by Guy Fieri
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Cheddar Cheese Burgers with Jezebel Sauce
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF GWEN MANCI OF MANCI’S ANTIQUE CLUB
Get your Jazzy Burger on with some crazy good sauce.
MAKES 4 BURGERS
1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
2 teaspoons Dale’s Seasoning (can be purchased at www.dalesseasoning.com)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds ground round
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
8 slices smoked bacon—cooked, of course
4 hamburger buns
Jezebel sauce, for serving (recipe follows)
Your favorite condiments and lettuce, sliced tomato, and red onion, for serving
0 TO 60 IN ONE WEEK.
1. Use your hands to work the seasoning mixes, salt, and pepper into the beef. Be careful not to overwork. Shape the meat into four ½-inch-thick patties.
2. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat. Cook the burgers to the desired degree of doneness. Top each burger with ¼ cup cheese and 2 slices bacon right before it is done.
3. While the burgers are cooking, warm your buns (hamburger buns, of course). Serve the burgers with Jezebel sauce, condiments, lettuce, tomato, and red onion.
Jezebel Sauce
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF GWEN MANCI OF MANCI’S ANTIQUE CLUB
MAKES 1 PINT
8 ounces apple jelly
8 ounces pineapple preserves
6 ounces prepared horseradish, drained
Scant ½ cup dry mustard
Coarse ground black pepper
Whisk together the apple jelly, pineapple preserves, horseradish, mustard, and a generous amount of black pepper in a medium bowl.
SOMEONE MUST HAVE RANSACKED THE JOINT. IT LOOKED WAY DIFFERENT WHEN I WAS THERE.
Spider Sandwich (Soft-Shell Crab Po’boy)
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF GWEN MANCI OF MANCI’S ANTIQUE CLUB
Behold the po’boy technique of po’boy royalty.
MAKES 4 SANDWICHES
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1 cup milk
¼ cup lager beer
1 egg
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning the crab
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning the crab
4 large soft-shell crabs, cleaned
4 po’boy buns, toasted
Tartar sauce, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, onions, and pickles, for garnish
1. Heat the oil in a deep-fryer or heavy pot to 375°F. Whisk the milk with the beer, egg, and hot sauce in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, whisk the flour, Cajun seasoning, and 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
2. Season the crabs with the remaining salt and pepper. Dip a crab in the milk mixture, making sure you coat it well. Dredge the crab in the seasoned flour, covering the crab completely with flour. Fry in the hot oil until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Repeat with the remaining crabs. Serve the crabs on the po’boy buns with tartar sauce, lettuce, and sliced tomatoes, onions, and pickles.
SOUTH
ALPINE STEAKHOUSE
EST. 1932 WHERE TURDUCKEN’S KNOCKIN’ FOLKS OUT OF THE COOP
When you’re thinking about turkey, you’re probably not thinking of a joint like this. The Alpine Steakhouse is more of a sirloin and sausage kind of place, but wait until you hear what they’re doing with turkey; it’s going to blow you away.
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TRACK IT DOWN
4520 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, Florida 34231
941-922-3797
www.alpinesteak.com
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Seriously, man, they take a chicken, they shove it in a duck, they put the duck inside the turkey, and then they stuff it with all sorts of things. It’s called a turducken, and it’s just one of the homemade specialties that transplanted New Yorker Mark Rebhan and his son Matt are cranking out at the restaurant and butcher shop first opened by Mark’s dad more than thirty years ago.
See, his dad came to Florida to retire, but that didn’t last too long; he got back into business, and then Mark came down in 1975. So one day Mark hears of something called a turducken. I asked Matt how he responded when his dad said, “Guess what? You’re going to start boning chickens, ducks, and turkeys, making all the stuffing, throwing it all together, and then sewing it up like a football.” Mark says, “Basically, he just put one on the counter and started doing one himself, and we just did it side-by-side.”
Piecing this bad boy together is kind of like a culinary action movie for a guy like me. They make their own andouille sausage, and Matt does such a mac daddy job sewing up the bird that he’s gotta have a spring clothing line coming out. He makes it look easy. Superbird takes twelve to thirteen hours at 200°F to cook. You should smell it—holy moly. When you start eating it, you pick up the richness of the duck, the andouille flavor; and the chicken has a lighter texture than the turkey. It’s a flavorfest, all right—and that’s before the gravy. It’s like somebody shot off all the fireworks at the same time.
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[GUY ASIDE]
They say we’re going to go here. I say, eh, sounds good…wait, they’ve got what? A turducken? Then we’ve got to go for sure. I was so excited for weeks to actually see someone make one. And they lay it down like surgeons. If they’d been in the medical field instead, they’d own half of Florida. Dynamite. The following Thanksgiving I made it at my house—I almost had to call the 800 help line, but I ended up kicking butt with it.
