Chef Rashad Frazier’s Soulful Holiday Menu
Photos by Patrick Cline
The smell of eucalyptus, roast chicken and citrus creates a fragrant mix in the kitchen as Chef Rashad Frazier puts together the perfect holiday meal. As the setting for this feast, the chef’s table is set with a mix of golden flatware, painted goblets and taper candles. For some, creating a magical holiday meal starts days or even weeks in advance, but Chef Frazier has the process down to a science. As he describes it, “a dazzling roast, spectacular sides and amazing cocktails,” are all anyone needs to make a big impact during the holidays. It’s a simple menu, focused on classic dishes with a few moments of culinary style added in for good measure. But as the room fills with the scent of roast chicken and its supporting cast of side dishes, it’s getting hard to argue with the virtues of the chef’s minimalist approach.
Part of the virtue of the chef’s menu is its dedication to classic, beloved dishes that are, for many of us, a reminder of family tradition, but with new and unexpected twists. An old-fashioned brioche stuffed, roasted chicken is set on it’s classic bed of roasted vegetables - only this time the vegetables are accompanied by an assortment of citrus fruits. The addition of citrus, an unexpected touch to a holiday feast, not only adds a unique flavor to the meal, but, with the orange harvest beginning in November, also brings a seasonal element to a dish that is specific to the holidays.
“Roast Chicken is one of my favorite dishes to make,” says Chef Frazier. “It’s usually very inexpensive and cooks quickly.” To keep the dish flavorful and juicy, Chef Frazier employs an unusual technique for stuffing the bird, eschewing the typical practice to instead place the stuffing mixture beneath the skin of the chicken, between the skin and the meat. “This technique creates big flavor all around but especially for the breast,” the chef attests. “When preparing this dish it’s really important that you do not tear the chicken's skin while stuffing it. I recommend you very gently use your middle and index finger to separate the skin from the meat.” Chef Frazier further advises cooks using this method to not loosen the skin of the chicken past its shoulders as doing so will allow the stuffing mixture to leak out. His final word of advice - “to avoid creating a mess with the stuffing, use a pastry bag to squeeze the stuffing under the skin.”
As with the main course, the side dishes of this meal feature updates on family favorites, namely sous vide whipped sweet potatoes and french-cut beans that are crisp and fresh. “It’s crucial that the sides are right because they do so much to complete the entire meal,” Chef Frazier remarks. The relationship between main course and sides is so crucial in fact, that the chef offers an unlikely comparison, “Chaka Khan is one of my favorite singers but her sound wouldn't have been the same without her band, Rufus. To me, sides are just as important. I prefer a side like green beans to be tender and crisp and my favorite way to achieve this is by poaching them briefly then immediately transferring them to an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.” For his sweet potatoes, the chef employed a more sophisticated cooking method called sous vide. “It's a technique where food is placed in an airtight bag and cooked in a water bath. It ensures food is cooked evenly but more importantly for sweet potatoes it ensures that the food retains all of it's moisture throughout the cooking process.”
The meal’s final note, a holiday whiskey punch infused with citrus. “I love a good cocktail during the holidays, too. I came up with the idea to incorporate citrus because the fruit becomes in-season during the holidays. Plus, citrus pairs really well with bourbon.” In addition to adding the perfect finishing touch on this wonderful meal, for Chef Frazier, elements of the drink remind him of his own childhood days. “As a kid, I always remember the house being filled with the aroma of fresh citrus and this cocktail represents this.”
It’s a menu that offers a dazzling display of delicious dishes perfect for the entire family. “At the end of the day, a special holiday meal should bring loved ones together,” the chef says. “Regardless, of how well you stuff the chicken, sous vide your sweet potatoes or decorate your table, in the end, the main goal is to spend time with family and this is what truly makes the day special.”
Soulful Holiday Menu
Brioche Stuffed Roast Chicken
Sous Vide Sweet Potatoes
French-Cut Green Beans
Holiday Whiskey Punch
Brioche Stuffed Roast Chicken
Breadcrumb Stuffing
1 cup dried brioche breadcrumbs
2 sticks of room temperature unsalted butter
2 tbsp of minced fresh rosemary
2 tbsp of minced fresh thyme
3 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Chicken
1 whole chicken
Fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 lemon
3 large carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 fennel bulbs, quartered
1 red onion, quartered
2 oranges, quartered
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
½ cup water
For the Stuffing:
In a medium bowl, place butter and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Add the lemon zest, rosemary and thyme. Carefully mix to combine; season with salt and pepper. Move mixture to a to a pastry bag (feel free to use your hand but it’s messy) with an opening cut from one bottom corner.
For the Chicken:
Three to four hours early, prep the chicken. Using your fingers and starting at the rear, gently tunnel your fingers to separate the skin from the meat. Do not tear the skin.
Using pastry piping tool, squeeze the stuffing mixture under the skin of the breast and legs. Season inside of chicken with salt. Prick the lemon with a fork and place it in the cavity along rosemary and garlic of the chicken. Using butcher twine, truss the chicken and transfer to a refrigerator to chill at least 3 to 24 hours uncovered. This step is critical because the chilled air with dry the chicken surface to allow for a crispier bird during roasting.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a large skillet or a roasting pan, place fennel, onions, carrots, celery and oranges in and toss with two tbsp of olive oil and salt/pepper. Add half a cup of water to help prevent scorching. Set chicken on top of the bed of veggies. Transfer to oven. Roast chicken about 1 hour. Remove from oven and loosely cover with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil. Let stand 30 minutes before carving and serving.
Holiday Whiskey Punch
SERVINGS: 8
1 ½ cups kentucky bourbon
1 ½ cups strong tea
5 medium oranges muddled
¾ cup fresh lemon juice
9 dashes Angostura bitters
2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
8 Orange wheels for garnish
Sparkling water
First, muddle the oranges, then add the bourbon, tea, lemon juice, Angostura bitters, and nutmeg in a container. Lightly mix. Cover, then chill and let rest over for 3 hours or overnight. Strain into a punch bowl and add orange wheels and 4 cups ice. Serve punch in cups over ice garnished with a splash of sparkling water.
