You expect culinary innovation, exotic flavors and artistic plating from five-star restaurants. You enter a white-linen or a modern gastropub replete in its reclaimed-chic motif, and you know you’re in for something special. But when you walk into the tight confines of a small brewery and see a gaggle of chefs huddled about a plethora of pots, pans and plates in the abutting parking lot, your expectations are justifiably more subdued. But if that sampling space-meets parking space venue is Council Brewing Company during a beer-pairing dinner, lowered standards are bond to be shattered, and taste-buds and minds blown.
I recently attended this Kearny Mesa brewery’s first such gastronomic event, a six-course, seven-beer affair benefitting Becky’s House (a shelter established for victims of domestic abuse). After seeing the assemblage of chefs involved, the dishes they intended to prepare and the rare beers they’d be pairing them with, I determined it a can’t-miss event, full-kitchen or not. That status came as a result of my familiarity with the cooking prowess of the sextet of chefs—Mike Arquines (The LAB: Dining Sessions), Tyson Blake (O’Brien’s Pub), Matt Cammack (Hamilton’s Tavern and South Park Brewing Company), Phil Esteban (The Cork and Craft), Nate Soroko (Toronado) and Kristianna Zabala (Nomad Donuts).
with Lump Crab, Farmer’s Gold Sea Urchin Velouté & Uni Foam
Cammack took the lead, assembling this tried, true and trusted gastro-gang, which was visible throughout the whole dinner via the roll-up garage door at the rear of the tasting room. It made for appetizing dinner-theater watching the team work together toplate more than 50 iterations of each dish, all while jawing at each other, joking around and launching food, three-point-shot-style, into Big Nate’s mouth from across the parking lot (Camack was four-for-seven—eat your heart out Steph Curry). One could have mistaken them as a full-time brigade for their cohesion in the kitchen and on the plate.
The meal kicked off with goat-cheese gnocchi (dumplings) turned black with the addition of squid ink and given a double-shot of oceanic accompaniment with an uni foam and shellfish broth. The brininess of the foam—which was made using Council’s Farmer’s Gold Saison—provided a brilliant flavor-bridge for the brewery’s barrel-aged farmhouse saison, Nicene. Another barrel-aged beer—an English-style old ale fermented with Brettanomyces called Gaderian that was full with dried fruit flavors on the front-end but bitingly dry in the finish—went well with the natural sweetness of sweet potato risotto and cherry jus while resetting palates for the next bite. (The recipes for both of these dishes have been provided for your home-cooking adventures.)
with Sweet Potato “Risotto”, Dried Cherry Jus & Pistachio Dust
Brett collided with similarly heightened cuisine in the form of Council’s wild yeast-stoked Belgian-style tripel and a thick lobster roulade with shelling beans, smoked celery root puree and a salty sea-bean chimichurri. But it wasn’t all about Belgians and Brett—one of the biggest hits of the night, beer-wise, was Bully Pulpit, a Mosaic- and Simcoe-hopped IPA that was the first beer to come off Council’s newly arrived stable of stainless-steel fermenters. Brimming over with citrusy, tropical aromas and delivering bright flavors of the same ilk, it was as satisfying as it was incredibly fresh, especially with perfectly cooked spring lamb loin topped with grated, Meyer lemon-cured egg yolk and Vichyssoise (classic creamy French potato and leek soup).
The meal closed out with both a dessert and a cheese course. Gouda with honey for the latter, and a fluffy boysenberry-iced donut—the center of which was piped with foie-grass mousse—for the former. It was one of the best beer dinners I’ve attended in some time. Most of the other top-tier feasts I’ve enjoyed have come courtesy of collaborative chef efforts, as well. The right mix of chefs—and beer—transcend the kitchen. Even a parking lot can become a center for haute cuisine when the ingredients and the technique of the individuals using them are top-shelf.
Chevre Gnocchi Nero
with Lump Crab, Farmer’s Gold Sea Urchin Velouté & Uni Foam
Paired with Council Nicene Barrel-Aged Farmhouse Sour Saison
Yield: 4 entrée servings or 8 appetizer servings
16 oz. goat cheese, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp squid ink (or cuttlefish ink, to substitute)
1 tsp salt
½ cup to 1 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups fish stock, warm
Farmer’s Gold Sea Urchin Velouté (recipe follows)
jumbo lump crabmeat
micro cilantro, for garnish
Add the cheese, eggs ink and salt into a mixing bowl and mix until fully combined. Add ½ cup of the flour and fold the mixture into itself until combined. If the mixture is sticky, add a couple of tablespoons of flour at a time and mix until the dough is smooth but not sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic-wrap and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes. The easiest way to cook gnocchi is to transfer the dough to a plastic Ziploc bag, then cut a hole in the corner of the bag that’s as large as you want your gnocchi to be. A piping bag fitted with a large end-piece is another good option.
