking with Travis about getting a pig he offered to come and help us pull the meat off the hog and serve it and I quickly took him up on his offer just for the fact that I thought it would be cool to have the producer with us and I figured who else would know more about it than the guy who raised the animal.

Here is the star of the show. An awesome Berkshire hog from TD Niche Pork. It was a 100 lb carcass perfect for our needs.

I decided to take out the leaf lard on the inside of the hog for other uses.
Ross seperating the ribs from the backbone to flatten it out so it would fit inside our grill. We were all kind of excited about doing this for the first time so we all got involved in the prep.

The hog all rubbed down with our Cocoa-Chilie rub ready to go.

The hog in our grill at 4 AM. This was the only real draw back of this whole thing was that we had to get to the hour lounge by 3:30 to grab the hog to get it over to Single Barrel where we were cooking it. I would like to see the security cameras from behind the bar. Ross and I showed up about 30 minutes after everybody left, pulled his van up to the back door and ran inside grabbed the pig (that was wrapped and tied nicely in plastic) and tossed it into the back of his van jumped inside and took off. I'm sure it looked just like a body pick-up in a mob movie. If someone was watching they probably would have been asking some questions.

The star of the show fully roasted and inside.

The Single Barrel hog crew (left to right): Ross-Chef de Cuisine, Travis-TD Niche Pork, Angela-Sous Chef and myself.

Travis and me pulling the meat

All that was left of the hog when we were done with it.

When all was said and done the hog roast went great. It was really cool when we carried the cooked hog into the dining room and everybody turned and looked to check it out. Based on what everyone was saying the hog made the whole room smell great. The whole thing seemed to go over really well and I think our new tradition is going to be a huge success when we get into the regular football season.

Beer drank while writing this post: Organic Best Ale by Samuel Smith Brewery out of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, UK

Foraging for Morels

On Sunday I was down in Nebraska City to see my families for Easter. I was talking with my Dad who has always taken me out to hunt for morels for as long as I can remember about how people were finding morels early this year since the weather has been so nice. My Dad said he wasn't going to get many chances to go out and look for some since he and my Mom were heading off on a trip later in the week. So after talking about it for a few minutes we decided to head out to a place that he nows that is 2 minutes outside of town that he has been able to find some at in the past.

When we got out to the spot we headed into the timber and walked for about 10 minutes and weren't having much luck and were starting to get a little worried when my Dad who has a way better eye for finding them than I do finally found the first one.

the first one

After finding the first one we started to find several small little patches of about 4 or 5 at a time. As we kept walking we just kept finding more and more small patches of them. The walking was pretty rough for me since I was not prepared to go foraging. I was dressed in shorts and flip flops but it was definetly worth it.

my haul part way through

In the end I ended up finding almost a pound and my Dad found a pound and a half. Not to bad since we were only out for a little over an hour and only walked about a mile and half. Last season we were out for several hours and walked a lot more and only found about the same amount.

I think morels are one of my favorite foods. There is something that makes them special. Maybe it is the fact that we can only get/find them here fresh in Nebraska for only a few weeks a year or maybe it was always a special thing to go out and hunt them with my Dad and then go out to my Grandma's the next day where she would fry them and we would feast until our stomachs hurt.

All in all the most important thing to me is that they just plain taste amazing. All in all I hope that I will have a chance to get out and try to find some more or I'll have to just be patient until next year when I get the chance to go out and find some more.

Beer drank while writing this post: 1554 by New Belgium Brewing Co. out of Fort Collins, CO.

Lucky Bucket Brewery and Solas Distillery

On a recent trip to Omaha for a meeting with our equipment supply and kitchen design company for Single Barrel, Ross, Craig (the beverage manager) and myself stopped by the Lucky Bucket Brewery and Solas Distillery for a visit and tour. Lucky Bucket had contacted us about selling their beer at Single Barrel and we wanted to see what they were all about and visit with them a bit. I've been drinking their beers for quite a while. Actually, when I was first getting re-excited about beer Lucky Bucket Pre-Prohibition style lager was one of the first that I started drinking regularly. I've always liked their beer and when I tried their winter snowsuit it was my favorite winter seasonal of the year so I knew the product was good. I'm actually really excited about the beer list at Single Barrel since I'm getting quite a bit of say on what is going to be listed.

The first thing that impressed me about these guys was that when we showed up a bit early and were waiting for the sales rep that we set the appointment up with to get there the president of the company came over and started chatting with us about what we were doing at Single Barrel and while talking with us he opened us each a bottle of their brand new just released that actual day Heartland Wheat. Know I was already impressed that the president of the company was interested enough to come over to talk with us and then giving me beer is also another great way to butter me up.

After Chris the sales rep showed up we started to learn more about the short but prosperous growth of the company and started to sample some of their single batch and seasonal beers. I was very impressed by several of them. They had a black IPA called the Raven which is one of the best of that style of beer that I've ever had and black IPA's are one of my favorite styles. They also had a saison that was incredible.

After several samples we started on the brewery tour to see what was happening behind the scenes. Very cool small but very busy brewery. While we were on the tour we also got to taste their Zomb Bomb which is a 17% Imperial IPA monster of a beer. We all just tried a sip since we already had done quite a bit of tasting. It was a beast but really good. Easily a beer that could get you in trouble fast.

We also talked with them about the Solas Distillery which is also doing some very cool things, like making the first single malt whiskey in Nebraska. Kinda perfect for a place called Single Barrel right? It won't be done until next year but we can't wait and will be highlighting at Single Barrel. They also produce Joss vodka which will be offered at Single Barrel as well.

The view from right inside the door.

