♪ ♪ >> From the editors of Relish.com, we bring you Moveable Feast, with host Alex Thomopoulos.

>> ALEX: We're in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and we have a very busy day ahead of us.

We're going to be throwing a party with James Beard Award nominee chef David Vargas, and a member of Central Texas barbecue family royalty, chef Will Myska.

>> It's a very important rib rub that we use at the restaurant.

It's my grandmother's recipe.

>> ALEX: I'm really excited to be cooking with these chefs, because each of them, in their own ways, have brought new flavors to the New England palate and table with cuisines that are rich in their family history.

We're going to be sourcing local organic grass-fed meats from Maine Meat Butcher Shop.

Wow, are you kidding me?

Oh, pancetta!

And then we're going to harvest some corn specifically grown for Chef Vargas.

>> In the end, it just makes a really good tortilla.

>> ALEX: And once we've gathered all of our ingredients, we're headed right back here to Vernon Family Farms, a pasture-raised chicken farm on 33 acres of conserved land.

This beautiful backdrop is going to be where our lucky guests are going to enjoy our international feast.

I hope you're hungry, because the chefs and myself are bringing the best of our family heritage into one epic feast.

That's all happening right now on Moveable Feast with Relish.

♪ ♪ >> Coming up next on Moveable Feast with Relish.

>> Major funding provided by: >> Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please.

(gecko clears throat, feedback squeals) >> GEICO would like to take a moment to say thank you to our military service members at home and abroad for all their hard work and sacrifice.

We all sleep easier knowing you're out there keeping us safe.

And on a personal note... (jet engines roar, gecko's speech muffled) (crowd cheering) (exhales) Just needed to get that off my chest.

Thank you.

>> GEICO-- proudly supporting the military for over 75 years.

>> We can't just take from nature, so we collaborate.

Ocean Spray works with nature every day to farm in a sustainable way.

♪ ♪ >> Ocean Spray is a proud sponsor of Moveable Feast.

>> At Pure Leaf, the most important ingredient in making tea is saying no.

We're committed to saying no to artificial flavors and sweeteners in our brewed iced teas.

♪ ♪ >> I am Errico Auricchio, the founder of BelGioioso Cheese.

I came in 1979 from Italy with my family and the memory of Italian cheese.

>> La Panzanella-- bakers of Italian-inspired crackers.

Simple ingredients and non-GMO.

>> ALEX: So tell me a little bit about where we are right now.

>> We're in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, right on the Maine-New Hampshire border.

>> Kittery, Maine, is over here with the Navy shipyard.

And then there's an island in between that connects Portsmouth to Maine called Badger's Island.

>> ALEX: Is that where your restaurant is?

>> That's where our restaurant is, right here.

>> ALEX: Oh, okay.

>> Yeah, Ore Nell's.

>> ALEX: So you guys are chef partners together?

>> Business partners.

>> Yeah.

>> ALEX: And tell me a little bit about, like, what brought you here to New Hampshire and Maine.

>> So, I moved up here to go to culinary school, from Houston, Texas, originally, fell in love with the area, linked up with Chef Vargas, probably about six years ago.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And him being from California, me being from Texas, we kind of had that "not from here" connection.

We hit it off very well, and, um...

I worked at his restaurant for six years... >> Yep.

>> The Vida Cantina, then opened up Ore Nell's Barbecue.

>> ALEX: But Ore Nell's is a Texas institution.

>> It is.

It's a Central Texas-style barbecue restaurant, so we try to be true to that in our format of how we smoke our meats, rub our meats, dry rub, sauce on side.

But at the same time, we bring in all these other ingredients that are local to us in New England and do plays on it as well.

>> ALEX: How would you describe the culinary scene here in Portsmouth or in Kittery?

>> I think it's incredible.

You know, I think it's our own little niche.

Not a lot of people know about it.

Unlike most traditional cities, where maybe it's a little bit more cutthroat, this city and this Seacoast area, we all collaborate together, we all help each other out.

>> ALEX: How have the people of New England welcomed both of your concepts here?

You don't really see high-end Mexican restaurants, barbecue restaurants.

>> You know, it took us a long time to, to let people understand what type of Mexican food that we're doing.

It's not your typical Tex-Mex style.