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While the turducken’s in the oven, these guys serve oysters Rockefeller to get you started. They begin with several tablespoons of butter in a frying pan, a cup and a half of chopped celery, chopped green onions, chopped parsley, kosher salt, white pepper, cayenne, chopped garlic, fennel; do a flambé of Pernod; and then toss in spinach. Stuff the oysters, dust them with Parmesan, and broil for a bit. Now, I’ve had a lot of oysters Rockefeller, but the spinach and jacked-up anise flavor from the Pernod—that’s money. Seems Mark and Matt just have a way with stuffing things with flavor. Starter or entrée, these guys really are talkin’ turkey.
THE DUDES WILL SOON START THE STEER-GOATA-PIG! THE DUDES WILL SOON START THE STEER-GOATA-PIG!
The Turducken
Boneless Turkey Stuffed with a Boneless Duck
and a Boneless Chicken (“One Big Bird”)
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF ALPINE STEAKHOUSE
Be brave, get a buddy, and tackle the birds.
MAKES 20 TO 25 GENEROUS SERVINGS
1 (4-pound) chicken, butterflied through the back, wings and all bones removed
About 9 tablespoons olive oil
About 7 tablespoons blackening spice, divided
1 (6-pound) duck, butterflied through the back, wings and all bones removed
1 (25-pound) turkey, butterflied through the back, wings attached, boned except for drumsticks
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
Cornbread Dressing (recipe follows)
Spinach Stuffing (recipe follows)
Andouille Sausage Stuffing (recipe follows)
3 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into strips
2 tablespoons kosher salt
Gravy, for serving
Special equipment: large 3-inch-deep roasting pan, rack, parchment paper,
butcher’s twine, trussing needle or large sewing needle
1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Rub the chicken all over with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of blackening spice. Place the chicken skin side down in the hot skillet and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes, then turn over and brown again for a minute or two. Do the s
ame thing with the duck. Refrigerate the birds until you are ready to assemble the turducken.
2. Place the turkey on a large cutting board, skin side down, with the legs toward you. Rub the meat with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of blackening spice and the garlic. Pat a ½-inch layer of cornbread dressing over the meat. Top that with a ¼-inch layer of spinach stuffing. Scatter about 2 cups andouille sausage stuffing over the spinach stuffing. Top that with 6 to 8 slices of roasted bell pepper.
3. Place the chilled duck skin side down on top of the peppers. Layer the stuffings and peppers as above, using a bit less sausage stuffing. Repeat with the chicken. Press down gently with your hands to compact all ingredients.
4. TRUSSING THE TURDUCKEN MAY TAKE ANOTHER PERSON’S HELP: Lift the sides of the turkey together. Have a helper hold the bird closed. Starting at the legs and working toward the neck, sew the turkey together with the butcher’s twine and trussing needle, making the stitches about 1 inch apart. Sew up the neck opening. Cut the twine and then sew up the openings by the legs.
5. Since the turducken has no boney frame, very carefully roll it breast side up and truss the legs with twine. For extra support, tie butcher’s twine around the body at 3-inch intervals.
6. Preheat the oven to 250°F. Set the turducken on the rack in the roasting pan. Add ½ cup water to the pan. Rub the breast and legs with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons or so of blackening spice and the salt. Wrap the drumsticks with aluminum foil. Place parchment paper over the entire bird. Loosely tent the roasting pan with aluminum foil. Bake until a meat thermometer inserted just above the thigh into stuffing at the center reads 165°F, 12 to 13 hours. Remove all of the foil and the parchment paper and turn the oven up to 325°F. Roast until golden brown and crisp, another hour or so, basting occasionally with the drippings.
7. Remove the turducken from the oven and let it rest in the roasting pan for at least 1 hour. Transfer to a carving platter and remove all of the twine, including the stitching along the spine. To serve, cut the turducken in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1-inch slices. Serve warm, with your favorite gravy.
Andouille Sausage Stuffing
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF ALPINE STEAKHOUSE
MAKES 4 SERVINGS (IF SERVED APART FROM THE TURDUCKEN)
1½ pounds coarsely ground pork
1¼ teaspoons liquid smoke
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Pinch of ground mace
Pinch of ground allspice
Pinch of ground bay leaf
Pinch of ground sage
1 tablespoon bacon fat
1. Mix the pork, liquid smoke, garlic, and seasonings and spices in a large bowl.
2. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat, add the bacon fat, and then brown off the sausage mixture. Once the sausage mixture is cooked through, about 7 to 8 minutes, remove from the heat. Chill until ready to use.
Spinach Stuffing
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF ALPINE STEAKHOUSE
MAKES 4 SERVINGS (IF SERVED APART FROM THE TURDUCKEN)
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 large Spanish onion, chopped
2 pounds frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess liquid removed, or 1½ pounds fresh spinach, chopped
½ teaspoon ground fennel
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature before using.