Prepare an ice bath. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Pipe gnocchi into the water by cutting ½- to ¾-inch pieces with a knife. Do this in batches depending on the size of your pot. When the gnocchi starts to float, it is done. Use a spider, handled sieve or slotted spoon to transfer the gnocchi from the boiling water to the ice bath to stop it from cooking any further. Transfer the gnocchi from the ice bath to a sheet tray and set aside.
Add the oil to a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the gnocchi and gently shake the pan to create an even layer. Cook until the gnocchi are slightly crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Heat the stock in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the crabmeat and cook until warmed through, 1 minute.
To serve, ladle the velouté into a bowl and set the gnocchi in it. Scatter crabmeat atop the gnocchi and top with a dollop of foam. Garnish generously with micro-cilantro and serve immediately.
Farmer’s Gold Sea Urchin Velouté
4 cups fish stock
2 cups saison (preferably Council Farmer’s Gold Saison)
1 cup heavy cream
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
2 oz. unsalted butter
2 oz. all-purpose flour
15 sea urchin sacs
Bring the fish stock, saison and cream to a gentle simmer in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. In another medium-sized pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the flour until it is completely combined and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the stock, making sure no lumps form. Once all of the stock has been added, simmer the mixture until it reduces by 50% and coats the back of a spoon, about 30 minutes. If the mixture gets too thick, whisk in some additional stock. Remove from the heat and add the sea urchin. Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Cover and keep warm.
Uni Foam
2 cups fish stock
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup saison (preferably Council Farmer’s Gold Saison)
10 sea urchin sacs
2 tsp soy lecithin
Combine the stock, soy sauce and saison in a small saucepan over medium heat until steam begins to rise. Remove from the heat. Add the sea urchin and blend using an immersion blender. Strain the mixture into a deep bowl and add soy lecithin. Blend well. When ready to serve, place the end of the immersion deep into the bowl and blend, rhythmically pulling the blender blade in and out of the liquid to create a foam. Serve immediately.
—Recipe courtesy Tyson Blake, General Manager, O’Brien’s Pub
# # #
Seared Duck Breast
with Sweet Potato “Risotto”, Dried Cherry Jus & Pistachio Dust
Paired with Council Gaderian Barrel-Aged Old Ale w/ Brett
Yield: 6 servings
4 oz. red wine
2 oz. dried cherries, chopped
6 duck breasts (3 full breasts, split in half)
salt and pepper to taste
1 to 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Sweet Potato “Risotto” (recipe follows)
1 to 2 oz. pistachios, pulverized
3 oz. micro-arugula
zest of 1 lemon
Heat the wine over medium-low heat. Place the cherries in a small dish and cover with the warm wine. Allow the cherries to plump.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper and place in the pan, skin-side-down. Sear until golden-brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the breasts over and sear until golden-brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the duck to a sheet-tray fitted with a roasting rack. Reserve the rendered fat from the pan. Place the sheet-pan in the oven and roast to desired doneness (see below for times based on doneness). Remove the breasts from the oven and keep warm. Transfer the rendered fat and juices from the sheet-tray into the same pan containing the reserved fat from the initial sear. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Cook until the flour is light-tan and aromatic. Add the wine and cherries and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let simmer until the mixture thickens to a sauce consistency, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
To serve, spoon 2 to 4 ounces of the risotto in the center of a plate. Slice the duck breast into 1-to-2-inch slices and fan them out atop the risotto. Place the micro-arugula, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a small bowl and gently mix to combine. Dust the top of the duck with pistachio and top with micro-greens. Spoon the jus around the edge of the plate and serve immediately.
Sweet Potato Risotto
8 oz. pancetta, chopped
8 oz. yams, finely diced
8 oz. sweet potatoes, finely diced
1 oz. shallot, minced (or onion, to substitute)
½ oz. garlic, minced
4 oz. non-hoppy saison (preferably Council Farmer’s Gold Saison)
1 pint heavy cream
1 oz. unsalted butter
2 oz. Parmegiano-Reggiano, grated
fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Add the pancetta to a saucepan over medium-low heat and render until crispy, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the pancetta and reserve the rendered fat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, until translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Adjust the heat to medium-high, and add the yams and sweet potatoes. Cook, stirring, until golden, 2 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then deglaze the pan with the saison. Cook until the beer is fully absorbed. Stir in enough cream to almost cover the potatoes. The potatoes will absorb some of the cream. Add more cream when this happens. Once the potatoes are tender, stir in the butter until it is completely melted. Add the Parmegiano-Reggiano, reserved pancetta pieces, and thyme, season with salt and pepper and serve.
Doneness Timing
Rare: 2-3 minutes
Medium-Rare: 4-5 minutes
Medium: 5+ minutes
—Recipe courtesy Matt Cammack, Special Events Chef, Hamilton’s Tavern & South Park Brewing Company