The Secret to Chef Clayton Miller's Farro? Pâté

Miami's Yardbird (one of our 50 Best New Restaurants nominees in 2012) is best known for its fried chicken. But when Clayton Miller, its new executive chef, recently swung by the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen, he brandished two different ingredients: quail and a brick.

"There's been people cooking poultry under a brick for a long time," says Miller. The chef applies this method to quail, giving it a nice crust and shortening the cooking time. Miller marinated the South Carolina quail in fragrant, jerk-inspired seasonings—allspice, ginger, garlic, cinnamon—which he mixed with 180-degree neutral oil to release their aromatics. Then, he laid the quail flat on a grill and placed a tin foil-lined brick over it. After about 1 minute on each side, the quail was ready to eat.

Impressive, right? Inarguably. And yet, we were almost too busy eating Miller's "Dirty Little Farro" to notice. The farro, which the chef plated beneath the bird, was a riff on Southern "Dirty Rice." Miller gave the concept a bit of an upgrade, stirring smooth chicken-liver pâté, rather than chopped chicken liver, into the farro. The pâté melted into the farro, coating the grains with rich, savory flavor. Miller's recipe for Dirty Little Farro is below, but the takeaway can be summed up in one sentence: just put some pâté on it.

Clayton Miller, Executive Chef of Yardbird
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced green peppers
1/2 cup diced onion
1 fresh bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
2 tbsp butter
1 cup farro
3 1/2 cups chicken stock, hot, divided
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp chicken liver pâté
1 half link andouille sausage, casing removed
Salt to taste

PREPARATION
Combine carrots, celery, green pepper, onion, bay leaf, thyme, butter, and salt, and sweat vegetables for 15 minutes. Add farro, and continue to sweat for an additional five minutes. Add chicken stock, and bring to a simmer. Cover with foil. Place into a 275 F oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and farro is tender.

Render sausage in a pan for 1 minute. Add farro with chicken stock to the sausage, and warm. Once warm, add parsley, chives, olive oil, sherry vinegar, and chicken-liver pâté. Heat until pâté has melted into farro. Season to taste.

Note: This recipe has not been tested by the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen.