Lounge of Tomorrow - Bacon is meat candy.

Chef Brian Rae

RM Seafood | Las Vegas

“Food always came easy for me,” says Chef de Cuisine Brian Rae about his start in the food biz working for a grocery when he was in high school. Rae’s dishes are urbane but not overly wrought with wacky science and bizarre ingredients; they have a certain easy-going sophistication that’s comforting but still adventurous. Following Chef Rick Moonen’s cue, Rae carefully sources his ingredients—from the sustainable fish and seafood to the uncommon sake lees that make his dishes standout. His Pan-Seared Abalone, Slow-Cooked Aracauna Egg, Toasted Brioche with Brown Butter and White Balsamic captures Rae’s ability to fuse homey-comfort with stylish refinement: the dish was rich and buttery with bright punches of tang from capers; the slow-cooked egg melted into the other elements on the plate to create a decadent sauce; the layers of textures ranged from gentle chewiness from the tender abalone, to crisp and crunchy brioche bits, to soft and delicate from the egg.

Poached Oysters, Braised Bacon and Cabbage with Kimchi Cream
Chef Brian Rae of RM Seafood – Las Vegas, NV
Adapted by StarChefs.com

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

Braised Bacon:
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped leek
1 celery rib, chopped
10 parsley stems
10 white peppercorns
1 pint chicken stock
½ pound slab bacon

Kimchi Cream:
1quart heavy cream
3 tablespoon kimchi paste

Braised Cabbage:
1 head green cabbage, chopped
1 pt kimchi cream

Pomme Maxim:
1 russet potato
1 teaspoon clarified butter
1 cup parsley leaves

To Assemble and Serve:
12 oysters (preferably Blue Point), liquor reserved
2 ounces braised bacon (from above)
½ cup braised cabbage (from above)
1 pint kimchi cream (from above)
12 pomme maxim (from above)
Chili oil

Method:
For the Bacon:
Preheat oven to 200ºF. Sweat the chopped onion, leek, and celery over medium heat until sweet and translucent, but not colored, and season with salt. Add parsley stems and peppercorns and deglaze with chicken stock. Add bacon and cover with parchment paper and a lid; if necessary, add water until bacon is just covered. Place the pot in oven and roast for 3 hours, until bacon is fork-tender.
For the Kimchi Cream:
Combine cream and kimchi paste in a saucepot and reduce by a third. Season with salt if necessary.
For the Braised Cabbage:
Blanch the cabbage in boiling salted water for thirty seconds. Remove the cabbage and place in a pot of warm kimchi cream. Cover pot’s contents with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper (to keep the heat in and let the steam out), and braise until tender.
For the Pommes Maxim:
Preheat oven to 260ºF. Trim the potato into a long rectangle. Use a mandolin to slice 1/16-inch thick slices. Brush a silpat with a very minute amount of clarified butter. Place one potato square on the silpat. Place one parsley leaf in the center of the potato. Place another potato square on top of the parsley. Brush a very minute amount of clarified butter onto a second silpat and place it (butter-side down) on top of the potato squares. Sandwich these silpats between two flat half sheet trays and bake for thirty minutes.
To Assemble and Serve:
Fill three small sauce pots half-way with kimchi cream. Place the cabbage in one, the bacon in another and the freshly shucked oysters in the third. Gently heat all three to warm: the cabbage will become tenderer, the bacon will warm infuse with extra creaminess, and the oysters will become slightly firm and noticeably plump. Strain each, but reserve the cream from the oyster pot to use as the sauce. Adjust consistency with oyster liquor, if necessary. Arrange the cabbage, bacon, and oyster on the plate. Garnish with 3 pomme maxim, sauce, and a dot of chili oil.

- Found on the Starchefs.com website.