Acclaimed Southern Chef Sean Brock Popping Up at Big Star

Fans of authentic Southern cuisine will get their chance to experience a rare treat in Chicago this week. Sean Brock, the celebrated chef/owner of Husk in Charleston and Nashville, will join Paul Kahan and chef de cuisine Julie Warpinski for Big Star’s Summer Music + Grilling Series on July 23, according to a news release.

Brock’s Husk-inspired tacos will include crispy chicken skins with pasilla de Oaxaca; masa-battered catfish with Appalachian tomato grave and pickled green tomato salsa; and pig ears with Benne salsa and sour cabbage. Kahan and company will grill oysters with hatch chili butter and crispy masa to serve alongside tamals de conchita pibil. Brock will man the grill in order to turn out sour-cream elotes as well as mole grilled chicken wings with an Alabama white sauce.

Also, there will be Old Fashioneds made with a single-barrel Elijah Craig bourbon that Brock and Kahan personally selected last year. Adding atmosphere to this event will be The Ship Breakers, featuring members of the Bluegrass outfit The Henhouse Prowlers, will take the stage.

There are no reservations and food is served first-come, first served. So to put it mildly: Get there early.

The series will continue Sunday, August 27, when chefs from San Francisco’s Nopalito will join Big Star for the next installment. The Tribune first reported this story.