Playing With Fire, Part 3

Brian Nasajon

Chef/owner of Beaker & Gray

The dish: Fire-roasted whole dorade

About the fish: “I worked with dorade years back, but I never really gave it much attention. Then I picked up a couple and took them to my dad’s house; he has this nice open-wood grill. We threw them on the grill, and they were so good. The dorade is high in fat. It’s like what the chicken thigh is to the chicken breast; you can do whatever you want to it [from a prep/cooking standpoint], and no matter what it’s always delicious because of the fattiness. It’s also extremely flavorful. All you need is salt. I’m adding a little chimichurri butter, but, really, it’s all about hitting it with high temperature. The open fire can give [what you’re cooking] a whole other world of depth. Because of the fat in dorade, when you put it really close to the charcoal, that’s what happens.”

About Brian: Nasajon was in his final year as a philosophy major at New York University, after originally going there to pursue a music degree. Still lacking a clear career path, he decided to follow the example of a friend and architect major who, in his senior year, decided to take a kitchen job. He picked the brain of Josh Capon, the talented chef at Lure Fishbar in Manhattan, who advised Nasajon to work for a month at a restaurant—for free—just to see if he even liked working with food. Nasajon did just that. At Lure. “Within a week, I was hooked,” he says. The Miami native later returned to South Florida and honed his skills at Wish and Sushisamba. In November 2015, he opened Beaker & Grey, which he describes as approachable New American dishes with global influences.

Did you know: Nasajon’s family is from Uruguay, “so open-fire cooking is in our blood,” he says. The Uruguayan approach is distinguished by minimal seasoning and a slow roll on the charcoal grill for beloved cuts of beef like skirt steak and flank steak. “They don’t season it, they don’t even add salt before,” Nasajon says. “You set it on one side of the grill for seven to 10 minutes. Once you see that nice sear on the outside, you flip it, you score it—and then you salt it, only on that one side, with a thick, coarse salt. The salt starts to suck up the blood. You know the steak is ready to go when you see the blood kind of trickling to the top.”

Open-fire insights: “Fire is very temperamental. If you don’t know how to gauge the height, if you don’t know how to manage the fire, if you cook it too close or too far, you can damage the quality of product. The great thing about [dorade] is that nothing is going to happen to this whole fish. Most fish dry out quickly at max temp; they’re also often more delicate than other proteins. In this case, it’s so good for grilling because you can just blast it. The hotter and the faster you get on it, the better the result.”

FYI: Check out the May issue of Lifestyle for Nasajon’s dorade recipe.

You May Also Like
It’s a Family Affair

Don’t get to spend enough time with your kids? Work with them. That’s what these dads do. Here, they share the secrets of doing so—with great success.

Read More
Women on Top

These ladies are proof positive that fabulous is found at any age when you set your priorities and make yourself one of them.

Read More
Rooms with a Point of View

9 South Florida interior designers share the spaces that define their signature style.   

Read More
La Vie en Rose: Actor, Singer, Songwriter – the List Goes On…

Tommi Rose defines versatility, and it all started right here in Fort Lauderdale.  

Read More
Other Posts
José Andrés Group’s Aguasal and Bar Centro are Now Open in Andaz Miami Beach

The concepts precede the return of The Bazaar by José Andrés, which is slated to open on the property in the future.

Read More
Reserve Your Table for Father’s Day Brunch at Corsair

Mom’s not the only one who enjoys unlimited mimosas and a decadent repast to celebrate her special day.

Read More
Celebrate National Wine Day From One of Miami’s Most Glamorous Rooftops

Perched high above the energy of Downtown, Giselle Miami is the perfect spot to sip and savor the view.

Read More
Niño Gordo Offers an Explosion of Flavors and Fun

Co-creators Germán Sitz and Pedro Peña bring an amplified version of Buenos Aires’ renowned restaurant to Miami.

Read More