After 10-year run, King + Duke closing but recipes live on
King + Duke has been a mainstay among Buckhead restaurants since it first opened its doors at the corner of Peachtree Road and West Paces Ferry Road in May 2013.
Created by Ford Fry and his Rocket Farm Restaurants group, King + Duke beckoned with stylish digs and a menu centered around wood- and smoke-imbued fish, fowl, meat and vegetables cooked up in a 24-foot open hearth.
That hearth has been a workhorse for numerous talented chefs who have run the King + Duke kitchen, including opening chef Joe Schafer, E.J. Hodgkinson, Chris Edwards, Nate Boer and Eddie Barrett.
In a few days, however, the coals will stop glowing and the behemoth hearth will go cold. The lease on the space at 3060 Peachtree Road is up, and the hospitality group has decided not to renew it. June 18 will be the final day of service.
Middle Eastern restaurant Delbar will be taking over the space. The concept, which owner Fares Kargar plans to debut in Buckhead this winter, will join sister locations in Inman Park and Alpharetta.
”It’s time for someone else to come in and bring something new to the space,” a Rocket Farm Restaurants representative told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a prepared statement. “As we near that final service, we’ll be looking back on a special decade in Buckhead and are feeling very grateful for the employees, guests and regulars that have supported us over the years.”
In that same vein, we sifted through AJC archives to find numerous King + Duke recipes featured through the years. Here are some of our favorites.
RECIPES
These recipes from King + Duke chefs include the restaurant’s popular white cheddar popovers, a refreshing watermelon salad, a side dish of roasted onions with Romesco sauce, and the fried yeast doughnuts that have been a mainstay on the Sunday brunch menu.
King + Duke White Cheddar Popovers
These white cheddar popovers are part of the bread service at King + Duke, and the recipe was created by Chrysta Poulos, director of pastry for Rocket Farm Restaurants.
For the showiest results, use a popover pan with cups that are 2 inches wide and 2 1/5 inches deep. These pans are readily available and come in sizes that bake six or 12 popovers at a time. Popover pans have deep, steep-sided wells that force the batter up while baking so your popovers end up with crisp sides and a puffy top. This recipe will result in dense popovers as opposed to the hollow ones.
At the restaurant, a batch this size would be made with six extra-large eggs. Because we test recipes with large eggs, we weighed out both extra-large and large eggs by volume and found that seven large eggs were the equivalent. Poulos recommends using King Arthur flour. We mixed our batter in a 5-quart stand mixer and found we needed every bit of that volume to accommodate the batter.
- 4 1/3 cups whole milk
- 7 large eggs
- 5 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups shredded white cheddar, divided
- Pour milk into a medium saucepan and warm over low heat to 110 degrees, about 5 minutes.
- While milk is warming, add eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk eggs on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. When the milk reaches 110 degrees, reduce mixer speed to medium and slowly add milk. Mix 2 minutes. While mixer is running, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Turn mixer off and add flour mixture at once. Turn mixer onto low and mix 1 to 2 minutes or until flour is incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat 3 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer and using whisk attachment, scrape around the sides of the bowl to be sure all flour is incorporated. Pour batter into a container and let rest at least 2 hours before using.
- When ready to bake, heat oven to 450 degrees and put popover pan in oven to heat.
- When oven is heated and pan is smoking hot, remove pan from oven, spray wells evenly with nonstick cooking spray and pour in batter almost to the top of the well. Top each with 2 tablespoons shredded cheddar. Put pan into oven immediately and bake about 25 minutes or until popovers are puffed and golden brown. Resist the urge to peek before 20 minutes because you’ll release the hot air of the oven and may cause the popovers to collapse. When popovers are done, remove from oven and gently turn the pan over to release the popovers. Repeat with remaining batter, spraying with nonstick cooking spray before baking.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per popover: 290 calories (percent of calories from fat, 30), 13 grams protein, 38 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 9 grams total fat (5 grams saturated), 102 milligrams cholesterol, 877 milligrams sodium.
King + Duke Watermelon, Blackberry and Grilled Peanut Salad
This salad was a menu item at King + Duke in summer 2020 when Nate Boer was the executive chef.
“We wanted to convey the nostalgic summertime images of enjoying freshly cut watermelons and eating berries right off the bush,” Boer told the AJC at the time. “We decided to simply highlight amazing local watermelon and blackberries with the classic regional flavor favorite of roasted peanuts.”
At the restaurant, the peanuts were roasted in a wood-fired oven. Try doing this on your grill in an iron skillet. But you can also roast peanuts in the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, then roast the peanuts 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant.
Roasted peanut oil is a specialty oil with a deep roasted peanut flavor. They suggested if you must make a substitute, use walnut, hazelnut or unrefined coconut oil.
And if you’re looking to pair this salad with a protein, they said, “Grilled steak would be awesome with this dish.”
- 1/2 cup shelled raw peanuts
- 2 cups blackberries, divided
- 1/2 cup roasted peanut oil
- Juice of 3 limes
- 10 cups large watermelon cubes
- Sea salt and good olive oil
- Torn mint leaves, for garnish
- In a pan over a wood fire, roast peanuts until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove from heat, allow to cool and coarsely chop. Set aside.
- Slice 1 cup blackberries in half and put in a medium bowl. Roughly chop the remaining cup of blackberries and add to the sliced berries. Add peanut oil and lime juice.
