You can order chicken and waffles at The Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem, where internationally acclaimed chef Marcus Samuelsson serves up his take on comfort food with a touch of soul. But when it comes to celebrating the holiday season at his outpost, Marcus', at the luxurious Hamilton Princess Hotel in Bermuda, Samuelson focuses on turkey... with waffles and cranberry.
The dish, a winter special on the menu, is prepared in the open kitchen of the sleek restaurant, where the walls are decorated with primo modern art and enormous windows overlook the ocean. On a recent visit during Thanksgiving, our assembled group of 12 which ranged in age from 18 to 72 (many with voracious appetites) inhaled the turkey feast. It was, undeniably, a crowd pleaser.
Samuelsson himself is a huge turkey fan. “Growing up in Sweden we’d cook turkey during the holidays, so for me it’s a very celebratory dish,” he says. “I love the American tradition of cooking it for Thanksgiving and also incorporating it in the December holidays. This meat is great for sharing, pairs well with almost anything, and is relatively easy to make.”
To that end, Samuelsson has kindly provided his recipe, but if you prefer not to make it yourself you can email ham.diningreservations@fairmont.com for reservations, or call 441-298-2028.
Crispy Buttermilk Fried Turkey
With brown butter sage waffle stuffing, and hot cranberry honey
Yield: 4 persons
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 1 hours and 30 minutes
Difficulty Level: Medium
Ingredients
Buttermilk fried turkey breast
2lbs turkey breast
2 tbsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
Sage and brown butter stuffing
½ cup unsalted butter
½ tin canned low sodium chicken broth
½ cup onion
2 cloves garlic
2 sprig of sage
½ loaf stale bread
Salt pepper to taste
Waffle batter
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups milk
½ cup vegetable oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoon baking powder
Cranberry Spicy Honey
2 cups honey
1 cup frozen cranberries
1 clove garlic
1 tsp chili flake
¼ tsp salt
Preparation
Buttermilk fried turkey breast
1. Marinate turkey breast in 1 tbsp salt, buttermilk, onion powder and garlic powder for about 4 hours.
2. Mix flour, 1 tbsp salt, paprika, black pepper together.
3. Dredge turkey in flour mix and fry at 300 degrees for 9 minutes.
Sage and brown butter stuffing
1. Melt ½ butter, add onion, garlic sweat gently until translucent.
2. With the other half add to a sauce pan and cook until brown.
3. Add bread to the brown butter and toast.
4. Add chicken stock to garlic onion mix and add a sprig of sage.
5. Add bread mix to onion mix.
6. Chop a few leaves of sage, season with salt and pepper.
Waffles
1. Mix eggs, milk, vegetable and oil together
2. Mix sugar, salt, flour and baking powder together
3. Mix dry and wet ingredient gently, making sure not to over mix it.
Brown Butter Sage Stuffing Waffles
1. Mix 1 cup stuffing with 1 cup waffle batter.
2. Press in waffle iron for 2.25 minutes.
Cranberry Spicy Honey
1. Put honey, cranberries, garlic clove, chili flakes in a pot
2. Bring to boil and turn off
3. Season with salt
