Nicolaisen Crowned Champion at Alabama Seafood Cook-Off

By DAVID RAINER, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Four of the best chefs in Alabama showcased their extensive culinary skills this week at the Sweet Grown Alabama Seafood Cook-Off at The Wharf in Orange Beach to win a chance to compete in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off this summer in New Orleans.

A veteran of the competition, Chef Robbie Nicolaisen of The Hound restaurant in Auburn, was crowned champion with his dish of Ember-Roasted Cobia, which incorporated Gulf shrimp, sweet corn puree, Chilton County peach chow chow, cornbread crumble and anise hyssop into the winning dish.

Nicolaisen and Sous Chef Gabe Atkinson took line-caught Gulf cobia, portioned into 6-ounce pieces  an inch thick, and covered it with the restaurant house barbecue rub before placing it over hot charcoal. The duo took fresh corn from Cassebaum Farms in Lillian, cooked it down and pureed it.

“We added a little miso for umami and salt, pepper and cream,” Nicolaisen said. “We finished it with cornbread crumble that we made with brown butter. On top is a little shrimp and Chilton County peach chow chow.

“For the cobia, it usually takes six to eight minutes per side. It was challenging today because of the wind so it took a little bit longer. But that actually worked in our favor, I think. Cobia is a fish that if it cooks too fast, it can get tough.” 

For the cornbread crumble, they took stone-ground cornmeal and mixed in eggs, buttermilk and cheddar cheese then fried the batter in brown butter.

“We cooked them in a cast iron skillet, kind of like Johnny Cakes,” Nicolaisen said. “Once that’s done, we crumble it up and cook it a little more to crisp it up.

“Chow chow is a traditional Southern relish. We use a little peach vinegar, peach puree, fresh Chilton County peaches and some Gulf shrimp we got from Bon Secour Fisheries right down the road. We cooked the shrimp and chopped them up into small pieces and mixed that in with the peaches.”

The winning team took home a check of $2,500 that was donated by the Organized Seafood Association of Alabama.

The teams were judged in five categories – presentation, general impression and serving methods; creativity; composition and harmony of ingredients; preparation and craftsmanship; and flavor, taste and texture.

In the Alabama competition, only the winner was announced. The other teams in the competition were Chef Chris Ippolito of Cayo Coco Rum Bar and Restaurant in Birmingham, Chef Jason McGarry of Central restaurant in Montgomery and Chef Emilio Urban of CoastAL Orange Beach restaurant.

Chef Ippolito and Sous Chef Chase Rogers prepared Red Snapper en Collard Green Papillote that was served with cornbread pudding and a green tomato beurre blanc.

“This dish just represents where the state is right now,” Ippolito said. “It reminds us to be present and use what’s available in the seasons. If you want to make this dish at home, you can use just about any fish. You’re not limited to snapper. I chose snapper for this because we’re getting really beautiful snapper from our fishermen.”

Ippolito took a 6-ounce fillet and seasoned it with salt, pepper, thyme, a squeeze of lemon and a few slices of fresh yellow squash before wrapping it in a collard leaf and searing it to keep the collard leaf sealed. Butter and white wine were added to the pan, and the fish was placed in the oven to steam.

He combined four cups of whole kernel corn with four cups of flour in a food processor, creating a consistency similar to a pancake batter for the baked cornbread pudding. Roasted green tomatoes were pureed and added to the beurre blanc sauce.

Chef Urban opted for fresh colossal Gulf shrimp for his dish of Spiced Gulf Shrimp that incorporated pickled cucumbers and radishes, hibiscus fumet foam and roasted yellow pepper beurre blanc. The dish was garnished with black bean crunch, Spanish mackerel floss and local microgreens.

Urban and Sous Chef Chelsea Holbrook took the U10 (under 10 per pound) shrimp to make the dish with Asian influences.

“We used gochugaru chili flakes and Szechuan peppercorns to make the chili oil and give it a nice, little tingly feeling on your tongue,” Urban said. “We made a fish sauce that we steeped hibiscus flowers in to make the foam.”

For the black bean crunch, the team boiled black beans before adding shallots, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt and chili powder to make cakes that were fried. Sauteed ginger, garlic and shallots were added over the cakes. The Spanish mackerel was dehydrated and folded into the sauce.

Chef McGarry of Central and Chef de Cuisine Christian Green prepared a Miso-Lacquered Gulf Cobia with Alabama Collard Slaw and Toasted Red Runner Peanuts.

The team poached cobia in duck fat with a collard green slaw finished with miso-vinegar vinaigrette.

“We chose cobia because it’s kind of the end of the season of the cobia run,” McGarry said. “Everything we're using is kind of end of season. This is the last of the collard greens for the spring. All of the ingredients are from Alabama soil, but the way we like to cook it is global soul. At the restaurant we do a lot of fusions with French, Asian and Indonesian. We have a whole list of styles.”

The team took the cobia and placed it into a curing solution of lime, sugar, salt and fennel powder. After 15 minutes, the cobia was washed in an ice bath before poaching.

McGarry made an unusual sauce to accompany the dish. The sauce combined Clyde May’s Rye Whiskey, made in Troy, with cleaned and roasted oyster shells from Murder Point Oyster Company of Bayou La Batre.

“You leave the shells in the liquor for seven weeks, and then you’re ready to make the sauce,” he said. “You strain that liquor and add it to a pan and bring it down to where it gets syrupy. Then we add a little natural oyster juice and butter it out.”

Judging from the scores, it was a tight competition among four of the finest chefs in Alabama. 

Ellie Watson is Director of Sweet Grown Alabama, a non-profit entity that promotes Alabama grown and produced products. She said Sweet Grown has started a new marketing campaign for Alabama seafood that will encompass social media, streaming services, billboards, and radio, television and podcast ads.

“All of this is with a goal of encouraging you, the consumer, to find local seafood products and support local fishermen," Watson said. "As you see these advertisements, as you visit these restaurants, ask these chefs where the products are coming from. You can visit  www.sweetgrownalabama.org and type in your zip code to find fantastic seafood products, other meat products, honey and local produce. We encourage you to buy from farmers and fishermen in Alabama because they need us, as Alabamians, to remain economically viable. For every dollar we spend locally, 60 cents of that dollar is reinvested right back into Alabama communities.”

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