The Dish: Justin Smillie shares some special dishes

Chef Justin Smillie was born in California and raised in New Jersey

The Dish: Upland chef Justin Smillie 04:24

NEW YORK -- Chef Justin Smillie, who grew up in rural areas of California and New Jersey, began his career at the age of 17 at Bernard's Inn under Chef Edward Stone where he had his first taste of the kitchen life. That's where he was hooked.

After attending the Culinary Institute of America, Smillie secured a position at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Mercer Kitchen, followed by posts at Danny Meyer's Gramercy Tavern and Jonathan Waxman's Washington Park. Smillie next earned a chef position at Waxman's Barbuto where he fell in love with the bold flavors and rustic techniques showcased in the restaurant, and this food philosophy stuck with him.

He also helped open several famous New York restaurants among other locations, and has received popular acclaim from outlets such as "The New York Times," "The New Yorker," and "The Wall Street Journal," among many more.

His most recent venture is a collaboration with Stephen Starr on a new restaurant called Upland where Smillie shows off all that he learned from culinary mentors and rural living as was demonstrated by his grandmother.

His first cookbook, "Slow Fires: Mastering New Ways to Braise, Roast, and Grill," was released last month.

Peppercorn crusted short ribs

Four day peppercorn short ribs

1 8lb short rib, centre cut, bone in

1 1/2 c peppercorn confit master brine.

For the peppercorn confit

1 c green peppercorns 2 c black peppercorns 1/2 c pink peppercorns

1/2 c white peppercorns

6 c olive oil

For the peppercorns:

In a large pot, lightly toast the peppercorns, stirring frequently until perfume is present strong, slightly bitter. Add olive oil to peppercorns and confit on a low simmer for 15 to 20 mins. To check for doneness, take one peppercorn and try to smash between fingers, which should offer no resistance. Reserve whole peppercorns in oil for up to one month. When ready to use, strain off oil and coarsely smash in a mortar and pestle until it is the texture of wet gravel.

For the brine:

2tbsp black pepper, 2 tbsp coriander, 2 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 lemon, 1 onion brulee halved equatorially, 3 bay leaf, 1 gallon water, 1 cup salt, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tbsp olive oil

In a heavy bottomed cast iron, working over medium heat, toast the dry spices until aroma present. About 2 minutes. Wipe the skillet free from any spice dust, and turn up the heat to medium high. Slick the pan with 1 tbsp olive oil, and sear the halved onion until fully charred . The inset of the burn should be about a 1/4 of an inch. In a non reactive container, add the water, hot aout of the tap, and disolve the salt and the sugar. To this add the spices, lemon, onion brulee, and the bay leaves. Transfer to the refridgerator and allow to mature for at least 12 hours.

Brine the short rib in master brine for 48 hours, remove and pat very dry with a clean kitchen towel of paper towel.

Massage the peppercorn paste onto sides and top of shortrib, making sure to push into meat, about 1/4" thick.

Place in refrigerator for 12 hours to allow peppercorn rub crust to dry, remove 1 hour prior to cooking.

Preheat oven 350

Place shortrib in a roasting tin, with a rack on the bottom, and cover with parchment paper and then aluminum foil, making sure the edges are tightly sealed. Cook in oven for 2 1/2 3 hours, checking at 2 hours.

When done, the meat will offer no resistance to a wire skewer, pressing the top of the meat gently will have a fair amount of spring to it.

Remove from oven, remove bones and allow to cool in refrigerator overnight, minimum of 6 hours. When just out of the oven, the meat will be slightly domed. Leaving the short rib to cool overnight gives the peppercorn crust a chance to adhere to the meat before searing,

Remove meat from fridge and allow to come to room temp. Over medium high heat, in a cast iron pan, add 6t olive oil (enough to completely submerge the peppercorn crust) leave to sear, crust side down for about 5 minutes before transferring to oven for 10 to 15 minutes. When done, the meat will have relaxed and be flat across the top, no longer domed. The intercostal meat will be completely golden brown and crispy.

Carefully remove from skillet and place pave' (crust side down) on a clean cutting board. Working side to side, remove intercostal meat, slicing across the seam between flesh and inner connective tissue.

Slice the short rib into 2" chinks and arrange crust side up around the bones. Cut intercostal meat into thirds, following natural architecture of the meat and then cut into 1" chucks. Scatter over the short ribs.

Douse with 2t olive oil and 3t colatura.

Winter: Celery, castelvetrano olives, fresh horseradish and toasted walnuts

3 celery stalks 1c castelvaltrano olives, smashed and pitted 1c walnuts 1/8 lb butter, cut into cubes 3t olive oil 2t curly parsley 1/2 lemon juiced 1 3oz piece of fresh horseradish, peeled. Put walnuts and butter in a cold cast iron pan, on a medium heat, once butter begins to foam, toss walnuts around until both nuts and butter are golden brown. Do not over crowd the pan otherwise nuts will cook unevenly.

Wash the celery and cut into 2" pieces. Shave into long strips on a mandoline into ice water until curly. Drain and spin dry. Mix celery, walnuts, olives, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice together. Scatter over short ribs to finish grate over horseradish using medium tooth microplane.

