Franklin Becker
BRASSERIE | New York

36-year old Chef Franklin Becker cooks good food with good health in mind. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he began cooking out of necessity as a young boy when his mother became ill. By the time he was 14, Becker was working in a professional kitchen. After graduating from college, he attended the Culinary Institute of America. As an ambitous young chef he has held Executive Chef positions in New York at Local, Capitale, and the Tribeca Grand and Soho Grand Hotels, and in Philly at Washington Square. At the age of 27, Becker was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He transformed his cooking style and learned to create delicious and healthy dishes, even writing a cookbook on diabetes, The Diabetic Chef. Becker is now Executive Chef at landmark New York City restaurant, Brasserie, where he puts his contemporary and healthy spin on the classic French brasserie fare.

Hudson Valley Foie Gras Hot Dog, Huckleberry Mustard, Onion Confit, and Brioche Bun
Chef Franklin Becker of Brasserie—New York, NY
Adapted by StarChefs.com

Yield: 18 hot dogs

Ingredients:

Method:

For Foie Sausages:
Partially freeze all meat and fat for 30 minutes to ensure it is ice cold. Make sure the grinder and all blades are ice cold, or the hot dog consistency will be pasty. Grind the meat and fat through the large die, and return to the freezer for 20 minutes more. Combine the meat, fat, and foie gras with the salts and the ice. Grind through the small die and directly into a bowl over ice. Add the syrups, dextrose, garlic, mustard powder, paprika, coriander and pepper and mix with the paddle attachment for 5 minutes, or until evenly incorporated. Poach a small amount to test for seasoning, and adjust as necessary.

Stuff the mixture into the casing and twist every ten centimeters. Refrigerate uncovered overnight. Poach the hot dogs in 167°F water to an internal temperature of 293°F. Transfer immediately to an ice bath to chill.

For the Huckleberry Mustard:
Cook the huckleberries in the port and golden syrup till they reach a jam-like consistency—approximately 30 minutes over low heat. Adjust the seasoning with the salt and vinegar. Cool down and add to the mustard. Set aside.

For the Onion Confit:
Place all the onions into a stainless steel pot with the butter and cook over low heat for about an hour. Place thyme, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, peppercorns and ginger into cheesecloth to make a sachet. Add the water, salt and the spice sachet to the onions and cook for another 3 hours, or until the onions are completely caramelized. Add the vinegars and cook for another half hour. Discard sachet.

Brioche Buns
Adapted and altered from Glorious French Food by James Peterson

Ingredients:

Method:
For the Sponge:
Combine the milk, yeast, egg and 150 grams of the flour in a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment. Stir lightly to just combine. Sprinkle the remaining flour on top and let rest for 1 hour in a warm place. The flour on the top will appear cracked when the sponge is ready.

For the Dough:
Add the sugar, salt, eggs and 150 grams of the flour to the sponge. Replace the paddle with the dough hook and work the mixture on slow speed for approximately 2 minutes or until it begins to pull together. Add another 60 grams of flour and work it on medium speed for 15 minutes. Periodically scrape the bowl so everything gets incorporated. If, after 10 minutes, the dough seems loose, work in the remaining flour until the dough holds together in a single mass. At this point the dough will be slightly sticky.

Turn the mixer down to halfway between low and medium (leave on medium if this is not possible). Add 1/3 of the butter and continue to work the dough for five minutes. Repeat with half the remaining butter for 5 minutes more and add the rest of the butter working it for 1 minute on high and 5 more minutes on medium.

Transfer the dough to a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap, touching the surface of the dough but loose enough to allow the dough to expand as it ferments. Let rise in a warm place for 4 hours or until double in volume. Press down the dough so it compacts to its original volume. With the dough still covered in plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight. The dough will rise slightly. Place the dough into hot dog forms and slit the top of the dough slightly with a bread baker’s knife. Bake the dough in a 350°F oven until golden brown, approximately 25 minutes. Cool on a rack and wrap in plastic bags to soften the bread for service, simulating the texture of a hot dog bun.

Wine Pairing:
Pinot Gris Palliser Estate, Martinborough, New Zealand 2004