>> ALEX: I hear that your tortillas are legendary.

You source a really interesting type of corn here, you grow corn here?

>> Here we have a great farm called Barker's Farm that we're going to take you to, that grows incredible corn for us, for masa.

>> ALEX: Oh, yum.

>> And, and then we make our own tortillas from it.

So it's, yeah, it's an incredible process, an incredible story all together.

>> ALEX: Having a good tortilla really just changes the game.

>> It really does.

It tells a story is what I always say.

About the season, about the farm, about the area that it grew in all together.

That's what's really important.

And we're telling a story about New Hampshire in this case.

>> ALEX: Yeah, I definitely want to celebrate that in our feast.

So we've got a lot to do.

Where you taking me first?

>> Well, we're going to go to Maine Meat, right across the bridge here to Maine.

Kittery.

>> ALEX: Awesome.

So in order to go that way, we have to go that way.

>> This way.

>> ALEX: All right, let's go.

♪ ♪ Can you tell me a little bit about this town?

>> It's here right on the southern border, borders Portsmouth.

We call it the Brooklyn of the Seacoast.

Hop over the bridge, and you can ride it, head into the big city of Portsmouth.

>> ALEX: It seems like there's a lot of, like, really cute mom and pop shops here.

>> Definitely.

>> ALEX: Young entrepreneurs starting their businesses.

Can you tell me, where did you bring me and why?

>> We brought you to Maine Meat.

♪ ♪ >> So, Maine Meat is where I get a lot of my beef from.

They actually make our Texas hot link sausage for the restaurant.

>> ALEX: Cool.

>> And Shannon and Jarrod are just great people.

Anytime I have a question about a cut or anything like that, they are more than happy to give me a tutorial on stuff like that.

So they've been a very important part of my business, Chef Vargas' business.

>> There's so many like-minded people like this that can support it.

A small business, as in, you know, our local organic butcher shop.

>> They're bringing in whole animals, breaking them down themselves.

They're pulling from all over New England.

Some of the lamb that I want to get today is actually on an island; we're going to have to take a lobster boat to go grab them.

It's a secret island.

>> ALEX: A secret lamb island?

>> (chuckling): Yeah.

>> A secret lamb island where they feed off seaweed and stuff like that, too, so you'll taste it in like the roast that... >> ALEX: Wow.

>> So it's very unique.

>> Oh, hey guys.

>> ALEX: Hi.

>> Hey, buddy.

>> How's it going?

>> ALEX: The famous meat man.

>> We were just talking about you, that's all.

>> I hope everything was nice.

(laughter) >> ALEX: Thank you for having us here.

>> Oh, yeah, thanks for coming.

>> ALEX: Yeah, this is awesome.

How did you get started?

>> I moved to Italy in 2006, to open up a restaurant with a friend of mine.

While I was there, I just kind of spent a couple days here and there in different butcher shops and decided that that's kind of what I like to do, and I slowly started kind of working into butchering from there.

>> ALEX: When did you open Maine Meat?

>> 2014.

>> ALEX: Where are you sourcing your meat?

>> Most of my beef and most of my lamb gets pasture-raised up in northern New Hampshire.

My pigs are primarily pasture-raised Berks that are raised on a small dairy up in Freeport, Maine.

And right now we actually have lamb from a small farm up in Newcastle, Maine, called Straw Farm.

All their lambs are raised wild on an island in Penobscot Bay.

And once a year, they bring them all back.

They've been on the mainland for about two weeks now.

They're hands down some of the best lamb that anyone could get.

>> ALEX: Well, as a Greek girl, hearing this makes me very happy.

>> It's, it's quite special.

>> ALEX: So, Will, you're thinking of using the lamb for one of your dishes tonight?

>> I have to after that spiel.

>> ALEX: Can we go inside?

>> Yeah, let's go check it out.

♪ ♪ >> ALEX: Wow.

Are you kidding me?

>> Here we are.

>> ALEX (laughing): God.

>> Yeah.

>> ALEX: This is awesome.

>> Well, welcome.

>> ALEX: Oh, pancetta.

You make that here, in house?

>> We do make our own pancetta, yep.

>> ALEX: What are some of your biggest sellers here?

>> I'd say that one of the biggest sellers is our dry aged steaks.

