Recipes from Embers: Cider Smoked Chicken and Toasted Chocolate Pot de Creme

Embers is a stick-season restaurant brought to you by the Fall ‘25 cohort that personifies the quiet stretch between fall and winter when the leaves have fallen, the air turns crisp, and fire becomes the heart of gathering. The menu highlights smoke, char, and seasonal produce, creating dishes that feel nostalgic yet elevated. Embers celebrates the in-between: fall into winter, flame into smoke, memory into tradition.


SMOKED CIDER CHICKEN

Yields 2 portions

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 chicken leg quarter

  • 2 1/4 cup apple cider

  • 2 1/4 cup ice

  • 2 cinnamon sticks

  • 2 star anise

  • 2 tsp black peppercorn

  • 1 tsp mustard seed

  • 3 sprigs thyme

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 2 garlic clove

  • 2 tbsp kosher salt

  • 2 tbsp sugar

  • 2 fl oz vegetable oil

  • as needed frites seasoning

  • as needed salt (chicken for smoking)

DIRECTIONS

Day 1: brining the chicken

  1. Bring the apple cider to a boil along with the aromatics, salt, and sugar.

  2. Pour mixture over ice to cool down immediately.

  3. Once brine has cooled, add chicken leg quarters and brine overnight

Day 2: Smoking, sous vide, searing and oven-finishing chicken

  1. Pat dry and evenly season all over chicken quarters with seasoning and salt. Place on sheet tray with cooling rack.

  2. Turn on combi oven with smoker attachment.

  3. Fill attachment with enough wood chips to cover coils.

  4. Go to hot smoking settings and set to 1.5 hours. Allow to preheat.

  5. Once preheated, allow to smoke for set time.

  6. Remove chicken and cryo-vac. Set aside until ready to sous vide.

  7. Set up sous vide station and set machine to 175F degrees. Allow water to preheat to that temp.

  8. Submerge cryo-vaced chicken in water for 45 minutes. Remove and set aside for service.

  9. Take chicken quarter out of bag and pat dry. Heat small saute pan medium-high heat and add vegetable oil.

  10. Place chicken skin side down into pan and sear until skin is crispy golden brown. Flip chicken and sear other side.

  11. Remove and put onto sizzle pan and finish in oven set to 450F degrees. Target internal temp of chicken is 155F degrees.

  12. Plate and serve.

TOASTED CHOCOLATE POT DE CREME

POT DE CREME

INGREDIENTS

  • 45 oz milk

  • 45 oz heavy cream

  • 18 oz granulated sugar , 1st

  • 12 oz dark chocolate

  • 360 grams yolks

  • 6 eggs

  • 15 g vanilla extract

  • 3 oz granulated sugar , 2nd

  • 15 g vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

  1. Put chocolate in bowl. Set aside.

  2. Boil the milk, heavy cream, and 2nd sugar together.

  3. Caramelize the 1st sugar using the dry method.

  4. When sugar reaches desired color, gradually add hot milk.

  5. Once all sugar is added to the milk, pour over chocolate.

  6. Combine the yolks, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl.

  7. Temper the hot mixture into the eggs.

  8. Blend the custard with a emersion blender.

  9. Place custard in fondant funnel and deposit 85 grams of the mixture into each ramekin.

  10. Place filled ramekins on full sheet tray and prepare water bath.

  11. Torch pot de creme before baking to get rid of the bubbles.

  12. At the oven, pour hot tap water into sheet pan ( 1/2 way up ramekin )

Baking: 300 deck for approx. 30-40 min.

Check for doneness when custard is set in the center.

TOASTED MARSHMALLOW

INGREDIENTS

  • 75 g cold water

  • 9 g unflavored powdered gelatin

  • 1 vanilla bean pod

  • 60 g water

  • 215 grams granulated sugar

  • 1 tsp liquid smoke

DIRECTIONS

  1. Place cold water into mixing bowl.

  2. Sprinkle gelatin into the cold water.

  3. Let rest for 5 minutes.

  4. Add vanilla bean into mixer.

  5. Place water in a pot.

  6. Place sugar into the same pot as the water.

  7. Heat pot on medium high heat or 70%.

  8. When the mixture begins to lightly bubble along the edge of the pot, stir until the sugar is dissolved.

  9. Heat mixture until it reaches soft ball stage, 238 degrees fahrenheit.

  10. Pour mixture over gelatin in the mixing bowl.

  11. Using the whisk for the mixer, hand-whisk the ingredients until the gelatin is dissolved.

  12. Whisk on medium high speed (speed 7) for 8 minutes.

  13. Mix in liquid smoke.

  14. Use immediately.

TO PLATE

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 each ramekin chocolate pot de creme

  • 25 grams Marshmallow

  • 2 2 grams Graham cracker triangles

DIRECTIONS

  1. Pipe 6 marshmallow domes down the center onto the pot de creme using tip 804 forming a zig zag formation while still allowing space so that each dome does not connect.

  2. Torch marshmallow domes until golden.

  3. Take 2 graham crackers triangles and 2 chocolate feathers and place them along the marshmallow alternating each one.

  4. One graham cracker should have the point up, and the other should have the point down.

Jessica Sigmundsson