If a Lowcountry summer could be assembled on a plate, it would take the form of chef Fred Neuville’s bone-in short ribs, cold-smoked in an apple cider broth, grilled and served with pomegranate barbecue sauce.
Winter would taste a lot like the chef’s French onion soup, dressed with Gruyère. Spring and fall? Take your pick from the delectable selections at The Fat Hen on Johns Island.
Located in a renovated farmhouse off Maybank Highway, the restaurant features a menu that changes with the seasons, but always offers French classics such as steak tartare, seared duck confit and coq au vin, along with Lowcountry favorites including shrimp and grits, meatloaf and crab cakes. This spring, they added new dessert offerings including pluff mudd pie and chocolate buttermilk pecan cake.
It’s all served in a comfortable atmosphere with great service and affordable prices ($15–$25 for main courses), and if entering the dining room feels a bit like walking into a close friend’s home, that’s by design. “We’re a family-owned, family-run business, and we love what we do,” Neuville says.The founding chef behind some of Charleston’s favorite restaurants, including 39 Rue De Jean, COAST and Good Food Catering, Neuville moved to Johns Island with his wife, Joan, and four children in 2007 to fuse his passions for food and family. In addition to a more relaxed pace of life, the rural location provides convenient access to the freshest local ingredients.
“It’s so exciting to be where we are in the farm belt, with farms growing ingredients for us such as fresh asparagus, which arrives at our door the same day it was harvested,” Neuville says. Some herbs and microgreens are grown on-site, the family raises their own chickens and the chef points with pride to his smokehouse located just out back. “We smoke everything from walnuts, to meats to cherries.”
Local residents, visitors to nearby Kiawah Island and Neuville’s loyal fans from Charleston have all helped make The Fat Hen a success, and as the restaurant approaches its five-year anniversary, the chef says he still enjoys the challenge of surprising his guests with seasonal entrees and innovative food that’s memorable from the first bite to the last.
“We try to make people’s meals perfect, because we are judged on the last plate,” he says.
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The Fat Hen’s Sautéed Oysters
Serves 2
2 ounces shallots, minced
2 ounces white wine
6 ounces liaison (equal parts egg yolks and heavy cream)
3 ounces wild mushrooms
3 ounces country ham
2 ounces spinach
10 oysters
Salt and pepper to taste
2 slices Tuscan style bread, grilled
Using a sauté pan on high heat, add the shallots and white wine. Let the wine reduce by half and add liaison, mushrooms, and country ham. When the liaison is a nape consistency, add the spinach and oysters. Sauté until the oysters are translucent, season with salt and pepper. Serve over grilled Tuscan bread.