Barrels with whiskey and some other secret projects

The copper stills imported from Scotland

The tanks

Chris our sales rep giving us the up close tour of the brewery.

The barrels aging their best (and my favorite they offer) regular offered beer: Certified Evil

Overall I was very impressed with the brewery, people and beers. I can't wait to do some really cool stuff with them in the future. We are already talking about a Food and Beer dinner with them.

Beer drank while writing this post: Heartland Wheat by Lucky Bucket Brewery out of La Vista, NE

My $.02 on Pink Slime

I've had several people ask me about what I think about Pink Slime or lean finely textured beef. When I read about it and learned what it was my first reaction was that I think it is horrible and not good. The more that I read about it and thought about it I started to have some mixed feelings.

Some part of me wants to think that it is ok. I'm a firm believer in using the whole animal. When I say the whole animal I mean everything inside and out, which I would guess would also mean the lean meat that is processed out of fat and turned into "pink slime". It is a way to utilize something for food that would get thrown away. It is supposedly safe and keeps the price of some ground meat low which for some people would probably just fine.

The other part of me thinks that it is wrong. Ground beef should be labeled if it has a product in it like that. For me I would rather not eat it. I think it really becomes a quality issue. I don't think the quality of meat with finely textured lean beef in it is doesn't have the same quality standards as pure ground beef. I know that in my restaurants we will not be using it in the beef that we grind and I won't use it in the beef that I buy for my family. I feel there are probably other things that it could be used for.

A big part of the problem is the closed doors and windows of the places like meat packing plants etc. people would have a better idea of what there food is, looks like and were it comes from.

I guess in the end what do you want to eat:

This?

lean finely textured beef

Or This?

pure ground chuck

In my final opinion it comes down to a personal choice. For me, quality always wins out and I don't want it in my ground meat and I'm willing to pay a bit more for it (but I also grind my own so it doesn't matter). If you want cheap meat and the quality is second to you than fine, by all means buy it. My biggest thing though is that it should be labeled. If it is in it it should be labeled pure ground meat and lean finely textured beef, even in restaurants that are going to use beef that is a mix of the 2. I would rather not eat anything that has been sprayed with ammonia, no matter how little or insignificant it is.

Here's a video of Jamie Oliver that I liked explaining it. Most of it I agree with and a couple of things I don't but its still pretty good.:

Beer drank while writing this post: Fallen Angel Sweet Stout by Empyrean Brewing Company out of Lincoln, NE

Blue Valley Aquaculture

Another producer tour I was fortunate enough this week to get to go visit Blue Valley Aquaculture in Sutton, NE.

Blue Valley raises Steelhead Trout that we will be using at Single Barrel. We are going to offer the Trout a couple of different ways.

The Trout are raised in converted Hog barns that have been modified to hold the several thousand Trout that are being raised. All of the water that is used in the tanks for the fish is fresh ground water from the Ogallala Aquafier. It was really interesting to see the fish being raised. The farm has several very good practices that it uses to sustaibably raise the fish in ways that are good for both the fish and surrounding lands.

I'm really looking forward to getting some of the fish in and start testing out some menu items to see exactly how it is going to fit onto our menu.

I also like that when I check Steelhead Trout on the Monterey Bay Seafood watch program that Farm raised Steelhead Trout is a Good Choice. Which is something that is extremely important to me since it is the only fish option we will offer and it is important to us that it is a sustainable product.

One of several long runways for the fish to swim in.

The young fish jumping into a feeding frenzy when their feed was added to the water.


Up close shot of a few of the fish.

Lots of little Steelheads

Beer drank while writing this post: Lucky Bucket IPA by Lucket Bucket Brewing Co. out of La Vista, NE.

Nebraska Bison

This week I've been on spring break from the college so that means full steam ahead on work for Single Barrel. We have been working on finding our local suppliers and meeting with them.

When I think of Nebraska cuisine I always have to think about Bison. Since it is native to Nebraska it only makes sense for us to utilize it on our menu since we are trying to define what Nebraska cuisine is and can be. Serving Bison would be something that my grandfather would have loved since he really embraced his native american heritage and bison was a such a large part of that culture.

So with that being said the first of our producer we met with this week was Nebraska Bison. They are located in Adams, NE which is about 20 minutes from Lincoln which is perfect for us since we want to try to stay as local as possible with as many of our suppliers as we can.

Ross and I were joined by Rob who is also off from the college. We drove up and met with the owners of the ranch Randy and Jane Miller as well as Stacey who is the marketing director that I set everything up with. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming which is always comforting when you meet someone for the first time.

After we sat and talked for a few minutes it was time to go see the Bison. We hopped in the back of a truck and they drove us right into the pasture with all of the pregnant cows. It was great to see these amazing animals up close as they followed the truck around that was dumping alfalfa pellets that they seemed to love. After we finished in the pasture with the cows we went up to check out some of the Bison that are being finished and getting close to harvesting. Again we went right into the pen and were able to see how they are finished and what they are fed. Its always nice when dealing with good ranchers that are producing a great product because they have nothing to hide and take you right up to the animals.

After finishing up looking at all of the magnificant Bison we went back up to talk more about the restaurant and what we would like to see to put on the menu. We got some product to take back with us as we test the menu and see exactly what parts of the Bison we are going to use on our menu. Of course with our style we will really be highlighting some of the more under utilized cuts. I can't wait to start using this amazing product that is being raised right in our backyard.

Here are some pictures and a quick video from when we were at the ranch:

Bison in the finishing lot
One of the Bulls used for breeding

Cow feeding

Pregnant cows following the truck for the Alfalfa pellets