www.preparedfoods.com/articles/113329-fish-and-seafood-an-executive-chefs-perspective
Fish and Seafood: An Executive Chef’s Perspective
Prepared Foods discusses seafood flavorings with chef David Crews, who won the 10th annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off this summer and was named “King of American Seafood.”
October 22, 2013
Prepared Foods discusses flavorings for seafood with chef David Crews, who won the 10th annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off this August and was named “King of American Seafood.” New Orleans hosted the event, which featured more than a dozen chefs representing states stretching from South Carolina to Alaska; and from Texas to Massachusetts.
Chef Crews is the owner of Crews Culinary Investments Inc. and executive chef at Six Shooter Land and Timber, in Drew, Miss. He and a Mississippi cooking team created a Southern Nicoise Salad with potato-crusted lump crab, as well as tuna loin crusted with pork rinds, heirloom cherry tomatoes, puffed pork skins, Tabasco-cured bacon and poached eggs.
PF: Congratulations on your competition win! How did you pick that particular dish? What “makes” it, in terms of flavor?
Crews: We started by brainstorming -- bouncing ideas off of one another and finding main components that we liked. Then, we started building a dish from those ideas. But, when it comes down to it, we picked this dish because it was us; it was Mississippi!
What makes this dish is how complex the flavors are, and how simple the dish is. The smoky flavor from the pork rinds and bacon; the freshness of a great piece of tuna; the saltiness of the pickled okra; the crunch of the potato crust, but the softness of the crab; and the velvety smoothness of the egg -- and all are put together in a way that is elegant, but not pretentious
PF: Most kids first discover seafood as a fish stick. How about you?
Crews: I have very fond memories of fish sticks and mac-n-cheese. However, a Thursday staple when I was growing up -- and I would have to say that it was my first true experience with fish -- was farm-raised catfish.
Being from the Mississippi Delta, the “catfish capital of the world,” catfish was about the only fish I was exposed to, until I started working in the restaurant world. Then my eyes were opened to all the bounty that the ocean has to offer.
PF: During the cook-off, you probably saw and/or tasted seafood dishes from chefs in other states and regions nationwide. What did you learn?
Crews: I was most impressed with how everyone tried to use something that set them apart and represented their state. For example, I used pork rinds in my dish, whereas a chef from New Mexico used a flash-frozen, powdered corn garnish. It was a matter of little things like that. At this level of competition, little things set you apart.
PF: What’s different about seasoning a fish or seafood dish -- in comparison to other meat proteins?
Crews: To be honest, I am a salt-and-pepper chef! I pride myself on buying great-quality products, and I try to enhance that quality -- not cover it up. I treat almost all protein the same; I think tuna should taste like tuna, and chicken should taste like chicken. It is more about the quality of the protein then what you put on it.
PF: Fair enough. Even so, menu trends change quickly. How would you describe the way seafood is flavored and paired—compared to, say, five years ago?
Crews: I think the main change is that people are trying to incorporate healthier products now, utilizing fresh fruits and vegetables instead of cream and butter sauces.
PF: If we sent you into the supermarket and asked you to buy a few of your favorite prepared fish or seafood items, what would you buy?
Crews: To be honest, I have a six-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, so it’s not exactly fine dining at the house. I would go straight for the Gorton’s fish sticks, which is what I grew up eating and what they like to eat. Also, my local Kroger will steam shrimp on-site, so that would be another “go-to” for me.
PF: When it comes to further-prepared retail offerings or a frozen product already prepared for a restaurant, what advice would you have for fish and seafood companies?
Crews: I think: “the less prepared, the better.” Maybe I’d recommend something like an en papillote item, where everything is “in the bag” -- you just bake and serve, and it is a complete meal. You could make it a nice, upscale TV dinner. Or, perhaps another dish would utilize sous vide technology -- without the requirement of an immersion circulator (found in restaurant kitchens) -- to make it easy on the at-home consumer.