Spring: Shaved raw asparagus, lemon segments and marinated pecorino

1 bunch green asparagus 2 meyer lemons 1/16'" 3t colatura

Marinated pecorino 1 c pecorino romano 1 c olive oil, spicy, tuscan 1t black peppercorns 2 sprigs of thyme

Pecorino, using a butter knife wedge out natural 1/2" chunks, olive oil, whole black pepper corns thyme let sit up to three days ideally, over night is ok. Trim woody ends of asparagus, slice thinly on mandolin, 1/8/thick, refresh in ice water until ready to use, drain and dry.

Scatter asparagus over short rib, spoon over pecorino, 2t of marinating oil, colatura,

Finish with lemon twists.

Summer: Pickled cherry peppers, white anchovy and charred scallions

10 anchovy fillets 1 c basil leaves 1 bunch scallions, at least 8, outer leaves removed, roots on 3t colatura for the pickled peppers, 1lb cherry peppers

Pickling liquid: 1 cup champagne vinegar 1 cup rice wine vinegar 1/2 cup palm sugar 1 cup warm water 1/4 cup salt 1tbsp pepperoncinos 2 bay leaves 5 tbsp coriander peel of one lemon removed in strips 3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced in a large bowl, dissolve the sugar and the salt in a large bowl with the water. Add the vinegars, the bay leaves, garlic, and the lemon zest in strips. Allow brine to marinate for an hour. Remove the garlic.

Halve peppers, de seed, leave stem on. Bring pickling liquid just up to boil. Pour over peppers. Let cool at room temp, then refrigerate and leave for at least 24 hrs. Roast whole scallions, in a dry skillet, high heat, until blistered, about 4 mins to serve, drape scallions over meat, followed by anchovies, peppers (no liquid) scattered over the top.

Sprinkle over colatura

Fall: shaved butternut squash with torn dates

1/4 c buttermilk seasoned with salt, bottom of plate 1 young butternut squash 1/2 c dates, pitted and torn into 1/4" strips 1/2 lemon zested.

Pinch of sugar 2t burnt garlic oil garlic chips (see recipe)

On the julienne setting of a mandoline, slice peeled and deseeded butternut squash into long, spaghetti like strands. Toss together with lemon zest , olive oil, salt, a pinch sugar and let it macerate for about 5 - 10 minutes

When ready to plate, toss the butternut squash with the torn dates and 2t of the burnt garlic oil. Place seasoned buttermilk on the bottom of the plate, with the bones and short ribs on top, arrange the butternut squash over the top and finish with a scattering of garlic chips.

Garlic chips

4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced on a mandolin, 1c milk, 1c olive oil

Blanch the garlic sliver in the milk until tender, about 3 minutes and drain well. Place oil and garlic in a pot and bring up temperature slowly. It will start to bubble

Violently, and once the bubbles start to subside, the garlic will begin to turn golden brown. Remove while still a light golden color. The garlic will continue to darken.

Old world polenta

Sea salt, to season

1 ½ cups medium grain polenta, preferably fresh milled

1 ½ cups freshly grated parmesan

Make polenta

1. Pour 7 cups water into a large, heavy pot set pot over high heat. Season water with enough salt so it tastes of the ocean. Bring water to a rolling boil and adjust salt and water levels as needed.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Once water comes to a gentle simmer, slowly pour in polenta while whisking constantly.

3. While stirring often with a wooden spoon, gently simmer polenta until grains are tender and fluffy. Though time may vary, afford the process 1 ½ hours. Throughout cooking, make sure polenta does not stick to pot's base and scrape down sides with spatula. Add extra splashes of water to pot as needed. Once properly cooked, polenta should be thick enough to slowly ooze across the plate.

4. Stir parmesan into polenta and add extra salt, if need be. Be careful when tasting as just cooked polenta is very hot. Turn off heat and serve.

Slow roasted brussels sprouts petals

1 lb brussels sprouts ( broken into petals)

1 oz chopped meyer lemon

1 ea calabrian chili

1/4 oz chopped oregano

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 orange juice

Over high heat, in a heavy bottomed skillet, sear the petals until lightly charred. Finish with the oregano, and orange juice

Slow roasted carrots

1 lb baby carrots

2 tbsp olive oil

Pinch salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 cast iron skillet

1 mixing bowl

Preheat oven to 450

Ad the carrots to the mixing bowl, coat with the olive oil, salt and black pepper and mix well, massaging the oil over the carrot. This will help evenly distribute the heat while cooking.

Add to the skillet and sear hit on the stove for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Transfer to the i've. And roast for 8-10 minutes. They should feel soft and yielding to the touch. Dress with the salsa verde and a squeeze of fresh orange juice.

Apple crostata

Crostata dough (60g each)

Ap flour 5000g

Cornmeal 1000g

Sugar 864g

Salt 120g

Cold butter, diced 4765g

Cold water 1815g

Oat streusel 1x

Ap flour 1815g

Light brown sugar 1815g

Baking powder 60g

Cinnamon 36g

Salt 24g

Oats 1200g

Butter, melted 1815g

Earl grey caramel 1x

Heavy cream 4 qts

Earl grey tea 2 boxes

Water 450g

Sugar 1950g

Corn syrup 450g

Salt 24g

Apple filling 30x 45x 60x

Apples 20 30 40

Sugar 420g 630 840g

Cinnamon 12g 18g 24g

Ap flour 50g 75g 100g

Butter, melted 80g 20g 160g

Milk 90g 135g 180g

Boulevardier

Ingredients

1 oz campari

1 oz sweet vermouth

1.25 oz bulleit rye whiskey

1 orange twist

Add all the ingredients to a rocks glass filled with ice and stir to combine

Garnish with an orange twist

Menu: