The Westchester Wine & Food Festival 2024 Grand Tasting Village at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla, New York, had great chef demos including one by Restaurateur and Chef David Burke of Red Horse by David Burke in White Plains (and many more restaurants as well) who showed how to butcher a whole chicken, then created “Chicken Three Ways.” He also held the audience in the palm of his hand with his outrageous and hilarious stories as he cooked.
The Wegman’s Chef Demonstration Tent was at capacity for Restauranteur and Chef David Burke’s demo, part of Westchester Magazine’s Wine & Food Festival 2024 – Grand Tasting on June 8, 2024, at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla, New York.
Always creative, and with an eye on the bottom dollar, Chef David Burke demoed how to create “Chicken Three Ways,” which included a step-by-step butchering lesson! To a chef, throwing anything out means throwing money away, and Chef David showed how to use all parts of the chicken in interesting and creative ways, which has always been a hallmark of his culinary style.
Chef David Burke Carving Chicken
We have experienced many of his restaurants throughout the years and his presentations are always stunning, so the chance to see him in action at the stove was a real treat. His presentations are as amazing as the culinary creativity that goes into creating his recipes. Having recently eaten at his White Plains restaurant, Red Horse by David Burke, where he serves candied bacon on a clothesline delivered tableside along with a scissor to cut off pieces, his presentations are always fabulous, fun, and whimsical.
Chef David Burke owns restaurants in New York: New York City, Long Island, Saratoga Springs, and White Plains; New Jersey: Bernardsville, East Brunswick, Fort Lee, Keansburg, Morristown, Rumson, Sea Bright, South Orange, Union Beach, and West New York; North Carolina: Charlotte, and Saudi Arabia. For all of the restaurants’ locations and information, please visit his website: https://chefdavidburke.com/restaurants/
David Burke – Chicken Wings ready to be stuffed
Chef David Burke – Recipes from the Demo
Interesting Chicken Fact: Since the pandemic, dark meat is more popular, and thigh meat outsells white meat.
Watermelon Gazpacho: Chef David made a Watermelon Gazpacho using watermelon, tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, and vinegar to add acidity.
David Burk’s stuffed boneless chicken wings
Stuffed Chicken Wings (Chicken “Pops”): At his restaurant, he elevates chicken wings by removing the bone and stuffing the cavity with asparagus, shitake, and carrots, then sautés them. For the presentation, he serves them with 2 large sauteed shrimp, and tops them with asparagus sauce.
David Burke’s – Stuffed boneless chicken wings with shrimp
Chicken Kebabs: He created chicken kebabs with pieces of chicken, chorizo, red peppers, scallions, and kalamata olives and presented them over a bowl of Watermelon Gazpacho.
Chef Burke’s Chicken Kebabs Watermelon Gazpacho
Chicken Tenderloins: When Chef David or his team is butchering chickens, they save the tenderloin pieces of the chicken and freeze them. When they have 20-30 of them, they use them to create baby chicken parms. He also recommended pounding out the chicken tenderloin pieces and serving them with your eggs in the morning as they are better for you than bacon.
David Burke discussing chicken tenders
Roast Chicken Tip: Roast chicken must be brined before cooking.
Chicken Breasts: Cook mostly on the skin side, and do not move things around when you are cooking; let it brown.
Cut Chicken Pieces
Risotto: He made a risotto with rice, sundried tomatoes, chili oil, garlic, onions, white wine, and spinach. Use only a little rice and add stock a little at a time; the rice should be soupy, not gluey.
Bread Crumb Tip: Use fresh breadcrumbs rather than dried breadcrumbs when frying, as fresh breadcrumbs absorb less oil than dried breadcrumbs, which act like a sponge.
Chicken Breasts Ready to be cooked
Last Meal: When asked what he would want for a last meal, he replied “chicken, cooked by an expert.”
Craziest Cooking Tip: When Chef David was a private chef early on in his career he went with the family to Sweden. When they caught a huge salmon, they asked him if he could poach it. As the salmon was larger than any of the pots or pans, he wrapped the salmon and herbs tightly in plastic wrap and placed it in the dishwasher. It took 3 cycles to cook it! He also once cooked a turkey in the dishwasher using the same wrapped in plastic method, although it took him a lot longer, but the results in both cases were fantastic.
Quick Asparagus Sauce: At the restaurant, they use asparagus peels to create a flavorful sauce instead of throwing them out. Add the peels to a sauté pan along with some water or stock, and some butter. Add a bit of fresh spinach for color. Sauté to extract flavor from the asparagus. Drain the sauce over a bowl and discard the cooked peelings.
Davie Burke’s Chicken Three Ways
Note: Do not process the asparagus peelings in a blender as they are too fibrous, but the sauce is full of flavor and has a silkiness to it as the peelings have some starch in them.
Until next time, Cheers and Bon Appetit!
Read more about the Westchester Magazine’s Wine & Food Festival 2024 – Grand Tasting: https://luxuryexperience.com/featured/westchester-wine-food-festival-grand-tasting-valhalla-ny-usa/ in Luxury Experience in the Gastronomy section.
For more information or to purchase tickets for the next Westchester Magazine Wine & Food Festival, please visit the website: https://westchestermagazine.com/events/wine-and-food/ or visit their social media pages: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WMWineandFood/ and Instagram: @westchestermagazine @westchestermagevents
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