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Thanksgiving traditions from Charlotte chefs

Dive into the traditions, wine recommendations and recipes from the kitchens of Charlotte’s culinary all-stars

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Charlotte’s culinary all stars share Thanksgiving traditions — and we’ve got recipes

From oxtail to pear tarts, Thanksgiving traditions from Charlotte’s culinary experts

Riesling or Bordeaux? Thanksgiving wine pairings and recommendations

Just get to the recipes, Lisa: How to cook Thanksgiving like a Charlotte chef.

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Yes, we’ve seen the memes: “Just get to the recipe, Lisa.” From a warm spiced old fashioned to a bone-in rib roast, here are recipes and tips from 5 of Charlotte’s food and drink experts:

(1) Craig Barbour, executive chef and owner, Roots Catering + Cafe

For an appetizer, Craig Barbour, executive chef and owner of Roots Catering + Cafe, makes Carolina Bison cocktail meatballs with bourbon cherry glaze.

Bourbon Cherry Glaze Recipe:

Ingredients

1 Small Onion Small Diced

1 Clove Garlic Minced

2 TBSP Cooking Oil

1/4 Cup Dried Cherries

12 oz Canned Crushed Tomato

½ Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Cracked Black Pepper

½ tsp Kosher Salt

1 Cup Bourbon

Method of Preparation

In a medium sauce pan place the oil and onion over medium-high heat and saute until the onions begin to caramelize. Add in the garlic and saute for 20-30 seconds. Add in ¾ of the bourbon, the dried cherries, the tomato, the black pepper, and the brown sugar. Simmer, stir frequently for 5 minutes. Using a stick or standard blender, blend until smooth. Place back on the burner, on low/medium to simmer. Taste for salt and season as needed. Add the salt in at the end and don’t use all of it unless it needs it, different cans of tomatoes have different salinity levels so you have to season accordingly. Add in the last ¼ cup of bourbon and simmer for 5 minutes.

“These are delicious and easy because they can be prepared ahead of time,” Barbour said. “Make the meatballs, put them in a slow cooker and douse them in sauce. This frees up time allowing the host to socialize and enjoy time with guests.”

For an entrée, Barbour serves roasted carved pork tenderloin with lemongrass and local honey.

“Crack the back of lemongrass to get the flavor out of it. It will start to leech a little bit of liquid. Then lay it on the pan and place the pork tenderloin on top. As soon as the pork tenderloin comes out of the oven, brush it with honey and the meat will continue to caramelize.”

For a signature holiday cocktail, Barbour suggests a warm spice old fashioned.

“It’s important to keep a balanced bar, as guests have different tastes. Keep a sweeter, lighter cocktail and a warmer, dryer option. Stick with flavor profiles that match the season such as a warm spice old fashioned made with spiced simple syrup, dashes of orange bitters, rye whiskey and garnished with an orange peel and cinnamon stick.”

(2) Matt Barry, executive pitmaster at Midwood Smokehouse

“Last year I did a bone-in rib roast because I was “turkey-d out” after cooking 220 of them between all the Midwood Smokehouse stores,” said Matt Barry, executive pitmaster at Midwood Smokehouse.

Here’s how he did it:

Create a rub from the following:

Classic Matt’s Midwood Rub

Dry English mustard

Dried thyme

Dried oregano

Next, slather the roast in Dijon mustard added to the rub.

“From there, I smoked it at 225 degrees for about an hour until it was about 110 degrees and removed it from the heat to let it cool completely overnight,” he said.

“On Thanksgiving, I cut the roast into steaks and finished it on the grill, searing each side for about four minutes each. Certainly not a traditional meal, but it was incredible,” Barry said.

(3) Jon Dressler, owner, Rare Roots Hospitality Group

“Thanksgiving is a great family holiday that starts with a great bloody mary. We always start our morning with a bit of cheer and bite of a cocktail,” said Jon Dressler, owner of Rare Roots Hospitality Group, which includes Dresslers, Dogwood, Fin & Fino and The Porter’s House.

Jon Dressler’s bloody mary:

1 qt vodka

1 qt tomato

1qt Clamato

1 qt beefmato (unfortunately this is no longer available, so Dressler said he substitutes with spicy v8)

Limes, lots of them

Worcestershire, to taste

Texas Pete, to taste

Celery salt, to taste

Pepper to taste

(4) Bruce Moffett, chef and owner of Moffett Restaurant Group

Bruce Moffett, chef and owner of Moffett Restaurant Group, said he loves to serve an arugula and endive salad with spiced nuts and homemade cranberry vinaigrette.

For the cranberry vinaigrette:

3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

½ cup of fresh orange juice

½ cup of port wine

½ cup of sugar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 cup vegetable oil

For the spiced nuts:

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon honey

Pinch cayenne pepper

Pinch ground cinnamon

½ cup walnuts or pecans

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For the salad:

2 tablespoons Lemon Vinaigrette (Moffett recommends his recipe from the Bruce Moffett Cooks cookbook)

1 Honeycrisp apple, cored and halved

1 (5-ounce) container baby arugula

1 Belgian baby endive, sliced

½ cup blue cheese crumbles

Pinch kosher salt

To make the cranberry vinaigrette

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, combine the cranberries, orange juice, port, and sugar and stir together. Cook for 5–7 minutes, until the cranberries begin to burst. Remove the pot from the heat; using a slotted spoon, remove half of the cranberries and set them aside. Return the pot with the remaining cranberries to the stove top over medium-high heat and cook until the berries break down about 6 minutes. Carefully pour the hot cranberries into a blender and add the Dijon mustard. With the blender still running, slowly drizzle in all of the oil, then increase the speed to high speed and emulsify. Pass the dressing through a fine fine-mesh strainer and set aside.

To make the spiced nuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, honey, cayenne, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, toss the nuts with oil; add the spice mixture and toss to coat. Spread the nuts onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them; nuts quickly go from toasty to burnt if left unattended. Let cool.

To assemble

Prepare the Lemon Vinaigrette. Shave the apple halves thinly using a mandolin.

Toss the arugula and endive in a large mixing bowl. Add the blue cheese crumbles, reserved cranberries, and spiced nuts. Toss the mixture with the lemon vinaigrette and a pinch of salt, then add the shaved apples and gently toss once more.

To serve

Pile the salad high in the center of a plate. Using a squeeze bottle or a small spoon, dot the cranberry vinaigrette onto the salad to form a circular pattern. Serve immediately.

(5) Stephen Toth, General Manager of Dot Dot Dot

“We make a ‘fall-spiced’ old fashioned at my house for Thanksgiving,” said Stephen Toth, general manager of Dot Dot Dot. “We also do mulled wine.”

Fall Spiced Old Fashioned

1oz Bottled in Bond Bourbon

3-5 dashes angostura bitters

.5oz Laird’s Apple Jack Bottled in Bond

.5oz Fall Syrup

Spiced Syrup (batched to add to cocktail)

4 cups of water

4 cups brown sugar

4 cinnamon sticks

10 whole cloves

4 star anise

6 whole allspice berries

Bring to a bowl while stirring to dissolve the sugar

Remove from heat

Steep overnight

Fine strain

This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 1:25 PM.