Nobody else is doing dry age around here and like doing it in-house.

Right now our stuff is about 45 days.

>> ALEX: So what are some of the cuts that you have that are a little bit more unusual that you have some fun with?

>> We have some really interesting little ribs.

that are coming from the, the fourth quarter of the animal.

>> That's what I'm looking at.

>> Kalbi ribs.

They're kind of like cross-cut Korean beef short ribs.

>> ALEX: Mm.

>> Mm.

>> Super thin.

Marinate them up, do them on a hot grill.

They're like beef candy.

>> You know, I think I would love the kalbi ribs, too, as an appetizer.

My idea is a shishito chutney to go on top of them.

>> ALEX: Yum.

>> I think it's just a good family-style appetizer that we could start with, you know?

>> Yeah, that sounds great.

>> Kind of dig in, so.

>> Okay.

>> ALEX: Cool.

>> All right, so you were thinking about doing some kalbi ribs, and then you're thinking about doing some lamb saddle.

How much are you thinking about?

>> I think for the feast tonight, I think 24 kalbi ribs would be great.

>> All right.

>> And then two lamb saddles if possible as well.

>> ALEX: And I'm going to take about a half a pound of pancetta.

>> All right, well, a couple of lamb saddles.

>> Thank you, Jarrod, thank you so much.

>> A pile of kalbi ribs.

>> I love it.

>> Pancetta for you.

>> ALEX: Thank you so much.

Will we see you later at the feast?

>> Yeah, I'll come by.

>> Awesome.

>> ALEX: Awesome.

>> Yeah.

>> ALEX: Where are you boys taking me to next?

>> Let's go visit our friend Scott at Parker's Farm.

>> ALEX: All right, let's go.

>> Let's do it.

>> Awesome.

Later, buddy.

>> Take care, guys.

>> ALEX: Thanks again, bye.

>> It was good to see y'all.

>> ALEX: That was cool.

♪ ♪ >> How you doing?

>> ALEX: Hi.

>> Hey, how you doing?

>> ALEX: How are you?

>> Doing great, how are you?

>> ALEX: Good.

>> Good to meet you.

>> Scott, this is Alex.

>> ALEX: Well, thank you so much for having us.

>> You're very welcome.

Glad you could be here.

>> ALEX: Chef, you have your corn that you use in the restaurant and for your tortillas grown here.

>> Totally, yeah.

This is, uh, something that Scott and I have been partnered with for about two years now.

Super excited to show you.

>> ALEX: And how did you guys meet?

>> You know, basically through the community.

A local farmer introduced us.

We had this tortilla project going, and we needed somebody to grow more acres for us.

Scott and I met-- boom, magic is starting to happen now.

>> ALEX: And what's so special about this corn?

>> We wanted it grown here in New Hampshire for our tortillas.

And Scott had the capability, the knowledge, and the acres behind it.

So it was easy, kind of pairing together, and we're two years now into the project; it's been amazing.

>> ALEX: This corn is specifically grown for your tortillas, correct?

>> Correct, yeah.

So we hope that nobody else will come and try to take it from us, because we need every single bit of it.

>> ALEX: So what are we going to see today?

>> We're going to drive out to the cornfield, and we're going to see two varieties that I grow for David, one called Autumn Explosion.

And the other one is an old heritage variety called Wapsie Valley.

(engine revving) >> Okay.

>> ALEX: Yep.

>> You got this.

(laughter) ♪ ♪ >> Alex, this is an example of Autumn Explosion.

>> ALEX: That's a beautiful.

>> Rubies.

>> Yeah, it's gorgeous.

>> ALEX: Rubies.

>> It's pretty incredible.

You know, if you open up a couple of different ears, you could see why they call it Autumn Explosion.

You know, all the way, there's just like so many different little varieties... >> ALEX: Oh my gosh.

>> Like, each ear is kind of different itself.

The color is amazing itself, but you can see that's one of the first reasons we fell in love with it.

But in the end, it just makes a really good tortilla.

So this flavor from the Autumn Explosion, it's super roasty.

After you cook the tortilla, you taste that roastiness.

The other variety that Scott was telling us about, the Wapsie Valley that he grew this year has a good, like butternut squash-slash-carrot kind of flavor to it.

>> ALEX: Oh, that's interesting.

