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[1] Lamb and a scallop at Blue The Restaurant | Beachwood, Ohio (photo © Blu).
[2] Surf and turf can combine any foods from the two realms: land and sea. Above, grilled salmon and a poached egg from Cafe SFA in New York City (photo © Cafe SFA—now closed).
[3] Lobster ravioli with meat sauce (photo © Chesapeake Bay Foods).
[4] Classic Surf & Turf (photo © Ruth’s Chris Steak House).
[5] Salmon sushi topped with pork tenderloin at Sushi Seki in New York City (photo © Sushi Seki).
[6] Pork chop with smoked trout roe in beurre blanc, an elegant surf and turf concept (photo © Regalis Foods).
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National Surf & Turf Day is only celebrated once every four years, on leap day. That’s not a great date selection for a dish that should be celebrated regularly. So on the intervening three years, we slip it in on February 28th, the last day of the month.
We love surf and turf in all forms, and recently added this tasty dish from Chef Alex Reyes at Cafe SFA to our list of unusual surf and turf combinations: a salmon fillet from the surf, and a poached egg from the turf.
[7] Grilled asparagus topped with a salmon fillet (surf) and a soft poached egg (turf), garnished with asparagus purée. Chef Alex topped the egg with sesame-infused hollandaise and also scattered nori powder on the plate, for a Japanese fusion surf and turf (Abacus Photo).
Create your own version of surf and turf, a concept from the 1960s that pairs proteins from the land and sea on the same plate.
Although it started with a lobster and steak, any items from the realms of the earth and the sea can be combined into surf and turf.
The first sushi surf and turf we came across was a lobster and tenderloin maki from Ten Prime Steak And Sushi in Providence, Rhode Island.
Since then, uni or caviar atop wagyu nigiri is not uncommon at a high-end omakase.
Let’s get started on your own surf and turf adventure. Below:
> The history of surf and turf.
> Modern surf and turf ideas, inspiring you to create your own combinations.
Elsewhere on The Nibble:
> More surf and turf combinations.
SURF & TURF HISTORY
While meat and seafood have been served at the same meal since since the dawn of plenty, and Diamond Jim Brady (1856-1917) famously consumed platters heaped with steaks and lobsters, the pairing known as surf and turf originated in 1960s America.
Some sources noted in FoodTimeline.org claim that the concept originated on the East Coast, based on a 1966 print article in the Miami News.
The columnist says that the restaurant La Hasta has created the best thing since lox and bagels—surf and turf; and that on some weekends the management had to take the dish off the menu, since demand exceeded supply.
Others say the West Coast has the honors: Food writers Jane and Michael Stern claim, without printed proof, that the same dish by the same name was served at the Sky City restaurant in the Seattle Space Needle, at the 1962 World’s Fair.
That may be, but documentation is required. If anybody remembers it from the World’s Fair, please raise your hand. There’s a bonus if you have the menu.
The earliest earliest print reference found by Food Timeline, our favorite reference source on the history of all things food, was published in the Eureka [California] Humboldt Standard of August 14, 1964:
“An entrée in restaurants in Portland [Oregon] is called surf and turf—a combination of lobster and steak.”
Sorry, East Coasters: 1964 beats 1966.
And regardless, surf and turf became the darling of American steakhouse menus, combining the two most expensive items on the menu: lobster (surf) and steak or filet mignon (turf). It has its own food holiday, February 29th, National Surf & Turf Day.
Regardless of origin, consider serving a modern surf and turf variation for Father’s Day or other special occasion.
Some versions don’t even require a special occasion—last night we had steak and tuna skewers.
[8] Sushi surf and turf: wagyu topped with uni and caviar, garnished with a touch of scallion (photo © Victor Tam).
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MODERN SURF AND TURF COMBINATIONS
Each week we try to “invent” a different combination for dinner. Recent pairings follow. Note that:
“Surf” includes any fish or shellfish. Think outside the lobster tail to caviar/roe, clams, crab, crawfish, eel, escargot, grilled tuna, mussels, octopus, oysters, shrimp, squid, sushi/sashimi, uni (sea urchin). Note that grilled cod or halibut from the surf stand up well to beef and pork from the turf.
“Turf,” beyond filet mignon and other cuts of steak, includes bacon (and the bacon group: Canadian bacon, prosciutto, serrano ham, etc.), beef, bison, exotics (boar, elk, ostrich), lamb, ham, poultry including eggs, and pork in their many forms. “Turf” can be grilled, roasted, ground, turned into sausage, etc.
In the past year we’ve created these, and liked them all:
Bacon-topped halibut filet
Bass wrapped in pancetta, with caviar-topped oysters
Burger garnished with a fried shrimp (or make it edgy with a fish stick and tartar sauce)
Beef and tuna carpaccio (raw)
Clam and bacon flatbread or pizza
Eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon and lobster or crab
Grilled lamb chop or pork chop and scallops
Grilled skirt steak and shrimp or crab cakes
Filet mignon with lump crab meat or crab legs
Lamb chops with bacon-wrapped scallops
Lobster ravioli with veal sauce, veal ravioli with bay scallops, oxtail ravioli with lobster claws
Mixed greens salad with sliced steak (lamb, pork, chicken, etc.) and grilled scallops or shrimp
Salmon burgers and bacon
Seared scallop with crispy prosciutto
Shrimp skewers with beef skewers
Steak and rare grilled salmon, tuna or other favorite fish
Steak and shrimp: grilled steak with fried shrimp or with shrimp cocktail
Steak and fried oysters (or, garnish the steak with a raw oyster)
Try your hand at the new surf and turf and let us know your favorites.
CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.
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