Seafood a la Wando at Hank’s Seafood

As I’ve mentioned in several posts, we go to Charleston, SC often. We love the history, shopping, beaches and most important for me, the restaurants. Many of my favorite restaurants are in Charleston. One restaurant you won’t find on my favorites list is Hank’s Seafood. It’s not because I don’t like Hank’s. The food is very good and consistent. The atmosphere is awesome. The seafood is fresh. I’m picky with my favorites list.

The restaurant isn’t on my favorites, BUT they may have my favorite dish in Charleston. Hank’s Seafood a la Wando. This dish is fantastic, maybe a little rich, but amazing. I don’t often order the exact same thing every time I go somewhere, but I love this dish so much, I get it now every time.

The menu describes it such:

“Sautéed Shrimp Scallops and Fish deglazed with Sherry finished with Crabmeat, Button Mushrooms and Scallion in a Shellfish Saffron Cream Sauce Served with Fried Grit Cakes”.

I shouldn’t have to say any more than that. The seafood is fresh and cooked well. The mushrooms are a surprise of supple earthiness and the fresh scallion and a punch of freshness. The fried grit cakes are the perfect starch to balance the rich sauce. Oh and there is the sauce, very heavy sauce with a hint of saffron velvet. The sherry is a nice acid that brightens the whole dish. Ahh…yum! One of the best things I have eaten. As much as I love to try new things, I’ll get this until they take it off the menu.

PS. Hank’s isn’t on my favorites list but that is not because I don’t like the restaurant, we go often. They just aren’t the type of restaurant that I look for when naming favorites. Most restaurants on my fav list, I couldn’t point to a dish like the Seafood a la Wando, because the never have the same menu twice.

I would recommend Hank’s and highly recommend the Seafood a la Wando.

Local Pork Chops, Creamy Grits and Quick Chow Chow

One of my favorite things to do culinarily is to attempt to mimic a meal from a favorite restaurant. I try to make the same meal, with my twists. Maybe I add a little more of this or less of that. An example is a visit to The Lazy Goat (a favorite in downtown Greenville, SC) I had a brilliant lunch. Serrano Wrapped Halibut with Haricot Verts and Duck Fat Fries (best in the world…duck fat, enough said). This inspired me to make Prosciutto Wrapped Halibut with Haricot Verts and Baked Duck Fat Fries. I switched the prosciutto for the Serrano because I like it better and I baked the fries because I don’t have a fryer.

Earlier this year on a pilgrimage to Charleston, SC we visited a newly opened restaurant for dinner. Husk, a Sean Brock (admittedly one of my favorite chefs) restaurant, offers local southern inspired cuisine. As a matter of fact, none of the food served in the restaurant can come from north of the Mason-Dixon line (seriously). That night I had a Fudge Farms Pork Chop with Crispy Pig Ears, Bacon Braised Cabbage and Speckled Butterbean Chow Chow. Yes, I said with crispy pig ear. It was amazing, the pork chops were perfectly cooked, and the broad beans add a nice creamy balance against the sour and heat of the chow chow. Oh, and then there is the pig’s ear. I tell you, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. It essentially tastes like bacon. I love when Chef’s use the whole animal, I think it respects the animal to discard as little as possible. I digress; the pig’s ear was crispy, smoky, sweet and salty. It really did finish the dish perfectly. On last thing, if you aren’t familiar with chow chow, it is a spicy southern relish that is usually used down here as a condiment.

So that was my inspiration for Pork Chops, Creamy Grits, Chow Chow and garnished with crispy turkey bacon. On a visit to Whole Foods, we just couldn’t decide what we wanted for dinner. Jen suggested that we hadn’t had pork chops in a while. They had the biggest chops I’d seen, fresh, local, organic, thick cut chops. I’d never made chow chow before. A quick Google search gave me some ideas, but I am WAY to impatient to wait 6 hours to 2 weeks as most recipes suggested. I decided on a “quick” chow chow instead. The creamy grits tied this dish up nicely. I could probably have found some fresh pig’s ears (I actually had a bag of smoked ones for my dogs) but…umm…I’ll leave that to the professionals. I usually would have used my go to Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Bacon, but I’m embarrassed to say, I was fresh out. All I had was Jen’s turkey bacon. All in all, this meal was very nice.