>> So combined together, it's like that sweet, roasty flavor.

>> ALEX: When do you know that these kernels are ready?

>> A couple of times a week basis now, I'm going to be picking a few ears and doing a moisture sample until the moisture gets down around 20% in the kernels.

>> And once it's dry, Scott stores it for us, and then we just take it whenever we need it.

>> ALEX: And how many tortillas do you think one harvest makes?

>> So we do about, I would say about 30,000 tortillas a month, and so... >> ALEX: What?

>> Yeah, so this harvest lasts... >> ALEX: 30,000 a month?

>> Lot of tortillas, yeah.

>> So we, you know, this harvest lasted us pretty much the whole year.

>> ALEX: So these kernels really give your tortillas a very specific and special flavor.

>> It really does.

>> ALEX: That nobody else has.

>> Right, exactly.

You know, other people definitely grow this variety, but this one's very local to us, you know, the company's, what, about ten minutes away from here.

This year, we kind of formed a grain alliance.

And it was a way for all of us to kind of collaborate together and really use our resources and our knowledge all together about what we're doing in the community as far as different grains, but in this case, corn itself.

So we decided to grow Wapsie Valley as well.

>> We have some Wapsie Valley corn planted just on the other side of this tree line, and, uh, let's go have a look.

>> ALEX: Look-- I can't get over the colors.

>> Right.

>> Wow.

>> ALEX: This is amazing.

>> So it automatically already looks like that carrot, butternut squash kind of flavor that I'm talking about.

>> ALEX: Right.

>> It almost looks like sweet corn itself, but it doesn't eat the same way.

But to me, it's so special because we're carrying on this tradition that's been passed down generation after generation, very ancient way of practicing making tortillas.

And we're carrying it on here with New Hampshire corn.

>> ALEX: I can't wait to taste one of your tortillas, because if the kernels taste this good, I can't even imagine.

Right?

>> We're definitely going to have some tortillas for the feast as well.

I think we're going to make, like, I'm thinking, like a stew out of this corn, too, in the, in the hominy form.

>> ALEX: Yum.

>> Yeah.

>> ALEX: Well, I really hope that our dishes celebrate the hard work that you do every single day in these corn fields.

So are you coming to our feast?

>> Absolutely.

>> ALEX: Yeah?

>> Yes.

>> ALEX: You'll be there?

>> Yes.

>> ALEX: Great.

Okay, so we're going to head off to Vernon Farms to get started cooking, and we'll see you later.

>> Okay.

>> Awesome.

>> ALEX: Okay, great.

I'm going to get back on my tractor.

(laughter) ♪ ♪ One of my favorite ways to cook is over open fire, so I could not have two better chefs here to help make this feast.

>> Oh, thank you so much, we appreciate it.

It's going to be an incredible day.

>> ALEX: We're on a pasture-raised chicken farm, right?

>> Correct, yeah.

Jeremiah, he raises the best chickens in New Hampshire, and we have some today, so we're going to marinate the chickens and cook them over the open fire.

♪ ♪ >> Um, I also went inside his farm store and got these delicious pumpkins that we're going to roast right on the fire as well.

And I think we're going to use some of Big Scott's corn, and make it like a beautiful stew all together.

>> ALEX: I see all the fixings for, like, a mole?

>> We're going to make a great pepita and prune-style mole that we're going to mix right into the stew, and it'll have some fall apples, the pumpkin, the corn.

You know, it's just going to bring all New England at this time of year together in one big pot.

>> ALEX: I can't wait.

So why don't you get those pumpkins on the fire?

>> Awesome, thank you.

>> ALEX: And, uh, Will.

>> Let's do it.

>> ALEX: What's going on?

What you going to make?

>> So, as our field trip today, to Maine Meat.

So we have some of the kalbi ribs and we have the lamb saddle.

What we're going to do is we're going to marinate the kalbi ribs in some of our de arbol barbecue sauce from Ore Nell's Barbecue.

A little more apple cider vinegar.

And just for some aromatics, we have some cilantro.

And then also a little bit of dill too, it's going to provide a little freshness for the kalbi ribs as well.

And we're going to top them with the shishito chutney.

So that's going to provide a little bit more sweetness there, too.

