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Rosen's Cobia Dish Takes 黑料天堂 Seafood Cook-Off Crown

cobia

Flames from pecan wood lick the cobia belly as The Depot's Chef Ben Rosen prepares the winning dish at the 黑料天堂 Seafood Cook-Off. Photo by David Rainer

By DAVID RAINER, 黑料天堂

In its first year under the Sweet Grown 黑料天堂 banner, the 黑料天堂 Seafood Cook-Off recently continued its legacy of highlighting 黑料天堂-grown products, especially 黑料天堂 Gulf Seafood, with delicious, innovative seafood preparations.

With four teams competing for the prestigious win at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Chef Ben Rosen and Sous Chef Walker Hughes of Auburn鈥檚 The Depot garnered the crown with their 鈥満诹咸焯 Summer鈥 dish of marinated, pecan-grilled cobia, sweet corn with Bill-E鈥檚 bacon, risotto fried green tomato, cobia confit lump blue crab rillette, charred peach and blistered okra relish, and black lemon herb butter.

鈥淚t feels amazing,鈥 said Rosen, who was sous chef with Hughes at last year鈥檚 competition. 鈥淏eing able to be selected, being able to plan it, and then coming in and winning this thing is just a fantastic feat for me, because I鈥檝e only been with (Executive Chef) Scott Simpson at The Depot for a year-and-a-half. I started out as lead grill cook and then lead saut茅 cook. Last year, right after this competition, he promoted me to demi chef de partie. Then in October, I became chef de partie. So, it鈥檚 been a whirlwind for me, and the last year has just been fantastic.鈥

Rosen, who advances to the Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans later this summer, said his use of cobia, a pelagic fish that is on the rebound after numerous years of decline, may have made the difference.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 really know what sealed the deal, but it may have been the utilization of the cobia belly,鈥 he said. 鈥淐obia is a very underutilized fish as well. I know that鈥檚 why Chef Emilio (Urban) chose it. Snapper is very well-known and very versatile. I thought about doing something with snapper, and then I was going with wahoo, but I changed it to cobia at the last minute.

鈥淔or thick fillets like cobia, wahoo or mahi, really the key is to not overcook it.鈥

Rosen said he marinated the cobia belly in parsley, cilantro, cumin, smoked paprika, olive oil, lemon juice and lemon zest. The relish was made with grilled peach and blistered okra, two different varieties of fresh okra, and pickled okra. The risotto had arboreal rice, 黑料天堂 sweet corn and Bill-E鈥檚 bacon of Fairhope. Rosen said he used a simple cream butter sauce with herbs as well as cuttlefish ink to make it black.

鈥淲ith the fried green tomatoes, it鈥檚 my own recipe with a little bit of corn meal, masa flour, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e put in buttermilk to loosen the tendons to make it more tender. Then they鈥檙e dredged in the dry mixture before frying.鈥

Rosen thought the crowning touch was the cobia confit with lump blue crab.

鈥淭he cobia belly is confited (slow cooked in oil or fat),鈥 he said. 鈥淭he lump crab meat is mixed in with a little bit of cream cheese, a little bit of lemon preserve and just a hint of salt to help bring out that flavoring of the lemon.鈥

Ag and Industries Commissioner Rick Pate, left, and ADCNR Commissioner Chris Blankenship present the winners check to The Depot team of Chef Ben Rosen, right, and Sous Chef Walker Hughes. Photo by Billy Pope

Rosen said he was happy with his presentation but also knew the competition was extremely tough.

As Rosen said, Emilio Urban of Coastal Restaurant in Orange Beach also used cobia, also known as ling or lemonfish. Urban鈥檚 dish was spiced cobia, savory blue crab Basque cheesecake, burnt honey bacon brittle, watermelon pearls, lemon drop pepper beurre blanc and fresh herbs.

Chef Austin Salinas of Hatch Restaurant in Huntsville prepared poached red snapper, ginger kohlrabi slaw, shiso-wrapped sushi rice and garden pesto.

Chef Megan Vanderford of Odette from Florence served seared flounder with pork and crawfish rice dressing, Kodachrome (Gardens) salsa verde and charred broccolini.