The chow chow was amazing, crunchy, sour, salty and spicy. We still have some in the fridge, I imagine it will be all the better in a few more days. I have talked in previous posts (like making quick kimchee and quick pickles) about my impatience in the kitchen. I have an idea and I want to eat it that night, not in a week or heaven forbid TWO WEEKS. The chow chow is the same deal. Most traditional chow chow are pickled and set for weeks or longer. My answer to that is below. Also, my jalapenos weren’t quite ready for harvest so I substituted Srirachi (my favorite condiment). This gave it a little Asian twist, which we liked.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 thick cut pork chops
• Anson Mills Grits (you can use quick grits but NOT instant)
• Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Bacon
• Half and half (milk or heavey cream)
• 1/2 to 1 cup cheese (your favorite cheese that melts easy)
• 1/2 head of savoy cabbage
• 2-3 green tomatoes
• 1 red bell pepper cubed
• 1 small vidalia onion sliced thin
• Vinegar (I used a mixture of red, white and cider)
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar to taste
• Sriracha to taste
• Kosher salt
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. First we’ll make the chow chow. Heat a large pot over medium. Because this is the “quick” version, I put the green tomatoes into my food processor and pulsed them about 10 times. I wish I would have only pulsed 5-6 times; it would have left a few more visible chunks. Add a touch of olive oil and drop in the onions and bell pepper, mix for a minute. Add green tomato and juice from processor. Mix all together and add salt, vinegar, sugar, sriracha and bring to boil. Reduce to low and simmer until vegetables are cooked through but still have some crunch. At this point I just removed from heat and let sit until I was done making the other components. Traditionally you cool and put in the refrigerator. I was deliberately vague on the amounts for this recipe. Just add to your tastes, if you like more heat add more sriracha. If you like it sweeter, add more sugar.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 420 degrees.
3. If you have “real” grits, they may take up to 40 minutes to cook. If you have quick grits, that time will be more like 5-10. As for “instant” grits, it is just not right, don’t do it. Prepare the grits per the pack, but I usually replace half of the water with half and half, heavy cream or milk. When the grits are done, add cheese and butter (if you like). Also, on this day, I poured the drippings from the pork chop pan in. That added most of the seasoning. Keep warm.
4. For garnish I used turkey bacon brushed with molasses, but I just can’t recommend that to you all. Use smoked bacon. Put the bacon on a sheet pan and place in the oven. Cook until crispy.
5. For the pork chops, season with salt and pepper and in a large oven proof pan sear both sides. Place in the oven until the chops reach the appropriate doneness. I think the rule is 145 degrees. I like them a little pink, I usually target 130-135 degrees and let the carry-over cooking, when removed from the oven, bring them to a safe temperature.

The “sauce” you see in the photo above is actually the pickling liquid from the chow chow. I was very pleased with my decision to serve the chow chow warm. While eating, the sauce mixed with the grits and was delicious. I like the vegetables being sour with good heat and still having some crunch. The chow chow was nice this way although not traditional. Let me know what you think.

Suckling Pig Confit, sautéed young greens, roasted beets, mustard jus, smoked bacon at FIG.

One of our favorite vacation spots is Charleston, South Carolina. It is very convenient for us here in Greenville, SC to get to (usually less then a 3.5 hour drive). It has every thing we love, the beach, the history, the shopping and most importantly for me the restaurants. If you are a foodie like me, this is a Mecca. Restaurants like McCrady’s, Fulton Five and FIG all make my favorites and can satisfy any foodie cravings you might have.

On this particular trip our “splurge” meal was FIG, short for Food Is Good. I have NEVER eaten anything at this restaurant that I did not LOVE. The atmosphere has a great vibe and the decor is well done not over done. I know for a fact that most of the staff are the same as my very first visit years ago. That says a lot too.

The menu has never been the same on any two visits and most of the ingredients are sourced locally and sustainable. Better then all that, the food IS good. On this visit we started with the John’s Island Tomato Tarte Tatin with fromage blanc and tapenade. I love tarte tartin anything (some day I will get around to blogging my tomato and goat cheese tarte tartin) and this one does not disappoint. The tomatoes are perfectly tender, the crunch from the tarte, the saltiness from the tapenade and the tartness from the goat cheese cream makes the dish amazing. The tarte is a great way to start.

For my entrée I had the Caw Caw Creek Suckling Pig Confit with sautéed young greens, roasted beets, mustard jus and smoked bacon. Can I just say, well done Chef Lata! The pig confit was like a REALLY high end pulled pork with pork belly. The greens were tender but still crisp and not overly seasoned. The beets were roasted beets, very nicely roasted (nothing special and still delicious). The mustard jus, as you can see in the photo above, has the mustard seeds and was also not over seasoned. The smoked bacon was mostly in the greens which is how a make them as well. Like most dishes I have had at FIG, The Chef really lets the ingredients stand on their own accenting them when needed but never over powering them.

When dining at an establish such as this Jen and I usually split a dessert. On our last two visits we got the same one, Apple Tarte Tartin over a Honey Crisp with Vanilla Rum Syrup and Rum Raisin Ice Cream. Uhhhh….Yum! Again, very well balanced with the apple, the crunch from the tart and the crisp almost tasted like peanut brittle. The ice cream rounds out the dessert with that cool creaminess and when all combined reminds you of apple pie a la mode.

I really love this restaurant. The food is simple but elevated. It is like my Grandmothers might make but with a more refined culinary technique. Like confit instead of roasting or tarte tartin instead of a pie. I highly recommend this restaurant. The price point is a little on the pricey side as are most Charleston restaurants but it is well worth it in my opinion.

Have you ever been to FIG? What did you think?

Congrats to Chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s on the James Beard Award.

One of my favorite Chef’s in the whole world has won the most prestigious culinary award one can win, The James Beard Award. Chef Brock was named the Best Chef Southeast for his work at McCrady’s at 2 Unity Alley in Charleston, South Carolina. The restaurant is located in an old building down a tiny cobble stone street. The bottom floor has been many things during its history including a tavern and a warehouse and I have been told by several staff there, a whore house upstairs (Nice, huh!). If you sit around awhile you’ll hear stories about pirates and all that cool stuff.

The building, however, is NOT why it is my favorite restaurant in the south and has been for many years. Check out Chef Brock’s ever changing menu and commitment to farm to table cuisine, it is ridiculous. The best thing I have ever eaten in my life was at McCrady’s, a tuna tartare (I will review that some other time).

Read more:
Charleston City Paper
NY Times
All the James Beard award winners (PDF)