- Arrange watermelon cubes on a platter. Spoon blackberry mixture evenly over watermelon. Top with chopped peanuts and finish with sea salt and olive oil to taste. Garnish with mint.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 526 calories (percent of calories from fat, 65), 6 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 38 grams total fat (6 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 47 milligrams sodium.
King + Duke’s Coal-Roasted Torpedo Onions
Chef Joe Schafer shared this recipe in 2014 when the restaurant served it as a seasonal appetizer or side dish. At the restaurant, the onions were garnished with fried capers, made by heating oil to 350 degrees and then frying 1/4 cup drained capers until crisp. Drain the fried capers on paper towels and use them to garnish the onions immediately so the capers will remain crisp.
Piquillo peppers are a sweet pepper with little or no heat. They are roasted and then packed into jars and can be found in the gourmet aisle of some grocery stores or on the Spanish food aisle at the Buford Highway Farmers Market. If you’re making this a little later in the summer and can’t find green garlic tops, substitute chives or the tops of spring onions.
- 12 torpedo onions, cleaned, outer layer removed
- 4 tablespoons olive oil plus more for coating onions
- Salt and pepper
- 3/4 cup green garlic tops, finely chopped
- Romesco Sauce (see recipe)
- Preheat grill to very hot. Rub onions with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- While grill is heating, combine chopped green garlic with 4 tablespoons olive oil and set aside.
- When grill is ready, cook onions until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Toss onions with reserved green garlic mixture and arrange on serving platter. Add Romesco Sauce on the side for dipping and serve immediately.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving, without Romesco Sauce: 312 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 5 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 17 grams fat (2 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 14 milligrams sodium.King + Duke’s Romesco Sauce
Any leftover Romesco Sauce will be excellent with grilled fish, seafood stews or roasted potatoes.
- 1 (8-ounce) jar piquillo peppers, drained
- 2 tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3/4 cup whole blanched almonds, toasted
- 2 slices sandwich bread, crusts removed, toasted
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons hot Spanish paprika (pimenton)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine drained peppers, tomatoes, almonds, bread, vinegar, paprika, garlic and cayenne. Process until smooth, scraping down sides of processor as needed. Slowly drizzle in oil. Transfer to a container and taste for seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to use. May be made up to 1 week ahead.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per 2-tablespoon serving: 115 calories (percent of calories from fat, 84), 1 gram protein, 3 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 11 grams fat (1 gram saturated), trace cholesterol, 13 milligrams sodium.
Fried Yeast Doughnuts
Fried-to-order doughnuts are a Sunday brunch menu item at King + Duke.
Chrysta Poulos, director of pastry for Rocket Farm Restaurants, uses Sir Galahad flour from King Arthur Flour for artisan breads and yeasted pastries because it’s relatively low in protein. Since it’s only available in 50-pound bags, we substituted King Arthur’s unbleached bread flour.
Only roll out the dough once for doughnuts. Any scraps can be kneaded together, allowed to rest and used to bake dinner rolls. Form the rolls, arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and allow to rise again. Brush with egg wash and top with salt, sesame seeds or poppy seeds and bake at 325 degrees until golden brown.
For the doughnuts or rolls, Poulos likes to have them rise until they’re grown to 1 1/2 times their size, not doubled as most recipes call for. She finds this makes for moister breads.
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 3 cups bread flour, plus extra for flouring work surface
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying
- Cream Cheese Glaze (see recipe)
- In a medium saucepan, combine milk and water and warm just to 105 degrees. Add yeast and allow to sit until yeast begins to foam.
- Pour milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add eggs, one at a time and beat between each addition. Add flour, sugar, butter and salt, and mix until combined. Be sure salt is added last so it doesn’t directly touch the yeast mixture. Beat on low speed for 8 minutes.
- Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray and put dough into container. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Generously dust work surface with flour. Line baking sheets with parchment paper dusted with flour.
- Roll dough to just over 1/2-inch thick. Using doughnut cutter, cut out doughnuts. See notes for other uses for the scraps. Arrange doughnuts on prepared baking sheets and allow to rise until they have risen to 1 1/2 times their size.
- In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the oil to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and top with a cooling rack. Carefully drop doughnuts in oil and fry, flipping over a few times to ensure even cooking, until they are golden brown, about 4 minutes total. Move fried doughnuts to cooling rack and allow to drain and cool slightly. Dip into Cream Cheese Glaze.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per 4-inch doughnut: 137 calories (percent of calories from fat, 45), 3 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 7 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 22 milligrams cholesterol, 99 milligrams sodium.This is two recipes in one. You can use it as it comes out of the mixer as cream cheese frosting, or heat it and turn it into a glaze. The glaze will not dry hard. Instead, it will be a bit sticky.
Our recipe calls for using a stand mixer, but if your ingredients are soft enough, you can mix this in a bowl with a wooden spoon.
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar, preferably 10X
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix until thoroughly combined. Can make ahead and keep refrigerated until ready to use. When ready to use, carefully warm in microwave until mixture is liquid. Dip doughnuts in on each side, lightly scraping the doughnut against the bowl to remove any excess. Let doughnuts sit on a wire rack to drip off excess glaze and cool.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per 2-tablespoon serving: 176 calories (percent of calories from fat, 47), 1 gram protein, 23 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 9 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 27 milligrams cholesterol, 66 milligrams sodium.Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
