Chef's Table: Sea Worthy
Husk chef de cuisine Travis Grimes uses littlenecks to craft three stellar clam dishes
In the spring, when the water starts warming and oyster season starts waning, mollusk addicts clamor for clams. “I can get local clams all year long,” says Travis Grimes, chef de cuisine of Husk. “And they have their own sweet and salty flavor of the sea.”
Grimes offers up a trio of ways to savor that ocean taste, all using littlenecks, the clam that he considers to have “the best texture.” His salad of pickled clams and fennel makes a refreshing first course or a light lunch. His take on clams casino, fat with tomatoes and greens and finished with bacon corn bread crumbles, easily surpasses the traditional version from New England. And just to be sure that there’s something simple and quick, he offers family-style oven-roasted clams.
Dave Belanger (Clammer Dave) who’s been farming clams and oysters along the Capers Island Wildlife Refuge for more than 10 years, supplies the shellfish for Husk. In the final stage of harvest, he raises them above the sea bottom so the highly oxygenated surface waters can naturally purge any mud or grit, yet maintain the clam’s salty liquor. At home, expel the grit by scrubbing them with a hard-bristled brush and soaking them in salted water for an hour.
DISHING IT UP WITH CHEF: Travis Grimes
RESTAURANT: Husk
ACCOLADES: Newsweek named Husk one of “101 Best Restaurants in America” in their 2012 list
FIRST F&B GIG: Louis Osteen’s Louis restaurant
EDUCATION: Johnson & Wales University
FAVORITE Local INGREDIENT: “I'm obsessed with smoke.”
RECIPE YOU'LL TAKE TO THE GRAVE: “None. I believe in sharing.”
Pickled Clams & Fennel Salad
For the clams:
3 doz. littleneck clams
1/2 bulb fennel, fronds reserved
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup Bragg apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. fennel seed
1/8 tsp. anise seed
1/8 tsp. coriander seeds
2 bay leaves
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbs. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
1/2 bulb fennel, fronds reserved
5 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Tbs., plus 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tangerines, one zested and juiced
2½ Tbs. apple cider vinegar (Bragg brand recommended)
1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. chopped tarragon
1 tsp. chopped chives
2 Tbs. honey
1/4 cup canola oil
3 small radishes
1/2 red onion
Using a clam knife, shuck clams, saving liquor, and store both together in a bowl. Using a mandolin, shave half of fennel bulb thinly. Reserve other half. Add shaved fennel to the clams.
For the pickling liquid, combine next 10 ingredients in a small stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer uncovered for five minutes. Remove from heat and let stand five minutes. Pour pickling liquid over clams and fennel. Cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
For the vinaigrette, lightly toss fennel and four cloves of garlic with teaspoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. Tightly wrap them in a sheet of aluminum foil and roast until very soft, about one hour. Place roasted fennel, garlic, and any juices into a blender. Finely mince remaining clove of garlic. Add garlic to blender, along with juice and zest of one tangerine, cider vinegar, mustard, tarragon, chives, and honey. Blend on medium, slowly drizzling in canola oil, and remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To assemble dish, use a mandolin to shave radishes and onion very thin. Using a knife, cut away peel and segment other tangerine. Drain pickled clams and fennel and place them in a bowl. Remove seeds from pickled clams. Add radishes and onion and lightly season with salt and pepper. Dress with vinaigrette. Place on a plate and garnish with tangerine segments and fennel fronds.
“Redneck” Clams Casino
1/4 cup pork lard (or substitute butter)
2 Tbs. yellow cornmeal
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1 cup canned tomato purée
3 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 Tbs. hot sauce, preferably Crystal
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. sugar
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups spicy mustard greens, stemmed and chopped
1 cup small dice of bacon
1 cup crumbled corn bread, dried overnight (recipe follows)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs. chopped chives
2 Tbs. chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 doz. littleneck clams
For the corn bread:
2 cups Anson Mills yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1½ cups buttermilk (Cruz recommended)
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 Tbs. bacon fat (Benton’s recommended)
2 Tbs. bacon pieces (Benton’s recommended)
For the tomato gravy, melt lard in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add cornmeal and flour and stir constantly on low heat. Cook until mixture has aroma of baked corn bread, about eight minutes. Vigorously whisk in milk and tomato purée, trying to avoid lumps. Add crushed tomato, hot sauce, lemon juice, sugar, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and fold in mustard greens.
For the crumbles, put the bacon in a skillet large enough to hold it in one layer and cook it over medium-low heat, stirring frequently so that it doesn’t burn, until the fat is released and the pieces of bacon are crispy, four to five minutes. Add bacon and grease to dried corn bread crumbles. Fold in eggs, Parmesan, chives, and parsley.
To assemble the dish, shuck clams using a clam knife, free clams from the shells and place them in the half shell. Spoon tomato gravy on top of clams and cover with crumble. Place them under the broiler for approximately five minutes, or until the crumble is golden brown. Plate on a bed of rock salt and serve immediately.
For the Corn Bread:
Preheat oven to 450°F. Place cast-iron skillet in oven to preheat for at least 10 minutes. Mix all dry ingredients. Whisk together buttermilk and egg and stir into dry ingredients. Stir in the bacon fat and pieces.
Move skillet from oven to stove, placing it over high heat. Add a tablespoon of bacon fat to skillet and swirl it to coat. Making sure the batter is stirred well, pour in the batter, distributing it evenly. Bake corn bread for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Oven-Roasted Clams
8 oz. smoky ground sausage
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup julienned yellow sweet onions
1/4 cup julienned red bell pepper
1/4 cup julienned green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs. hot sauce, preferably Crystal
3 doz. littleneck clams
2 cups arugula, stems on
1 tsp. chopped chives
1 tsp. chopped tarragon
1 tsp. chopped flat leaf parsley
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, about five minutes. Remove sausage, leaving fat in skillet. Add olive oil, onions, and peppers and cook on low heat until onions are translucent, about eight minutes. Add garlic and wine, scraping bottom of pan to release brown bits. Cook over medium heat until wine is reduced by half. Add tomatoes, lemon juice, and hot sauce. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Lay clams on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until they start to open. Add clams to tomatoes and simmer for two minutes, or until clams open entirely. Remove skillet from heat and add arugula and herbs. Once arugula is wilted, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve family style with toasted country bread.