LIKE GORILLA BBQ, THEY’LL SPELL IT OUT FOR YA!
Cornbread Dressing
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF ALPINE STEAKHOUSE
To make poultry stock, Alpine Steakhouse simmers the turkey, duck, and chicken carcasses in one gallon of water with some celery tops and onion skins for two hours.
MAKES 12 SERVINGS (IF SERVED APART FROM THE TURDUCKEN)
2 pounds fresh cornbread, cut into ½-inch cubes and dried overnight, or dried cornbread stuffing
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1½ cups chopped celery
1½ cups chopped Spanish onions
6 cups poultry stock
1½ pounds ground pork
¾ cup cold water
2 tablespoons fresh chopped sage
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1½ cups chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1. Put the cornbread into a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and onions and cook, stirring, to soften the vegetables and release their flavors. Add the poultry stock and let the mixture simmer while you continue.
2. Fold together the pork, water, sage, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add the pork mixture, and brown until fully cooked. Add the pork, along with the warm stock and vegetables and the parsley, to the cornbread. With a spoon or spatula, fold everything together so that the mixture is saturated with stock. Season to taste. Chill before using.
SOUTH
MATTHEWS CAFETERIA
EST. 1995 SOUTHERN COMFORT ON MAIN STREET
It’s only ten miles from Atlanta, but when you cruise down Main Street in Tucker, Georgia, it looks like it did fifty years ago. Especially this local landmark, a third-generation joint where folks say the food is better than ever.
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TRACK IT DOWN
2229 Main Street
Tucker, Georgia 30084
770-939-2357
www.matthewscafeteria.com
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Matthews is the kind of small-town cafeteria the South used to be full of. Good home cooking done the right way every single day. That’s the way Michael Greene grew up working beside his father, Charles, and his mom, Alice. Alice’s father started this place, and Mike’s running it today. So it’s his responsibility to make sure that everyone’s getting exactly what they expect. The biscuits are made fresh every morning. They start with 3½ pounds of flour, 17½ pounds of shortening, and nonfat buttermilk, and he hand-makes (literally) some winner flaky biscuits even before the peppery sausage gravy—which would be good out of a shoe. We’ve done biscuits and gravy all over the country, and these were hands down some of the best.
OWNER’S NOTE: It’s been out of control—the numbers are staggering since the day after the show aired; it’s been phenomenal. We’ve got people from all over the country coming in just because they saw us on the show. You all did a wonderful job, and it’s been a godsend. We’re just tickled.—Mike Greene
DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT I THINK BRYNA “THE PIRATE” IS TWITTERING EVERYONE ABOUT YER BISCUITS—KEWL!
They’re also stuffing these biscuits with sausage, ham and cheese, or bacon and using the same dough to make another local favorite: chicken and dumplings. Wow, if those aren’t some of the most tender dumplings I’ve ever had. This place is about the country food. There are sweet potatoes, fried chicken, and Brunswick stew. They smoke the chicken out back for that stew—unexpected for sure. They start with a good chicken stock and then go wild with dry mustard, creamed corn, Worcestershire, vinegar…it goes on and on. First I get barbecue, then smokiness, then I get soup, the spiciness of chili, the Buffalo wing sauce; it’s like Metallica playing with the Philharmonic.
Matthews is a great place. As Mike says, they change by staying the same here; let everybody else change.
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[GUY ASIDE]
This is one of those places that’s a staple of a community. It’s Southern scratch cooking; they’re making it all. Kind of like Sweeti
e Pie’s in Missouri: they serve so many people so fast, and it’s a buffet of fresh-made food.
And Mike is hysterical! I’ve cooked with quite a few characters in my life, you name it, but the dude was a riot. I like being quick, but this dude was tit for tat all day long. I watched the show recently and I was like, man, it was a culinary Smothers Brothers. And the Brunswick stew was a trip, nuts. I’d never seen stew like this; talk about some crazy stuff: creamed corn, tomatoes, ketchup, a ton of Worcestershire sauce. So since then I’ve learned Brunswick Stew is like clam chowder: everybody has their own style. The spectrum is wide, and this was a wild one. They tried to get me to do chicken livers, but after recently having had (at Joe’s Gizzard City) my fill of gizzards, I wasn’t sure I could take on livers that day.
The great thing about working with Mike is he doesn’t have any measuring techniques. I kept calling him on it; one day I’ll send him a measuring cup, not that he needs it.
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Brunswick Stew
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF MIKE GREENE OF MATTHEWS CAFETERIA
Matthews Cafeteria smokes chicken parts in an outdoor smoker for ninety minutes at 350°F. You can also use boiled chicken, but in that case don’t use the bones; just bring the water to a simmer, and then add the skin with the other ingredients.
