Fish and chips gets Gulf treatment

Fish and chips gets Gulf treatment

By David Vest
Florida Freedom Newspapers

“Emerald Coast Chefs” features a Gulf version of fish and chips in its latest segment, with Executive Chef Jason Craul of Emerald Grande Resort in Destin. The broadcast on Beach TV is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays through April 27.

Craul is among chefs who have worked his way up in kitchens. He began in high school, he says, as a dishwasher and then as a line cook at the Bon Appetit Cafe & Bakery at the Holiday Inn in Gulf Breeze.

After a stint as executive chef at Tops’l Beach and Racquet Resort in Destin, Craul attended the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University in North Miami Beach. In Coral Gables, he was an assistant chef at Nordstrom’s Bistro.

Since Craul’s return to the Destin area, he has worked with properties of the Legendary Resort Group, including time as executive chef at Tony’s Ristorante in Destin and his current position at Emerald Grande.

The version of fish and chips that Craul prepares with host Tim Creehan calls for grouper filet medallions with butter sauce, and garlic cloves cut into chips, blanched in milk and fried.

Printed recipes with precise measurements were not available. Here is a summarized recipe as supplied by Beach TV in a preview of the show:
Ingredients: Black grouper, garlic chips, salt, pepper, buttermilk, panko mixture (ground bread crumbs), olive oil, buttermilk, garlic cloves, heavy cream, butter sauce, chive oil.

Grouper:

Remove any remaining small bones along the bloodline. Season the grouper with salt and pepper and cut into small, butterflied medallions.

Heat olive oil in pan and dredge grouper in buttermilk and then panko mixture. Test the oil for temperature and place grouper into pan to fry.

Drain on paper towels and keep warm.Butter sauce: Dice shallots and add minced garlic, white wine, whole black peppercorns and thyme (or seasonings of preference) and lemon juice. Reduce mixture over heat until it coats bottom of pan, season with salt and white pepper.

Cut butter at room temperature into small squares or chips to soften more quickly. Add heavy cream and butter chips slowly to pan over reduced heat, stirring to keep sauce at solid consistency. Keep warm

Garlic chips:

Slice garlic cloves into curled chips with a grater and blanch in milk, repeating process three times. Deep-fry chips and season with salt and pepper.

To serve: Place a swirl of chive oil on plate and stack grouper medallions. Ladle butter sauce on top of fish and garnish with garlic chips.