MORALES:
And coming up next, we're making seafood a cinch with some easy tips for home chefs. But first, this is TODAY on
NBC
.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, co-host:
This morning on
TODAY'S KITCHEN
,
EASY AS
1-2-3, simple spring seafood. Fish can be a little intimidating for the home cook, but chef
Ed Brown
of
Ed
's
Chowder House
and the new
Rittenhouse Tavern
in
Philadelphia
has some secrets for success.
Ed
, good morning.
Mr. ED BROWN:
Good morning.
GUTHRIE:
We need your secrets. So we're making something with fluke. What -- how do you know you're getting fresh fish and why do you pick fluke?
Mr. BROWN:
First of all, fluke is a great firm white flesh and you're looking for nice firm. This is a whole one.
GUTHRIE:
Mm-hmm.
Mr. BROWN:
But if we see the fillets are just nice and wide and clean. You see the blood line and that it's nice and red indicates fresh.
GUTHRIE:
OK.
Mr. BROWN:
And I
just sliced the fillets thinly.
GUTHRIE:
You slice on the bias. What does that mean?
Mr. BROWN:
I'm slicing on -- so on an angle.
GUTHRIE:
Mm-hmm.
Mr. BROWN:
On about a 45 degree angle, slicing them thin and just put them on the plate. This is any typical crudo dish like this, lots of good olive oil, plenty.
GUTHRIE:
Great. So this is served raw.
Mr. BROWN:
This is served raw.
GUTHRIE:
Yeah.
Mr. BROWN:
Some crispy
Maldon
sea salt
, pink peppercorns...
GUTHRIE:
Mm-hmm.
Mr. BROWN:
...some radishes for crunch and flavor...
GUTHRIE:
Yum.
Mr. BROWN:
...and some color. I've got dill and chives.
GUTHRIE:
Wow. A little
lemon zest
.
Mr. BROWN:
A little
lemon zest
for that...
GUTHRIE:
Now, not all fish should be served raw, right? Certain...
Mr. BROWN:
Not all fish should be served raw.
GUTHRIE:
OK.
Mr. BROWN:
Fluke is a great one and it should be super quality.
GUTHRIE:
OK.
Mr. BROWN:
But that's real time. That's a simple dish.
GUTHRIE:
That's simple. Even -- hey, even I could do that, as long as I don't have to skin fish. Now this is a bluefish dish you're making.
Mr. BROWN:
It's a bluefish.
And I
'm a
Jersey
boy and I love bluefish, and it's an underutilized fish. Which there's plenty around and underutilized because everybody thinks it's going to be strong in flavor.
GUTHRIE:
It doesn't get the respect it deserves.
Mr. BROWN:
It doesn't get the respect that it deserves. And in this case, we're just cooking it with some wine and lemon.
GUTHRIE:
Smells great.
Mr. BROWN:
Finishing it with some beans.
GUTHRIE:
Those are beans that you put in there. OK.
Mr. BROWN:
Beans that I split. Going to turn that on.
GUTHRIE:
How long do you keep the fish on there because the hard part is not overcooking?
Mr. BROWN:
Right.
GUTHRIE:
I find.
Mr. BROWN:
The fish only cook for about three and a half minutes total.
GUTHRIE:
All right. What's the sauce? How did you create that?
Mr. BROWN:
The sauce is just -- I have shallots in there with the beans.
GUTHRIE:
Yeah.
Mr. BROWN:
And wine and lemon.
GUTHRIE:
Woo.
Mr. BROWN:
Sorry.
GUTHRIE:
That's all
right.
Mr. BROWN:
And this is...
GUTHRIE:
Yum.
Mr. BROWN:
This is a dish that we cook at
Chowder House
.
GUTHRIE:
OK. How long will that take start to finish?
Mr. BROWN:
Start to finish, that dish is about six minutes.
GUTHRIE:
All right. Now, what's this sauce we got going over here?
Mr. BROWN:
This is an oyster pan roast.
GUTHRIE:
Mm.
Mr. BROWN:
Oysters, cream, bacon, shallots, garlic.
GUTHRIE:
Oh. You're speaking my language.
Mr. BROWN:
This is...
GUTHRIE:
And your putting it over a crusty bread, it looks like.
Mr. BROWN:
Put it over crusty bread. We want to be soaking up all of that. And this is something that would be great -- we'll be serving at
Rittenhouse Tavern
.
GUTHRIE:
Tell us real quick about this dessert.
Mr. BROWN:
The dessert. This is a dessert that my wife,
Kelly
, invented. This is called
Cracker Jack
and
Jack.
TAMRON HALL reporting:
What?
Mr. BROWN:
Vanilla ice cream...
GUTHRIE:
Yeah.
Mr. BROWN:
...coated with
cracker jacks
...
NATALIE MORALES, anchor:
Wow.
Mr. BROWN:
...a caramel sauce made with
Jack Daniel
's...
GUTHRIE:
Oh, my gosh.
Mr. BROWN:
...and some
sea salt
...
MORALES:
Wow.
Mr. BROWN:
...in the caramel sauce. You eat it all together. This is a dish that actually we were enjoying some of those products one night.
HALL:
Yum.
GUTHRIE:
I was going to say.
MORALES:
Say, 'Wouldn't this be a great dessert?'
HALL:
We love your wife. Great idea.
GUTHRIE:
Were you sober when you created this?
MORALES:
Bring your wife by.
Mr. BROWN:
Next question.
GUTHRIE:
Yeah. All right. Chef
Ed Brown
. And we'll check out the new
Rittenhouse
in
Philadelphia
...
Mr. BROWN:
Thank you.
HALL:
Coming...
GUTHRIE:
Thank you so much
. Recipes on today.com.
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