108 HUNNS LAKE ROAD
BANGALL, NY 12506
(845) 868-3175
OWNERS: JULIA AND NIGEL WIDDOWSON;
EXECUTIVE CHEF: SARA LUKASIEWICZ
Even though Red Devon is snuggled in the moneyed, horsey nook of Bangall, New York, you couldn’t confuse it with, say, a restaurant in New Canaan, Connecticut. Instead of a clientele driving immaculate SUVs in costly new Barbour jackets, in the dining room of Red Devon you’ll find diners clopping around in barn boots, perhaps a little damp with horse sweat.
Red Devon’s rusticity is a far cry from Chef Sara Lukasiewicz’s start in the business as an intern at Momofuku Noodle Bar under the notoriously gimlet eye of Chef David Chang. Admits Lukasiewicz, “David has quite the temper, but he’s a great person to work for. I learned a lot—both from David and his sous-chef at the time. They introduced me to many of the local products in the Hudson Valley.” She points out, “A lot of the farmers they use at Momofuku, we use here.”
While her work at Red Devon ultimately snagged Lukasiewicz a James Beard Foundation nomination for Rising Star Chef of the Year in 2012, she came to the job in 2009 while still attending The Culinary Institute of America. Says Lukasiewicz, “Basically, I took the job when the owners said, ‘We make all of our own charcuterie. We’re buying whole animals and we’re using local and sustainable products.’” Much of the grass-fed beef that Lukasiewicz uses in her kitchen comes from Temple Farm in Millbrook, which is also owned by the pair behind Red Devon, Julia and Nigel Widdowson. In fact, the restaurant’s name comes from the Devon steer that the Widdowsons raise.
The commitment to using whole animals does not always come easily to Lukasiewicz, who, unluckily, is a rather petite chef. “Breaking down whole animals is kinda part of being a chef nowadays, but still, it’s challenging. You know, I’m five feet tall and I’m moving this thing around that weighs 250 pounds—it can be difficult at times. But it also shows—when I have some six-foot-tall cook in here and he’s watching me break down a steer or a pig into smaller pieces—that I know what I’m doing as a chef. People definitely respect it.”
(SERVES 2)
For the sherry reduction:
½ cup sherry vinegar (Lukasiewicz recommends Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery vinegar)
¼ cup water
½ cup granulated sugar
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, sliced
½ shallot, sliced
4 black peppercorns
For the finished dish:
12 ounces Red Barn Produce Pee Wee potatoes
8 ounces Migliorelli Farms sugar snap peas
8 ounces Migliorelli Farms English peas
8 ounces Mill Creek “Log Grown” shiitake mushrooms
1 Meili Farms or Northwind Farms pork tenderloin
Sea salt or kosher salt
Cracked black peppercorns
4 ounces Cabot butter
1 medium shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, sliced
To make the reduction: In a pot combine all the ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook until the liquid is reduced to a syrup consistency. Strain, cool, and reserve.
To make the dish: In a pot of cold, salted water, place the potatoes. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the potatoes until they are tender. Drain, cool, and cut the potatoes in half. Reserve. Bring another pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a bowl prepare an ice bath. Blanch the sugar snap peas in the boiling salted water until they are cooked through but still crisp, 1–2 minutes. Using a spider, fish out the snap peas and immediately plunge them into the ice bath. Using the same boiling water, blanch the English peas until they are almost fully cooked, about 2–3 minutes. Immediately plunge into the ice bath.
Remove the stems from the shiitakes and slice the caps into ¼-inch pieces.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Rub the pork tenderloin with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Place a large ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat, coat the pan with oil, and sear the tenderloin on all sides. Place the sauté pan in the oven to roast the tenderloins for 8–10 minutes to finish cooking. Remove when they reach an internal temperature of 130°F–135°F for medium rare, 140°F–145°F for medium. Rest the pork for 10 minutes as you finish the recipe.
In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, place the butter. Add the cooked potatoes and lightly sauté them in the butter until golden, 2–3 minutes. Add the shiitake mushrooms, minced shallot, and garlic and continue sautéing the mixture for about 6–8 minutes. Once the shiitakes are cooked, add both peas and sauté until warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve: Divide the spring vegetable hash between two plates. Slice and arrange the pork tenderloin over the hash and drizzle with the sherry vinegar reduction. Serve.