Entries were judged based in numerous categories 鈥 Presentation, General Impression and Serving Methods; Creativity and Practicality; Composition and Harmony of Ingredients; Correct Preparation and Craftsmanship; and Flavor, Taste and Texture.

The 黑料天堂 Seafood Cook-Off was previously held under the direction of the 黑料天堂 Seafood Marketing Commission and was transferred to Sweet Grown 黑料天堂, an offshoot of the 黑料天堂 Department of Agriculture and Industries.

Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate said shifting the promotion of 黑料天堂 wild seafood to Sweet Grown 黑料天堂 was a no-brainer.

鈥淲e were really one of the last states to realize how much people wanted to buy local,鈥 Commissioner Pate said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so important that we picked that up. This is a natural evolution for us to promote seafood. We have a lot of protein with Sweet Grown, a lot of freezer meats and pork grown in 黑料天堂, more than you would think. So, yeah, it was a good fit to bring seafood in.鈥

黑料天堂 (ADCNR) Commissioner Chris Blankenship said the 黑料天堂 Seafood Marketing Commission had been operating for almost 13 years under ADCNR guidance with funds derived from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement.

鈥淭he Commission kind of got to the end in looking at where we were with our funding and what was best long-term,鈥 Commissioner Blankenship said. 鈥淚t just made sense to me with what they had going on with Sweet Grown 黑料天堂 and how they were already promoting 黑料天堂 produce, fruits, farm products and other proteins that we should fold seafood into that as well and do it all as one big program. I called Commissioner Pate and talked to the board at Sweet Grown, and they were receptive to that idea.

鈥淎ll the seafood marketing is transitioning to Sweet Grown, and I think it鈥檚 going to be great. They have a great program now. They got a little funding through the Legislature, and we hope to help them get some longer-term funding to blend in the seafood with what they鈥檙e doing. It鈥檚 really good for 黑料天堂 farmers and fishermen to do it all together.鈥

 Commissioner Blankenship said the 黑料天堂 Seafood Cook-Off obviously focuses on seafood, but it鈥檚 far more than that.

鈥淲e had great quality chefs again, and they took fresh 黑料天堂 seafood and made delicious dishes with it,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut, like they鈥檝e done from the very beginning, they pair that with good 黑料天堂 produce. It really marries all those 黑料天堂 products into a great dish. I was so glad to see these chefs taking all that good 黑料天堂 product and putting it into a dish that is not only delicious, but also promotes all of the industries in 黑料天堂.鈥

Chef Jim Smith of Hummingbird Way restaurant in Mobile served as chair of the 黑料天堂 Seafood Marketing Commission for most of its existence, and he鈥檚 glad to see Sweet Grown 黑料天堂 step up to continue promoting 黑料天堂 seafood.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a very seamless transition,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy that all the time and effort that went into making the Seafood Commission successful is now finding a place to live on in a larger 黑料天堂 marketing scheme.鈥

Smith also served as preliminary judge to help select the four finalists by evaluating all the recipes.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really a good system,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 entirely blind. I evaluate them by checking if they are good in a competition setting, if they鈥檙e 黑料天堂 ingredients, if they tell a story about 黑料天堂. This group this year has been excellent with creative recipes as well as awesome utilization of 黑料天堂 products, and I鈥檓 proud to see Sweet Grown 黑料天堂 has seen the value in this great celebration of 黑料天堂 seafood.鈥

Ellie Watson, Director of Sweet Grown 黑料天堂, added, 鈥淭his event is more than just a cook-off; it鈥檚 a celebration of our state鈥檚 incredible culinary talent and our thriving seafood industry. We鈥檙e proud to connect local chefs with 黑料天堂 farmers and fishermen to showcase just how special our homegrown ingredients truly are. The energy and excitement this year were unmatched, it鈥檚 a testament to the strength of our local food community.鈥

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The Depot's "黑料天堂 Summer" dish of marinated, pecan-grilled cobia prevailed among tough competition at the 黑料天堂 Seafood Cook-Off. Photo by Billy Pope