♪ ♪ >> I was classically French trained at culinary school, Worked in a lot of nice restaurants.

So when it came time to open a barbecue restaurant, you know, where we get back to the basics but I can also add those other elements into what we do at our restaurant, too, to be more creative in the process.

It's how innovative can we be but still being true to ourselves, our culture, where we come from, and that's kind of what we're trying to provide here today at this feast, so.

>> ALEX: That's so awesome.

>> Yeah.

♪ ♪ So what we're going to do is we're going to make a rib rub, too, It's a very important rib rub that we use at the restaurant.

My grandmother's recipe.

♪ ♪ >> ALEX: All right, this oil is really hot.

>> So we're going to sear on all sides, and then we're going to go right into that smoker.

>> ALEX: So, chef, what do you have going on here?

>> So, we roasted the pumpkins off for the stew, and we're going to get the other ingredients prepared for the stew today.

You know, we're making a pumpkin, corn, and apple stew.

And so a lot of New England involved in this already.

So I figured we'd make a mole that we could kind of whisk in and incorporate it.

Give it that Mexican flair along with it.

♪ ♪ Cool thing about mole itself, it's like, it always tells a story.

Basic moles represent a certain type of family, certain harvest.

Everybody asks me, you know, what's the definition of a mole?

I always just say a really good gravy.

When you think about stews itself, you think about broth, so you wouldn't think about necessarily adding a mole.

But I think it's just going to add another layer of flavor that's going to be complex.

Just going to put it into the blender here.

(blender whirring) >> ALEX: Mm.

>> What do you think?

Did we do okay?

>> ALEX: It's so good.

So, while you finish up your mole, I'm going to get my corn into those coals for my dish... >> Awesome.

>> ALEX: ...And then I'll come back here and we'll finish it all up.

>> Perfect.

>> ALEX: Awesome.

I'll see you soon.

>> Sounds good.

♪ ♪ >> We're going to start building this stew up.

>> Alex, why don't you start stirring it for me, and I'm going to keep adding... >> ALEX: Great.

>> ...some more ingredients.

So we added the onions, we added the garlic, we added the carrots.

We're going to add some leeks.

>> ALEX: This looks beautiful.

It smells amazing already.

>> You know, it just speaks New England all together.

I got some honey lager from a local brewery, Liars Bench, (tab popping) And now we're just going to add our mole paste right into there as well.

♪ ♪ So we have some of this corn that we did a nixtamalization.

We took the corn and cooked it with a little calcium.

Food's the easiest thing that unites us together.

If I came over to your house, you came over to my house, vice versa, either way, sitting down at our table, we are able to enjoy a great meal together and talk, you know, and it's a way to bring all these different cultures together.

And it was easy way for myself and chef Will to pair.

>> The world could use more of that today, too.

♪ ♪ >> ALEX: I wanted to pay homage to my Italian heritage with this dish, but also recognize that I'm an L.A. kid.

I grew up in L.A. and surrounded by the most amazing Mexican food.

And one of my favorite dishes is Mexican esquites, or street corn.

Traditionally, it's made with mayo, queso fresco, a little bit of chili, some lime.

So what I've done is I've thrown this beautiful New Hampshire corn into the fire with the husks on, and I just got it nice and toasty.

And I'm swapping out traditional Mexican ingredients for Italian ones.

So instead of cilantro, I'm using some basil and some parsley.

And when I saw the pancetta at Maine Meats Butcher Shop, I knew that I had to incorporate it in this dish.

I've got the sweet corn, which is going to be balanced by that salty pancetta.

Mmm!

Delicious.

I'm going to serve this up.

I'm going to top it with creamy burrata.

I took a baguette, sliced it in half, grilled it up, rubbed it with garlic.

I'm going to serve that with my corn.

It's time to feast.

♪ ♪ (people chattering in background) (laughter) (chattering continues) >> I was thinking... she said it, right?

>> ALEX: Hi, everybody.

>> ALL: Hi!

>> Hey, what's going on?

>> ALEX: Thank you so much for joining us for tonight's feast.

Our meal is a story of where we come from and also where we are today.

It's a collaboration of our cultures and also the incredible ingredients here in New Hampshire.

Chef Will, chef David, thank you so much for taking us around New Hampshire and Maine, introducing us to amazing people.

