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Bryan Voltaggio is the Executive Chef and owner of restaurants Volt, Lunchbox, Family Meal, Range, and Aggio. As a finalist on Top Chef Season 6 and Top Chef Masters Season 5, Voltaggio is the first chef to compete on both programs. The James Beard Foundation Award finalist co-authored the cookbook Volt Ink. with his brother, Michael. Voltaggio lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their three children Thacher, Piper, and Ever Maeve in their hometown of Frederick, Maryland.

Crab waffles Chesapeake

Serves 6 To 8, Depending On The Size Of Your Waffle Iron

OUR BAY SEASONING BLEND:

1 dried shiitake mushroom

1 tablespoon / 7 grams black peppercorns

4 bay leaves

1 tablespoon / 3.5 grams coriander seeds

1/8 teaspoon / 1 gram yellow mustard seeds

½ teaspoon / 1 gram red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon /1 gram piment d’Espelette

2 teaspoons / 2.5 grams onion powder

21/4 teapoons / 6 grams paprika

2½ teaspoons / 7.5 grams celery seeds

½ teaspoon / 1 gram garlic powder

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon /

42 grams fine sea salt

 

WAFFLE BATTER:

½ cup / 113 grams lukewarm water

1 package / 8.75 grams instant yeast

1 tablespoon / 12 grams sugar

2½ cups / 375 grams all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon / 3 grams fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon / 1.25 grams baking soda

2 cups / 480 grams buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons / 8 grams vanilla extract

½ cup / 113 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled

 

BEER-NAISE:

1½ cups / 350 grams pilsner

or ale of your choice

¼ cup / 55 grams malt vinegar

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced

4 sprigs tarragon

1 cup / 225 grams unsalted butter, sliced

3 large egg yolks, room temperature

2 teaspoons / 6 grams Our Bay

Seasoning Blend

½ teaspoon / 3 grams fine sea salt

Juice of 1 lemon

Tabasco sauce, for seasoning

1 pound / 454 grams jumbo lump crabmeat,

picked through for shells and cartilage

6 to 8 poached eggs, for serving

Warm maple syrup, for serving

I’d been thinking about a Maryland eggs Chesapeake, so I changed the English muffin to a waffle. It’s bigger and lighter, with the perfect built-in holes to catch runny egg yolks and creamy sauce. It made perfect sense to me.

Make the Our Bay Seasoning Blend:

Place all of the ingredients except the salt in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the salt. If you have weighed the ingredients correctly, the mixture should

be in between orange and brown in color and will be so delicious you’ll want to put it on everything. Our Bay can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 year.

Make the Waffle Batter:

Put the water, yeast, and salt in a measuring cup and stir to combine. Put the flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl and whisk to blend. Add the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and yeast mixture and whisk until just combined. Whisk in the melted butter. Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 1½ to 2 hours, until it doubles in size.

Make the Beer-naise:

Put the beer, vinegar, shallot, and tarragon in a medium saucepot set over high heat.

Bring to a simmer, adjust the heat to maintain a simmer, and reduce by half, about 15 minutes. Strain the mixture into a measuring cup.

Put the butter in a small pot set over medium heat and melt, stirring occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from the heat and keep in a warm spot on the stove. Put the egg yolks into a blender and start on medium speed. Blend until the yolks turn pale yellow and the outside of the blender feels warm. Drizzle in the beer reduction and puree until it is fully absorbed. Drizzle in the melted butter and puree until fully absorbed. Add the Our Bay Seasoning and salt, and then add lemon juice and Tabasco sauce to taste. Turn off the blender and transfer the sauce to a bowl.

The Beer-naise sauce should be luscious and fluffy. Keep warm until ready to use.

Make the Waffles:

Fold half of the crabmeat into the waffle batter. Cook in a waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s directions. Top each waffle with a spoonful of the remaining lump crabmeat, a poached egg, and Beer-naise, and serve with warm maple syrup alongside.

Recipe courtesy Little, Brown and Company Copyright © 2015 by Bryan Voltaggio