Welcome to a new featured series on Mangia McCann: Top Chef Tuesdays! I’m a huge fan of the show and every Tuesday I’m going to come up with a challenge based upon the prior week’s episode. I will try and keep spoiler alerts to a minimum. Be sure to check out my Instagram TV page for associated video content.
Week 6’s Elimination Challenge was the tail end of a feature from the show where the chefs met with local indigenous tribes to discuss the importance of honoring food, using local ingredients, and preserving native, cultural heritage. The chefs made dinner for honored guests and representatives of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla. If that was not enough pressure already, Chefs were paired in teams and had to make a surf and turf offering of local native ingredients, at an elevated level.
My girls, my fiancé, and I, last year, learned a lot about the local indigenous culture, on a guided nature walk, by our county’s Historic Preservation Society, only 15 minutes from where we live. The Doeg People lived along the Potomac River where they could live off the abundance of fish, while also hunting deer and other small creatures, and forage in the lush surroundings.
As such, I decided to pair two local items: venison and deer. I marinated an eye of round (picture tiny tenderloin), from a friend who hunts deer to help control the local population, in a mixture of herbs, blackberries and wine. While I couldn’t go out and catch the fish myself, rockfish are abundant in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay Watershed. With this never-ending cool spring, I decided to make a chowder with the fish. But, in order to make sense on a plate of surf and turf, I decided to convert the chowder into croquettes and tie the two items together with a garlic cream sauce. It tasted delicious, but this was a double-elimination challenge. Would I survive? You’ll have to check out a very special Judge’s Table on my IGTV!
Marinated Venison Eye of Round
2 venison eye of round
3/4 cup blackberries
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup of wine
Leaves from 4 or 5 sprigs of thyme
Combine all ingredients, beside the venison, in a blender and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and pour into a zip lock bag. Add the venison and rub the marinade into the meat. Place in the fridge for up to 8 hours.
When ready to prepare, wipe the marinade off of the venison steaks and grill over high heat for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the grill and rest the meat before slicing.
Rockfish Chowder Croquettes
Butter
Onion
1 lb of new potatoes
2 ears of corn
Thyme
2 filets of rockfish
Water
2 cups milk or cream, mixed with 1 tbsp of cornstarch
Cayenne pepper
Seasoned panko bread crumb
Parsley or tarragon
In a small pot, melt 2 tbsp of butter. Saute minced onion and small-diced potatoes for a few minutes. Add in the kernels from 2 ears of corn along with a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves.
When everything has softened, add in 2.5 cups of water and the rockfish, seasoned with salt and pepper. Cover and gently poach the fish for about 5 minutes. Remove the fish and set aside. Add in the cream slurry and boil to reduce.
When reduced a little over half, stir in a few pinches of cayenne pepper and place the fish back in the pot. Cover and turn off the heat and let sit for about 5 minutes.
Uncover the pot and remove the skin from the fish while breaking the filets into small pieces. Turn the heat back on and reduce until the mixture is very thick.
Let the chowder cool completely. You can place the contents onto a baking sheet and place in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Then add in 2 tbsp of bread crumbs and some minced fresh herbs. Form the thickened chowder into croquettes and roll through more breadcrumbs until coated. Place in the fridge for an hour to let the croquettes set.
Preheat about 4 cups of oil to 375 and gently fry the croquettes until golden brown.
Garlic Cream Sauce
Butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 cups heavy cream
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and stir in the garlic, until fragrant, but not browned. Add in the cream and reduce, slowly for about 30 minutes, stirring often. Pour the cream through a fine mesh strainer to capture the garlic bits and finish reducing the sauce until thickened. ______________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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