Jarrod and Scott, thank you so much for providing ingredients for tonight's meal.

And without further ado, chef Will, would you please tell everybody what you made?

Can you talk about those ribs?

>> Absolutely.

So my man Jarrod right here provided us with not only the lamb saddle but the kalbi ribs marinated in our de arbol barbecue sauce with a little added ingredients of cider vinegar and herbs.

And then we topped it off with a shishito chutney.

So talked about the secret island where Jarrod gets his lamb from.

It has this beautiful saddle with the tenderloin, the loin in there, and it was dry aged and just so trimmed and clean.

So we used Grandma's rib rub too-- cumin, brown sugar, a little chili powder in there.

And now we've served it with a mezcal gastrique, some microgreens, and we have a root vegetable salsa, too.

And you see that beautiful Green Lawn Gardens red leaf buttercup lettuce.

So it's kind of a build your own taco, family-style feast.

So taking different cuts that I haven't really worked with too often, but putting a little Texas and Grandma spin to it.

So that was what it was all about, for sure.

>> ALEX: Cool.

>> So I had the pleasure of working with Jeremiah, Vernon Family Farms, his chicken and Scott over at Big Scott.

He grows that corn for us that we got to look at today.

So we kind of put the dishes together.

We took Jeremiah's beautiful chicken, and we did a nice marinade on it and then put it over the open fire and watched it slowly cook.

And then with the corn, we did the nixtamalization with it.

And then we made a stew with the local pumpkin, the local apples, and added our traditional-style mole.

It's incredible.

You look at Vernon Family Farms and Big Scott's farm, they're about ten minutes away from each other.

So that story came together all together in food.

>> ALEX: And I wanted to create a dish that combined where I come from and also my childhood.

I'm half Italian, and I grew up in Los Angeles, so I grew up with Italian food and a big Mexican community around me.

So one of my favorite foods is Mexican street corn, and I wanted to do an Italian spin on that.

I took some pancetta from Maine Meats, and I incorporated that into some sweet corn that we got from Big Scott's farm.

I tossed it with a little olive oil, lemon, lots of fresh herbs, and I topped it with some beautiful burrata.

So I hope you guys enjoy this very mixed, international meal that's filled with so much love.

And thank you again for coming.

>> Awesome.

Thanks for having us.

>> ALEX: Appreciate it.

Drink up, eat up.

>> Thank you guys so much.

>> Thank you, chef!

>> I feel like you're just always a good time.

That's what I get from... >> So good.

Everything.

(people chattering) >> ALEX: I just wanted to say thank you for joining us for tonight's feast.

I hope you enjoyed a taste of our home in your home.

And if you want any of these recipes from today's episode, make sure to go to movablefeast.relish.com.

Follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

And who knows, maybe next time we'll be feasting in your backyard.

Cheers, everybody!

>> Cheers!

>> Whoo!

>> ALEX: That is a definite needed "cheers."

(laughter) Cheers!

♪ ♪ Oh, cool!

(chattering continues) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> For more information about this episode, recipes, and behind-the-scenes fun, make sure you go to Relish.com, follow us @MoveableFeast_TV on Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

See you next time on a Moveable Feast with Relish.

>> Major funding provided by: >> Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please.

(gecko clears throat, feedback squeals) >> GEICO would like to take a moment to say thank you to our military service members at home and abroad for all their hard work and sacrifice.

We all sleep easier knowing you're out there keeping us safe.

And on a personal note... (jet engines roar, gecko's speech muffled) (crowd cheering) (exhales) Just needed to get that off my chest.

Thank you.

>> GEICO-- proudly supporting the military for over 75 years.

>> We can't just take from nature, so we collaborate.

Ocean Spray works with nature every day to farm in a sustainable way.

♪ ♪ >> Ocean Spray is a proud sponsor of Moveable Feast.

>> At Pure Leaf, the most important ingredient in making tea is saying no.

We're committed to saying no to artificial flavors and sweeteners in our brewed iced teas.

♪ ♪ >> I am Errico Auricchio, the founder of BelGioioso Cheese.

I came in 1979 from Italy with my family and the memory of Italian cheese.

>> La Panzanella-- bakers of Italian-inspired crackers.

Simple ingredients and non-GMO.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