Back To The Source: A Simply Southern Dinner

Ben Runkle has always gone back to the source. As the Chef/Owner of Austin’s Salt & Time, he has built his career on cultivating relationships with local producers to create and serve the purest ingredients. And his recent stint aboard the first-ever Luck Showboat was no exception. Ben joined The Mountain Valley Spring Water and Luck Reunion on Nashville’s General Jackson riverboat to produce an unforgettable dinner for 50 lucky guests, all while sailing the Cumberland River.

“When I was asked to come to Nashville to prepare a meal for the Luck Showboat, I jumped at the chance,” Runkle says. “Whenever I’m putting a menu together I start with the ingredients I want to showcase. For this menu I drew inspiration from Nashville’s role as a hub of Southern cuisine, and featured some of the most unique and delicious ingredients produced in the Southern US.”

Runkle’s menu for The Mountain Valley dinner aboard the Luck Showboat fully embodied his vision, featuring pimento cheese; gulf oysters; and a meat-and-three course. Attention to detail and, most importantly, the origin of the ingredients, contributed to a multi-course meal that brought Showboat guests to the heart of the south. 

photos by Brooke Hamilton

Runkle tapped a unique variety of regional purveyors: Topping the list was an impressive two-years aged ham sourced from the famous Rice’s Country Ham located in Juliet, TN; Murder Point Oysters gave guests a taste of a  “different breed” of gulf oysters; Bourbon Barrel Foods brought their bourbon ponzu and soy sauce to the table; and Duke’s Mayonnaise was the perfect touch for Runkle’s real-deal pimento cheese. The meal culminated with a show-stopping dessert utilizing flours from Anson Mills and Steen’s Cane Syrup.

“It’s exciting and interesting to work with these artisan producers. Cooking for guests on a boat was something I found really fun,” Runkle says. “One of the inspirations, besides being in Nashville on a showboat, was partnering with The Mountain Valley: a really great example of world-class natural spring water coming out of the Ouachita Mountains. That really set the tone for the ingredients we chose for the recipes.”

“Natural American goodness means to me: Really fresh and clean flavors...doing it in a natural way. And that’s how you produce a really great product.”

Sources: Farm to Table at Luck Social

all photos by Brooke Hamilton

It is unseasonably cold for early October in Austin. Just last week the heavy warmth of a late summer still lingered, but today the air is crisp and clean as rain clouds shade the sun from our eyes. It’s still early as Chefs Ben Runkle of Salt and Time Butcher Shop & Salumeria and Todd Duplechan of the critically acclaimed Lenoir restaurant pull up to Boggy Creek Farms to ensure they have the first pick of today’s produce. As soon as you pull onto the small gravel road leading up to the farm, it feels like all of the reality of Austin melts away. Here there are no traffic lines, no flashing lights, no advertisements or billboards, just the earth and people who have devoted their lives to healing and encouraging the land.

Runkle and Duplechan are planning their menu for the first Luck Social event at Willie Nelson’s Luck, Texas ranch, an intimate dinner and concert experience for 50 lucky guests. Runkle, chosen for not only his talent but also his dedication to local farms and sustainable agriculture, has been Luck’s Culinary Director for the past several years stepping into the role of Head Chef for charity dinners the night before Luck Reunion, and curating food trucks for the Reunion alongside the Austin Food and Wine Alliance. This year, Runkle is hosting Duplechan for a collaborative, family-style meal for the Social. Though they have an idea of their main dishes, the final choices will be made based on what is fresh and available as they head back to the source to Boggy Creek and Eden East farms in East Austin.

The two chefs immediately beeline for the small produce stand tucked behind the trees and original farm house at Boggy Creek to pick sheeling beans, butternut squash, fennel, and wild greens among other freshly picked produce for the Social dinner. Boggy Creek has been a staple in locally owned organic farms for over 20 years since its inception in 1992 and a source of community and inspiration for the quickly growing urban farming movement. Led by Carol Ann Sayle and the late Larry Butler, Boggy Creek has been described as “the center of the plate, the heartbeat of the local food scene,” by former Austin Statesman food writer Kitty Crider in Butler’s obituary after his passing in July. Both Runkle and Duplechan concur, expressing their appreciation and respect for Sayle and Butler and are greeted warmly by Sayle upon arrival. Sayle knows their favorites and their investment in clean produce and proceeds to take us on a full tour of the farm. Tucked behind the farmhouse and stand are rows of carefully placed crops, from squash to carrots to greens, each row has been immaculately tended by Sayle and her team. Rows of greenhouses full of herbs and a large pen full of chickens line the other side of the walkway and Sayle’s trusty farm dog nips at our ankles if we get too close to the flock. Runkle and Duplechan chat and laugh with Sayle as they make their final selections and are ready to head to the next location.

Right down the road less than half a mile away, we arrive at our second stop of the morning, Eden East Farms (formerly Springdale farm). This area of East Austin is home to many local farms as much of the land is fed by Boggy Creek as it winds its way south to the Colorado River. Eden East now hosts a farm to table restaurant of their own offering weekly brunches and special occasion dinners. Tucked behind the outdoor restaurant seating is a small farm stand hosting not only East’s own produce from the grounds, but also offering selections from other locally grown, organic farmers as well. Tables are overflowing with veggies, local honey, microgreens, natural balms and salves made from local herbs and other goods. Here, the soil is so fertile we notice a stray squash growing right in the walking path. Runkle and Duplechan finish their shopping, gathering the last of the summer’s sweet peaches to be made into pies for the Social’s final course. We part ways as the chefs determine their final menus for the Social the next day.

Thursday arrives and the Luck, TX ranch is alive with activity as all of the finishing touches are made in preparation for the night’s event. Runkle and Duplechan arrive with their teams as the early afternoon sun gleams overhead and begin build their kitchen just off the path to Willie’s Headquarters. First over the coals is Runkle’s porchetta to be slow roasted on a spit for five hours leading up to the dinner. As the pork slowly turns, the ranch is filled with its mouthwatering scent and eventually, butternut squash from the farm is placed underneath to catch all of the drippings. Next, preparation begins for Duplechan’s grilled, stuffed fish driven up fresh from the Gulf and wrapped in hoja santa leaves - a traditional Mexican herb with notes similar to eucalyptus and Root Beer - to be accompanied by sheeling beans, smoked mushrooms, tomato jam, and green beans. The chefs and their teams remain hard at work as the sun sets behind the hills and the first guests begin to trickle in.

One long communal table is set up in the middle of the path from the chapel down to Willie’s Headquarters. Set with artisan ceramics from Keith Kreeger, hand-dyed indigo linens, fresh flowers, and candles, the Luck Social dinner is ready to begin. Our guests stroll through the little town of Luck, taking their seats and meeting their neighbors and the first course is served. As the moon rises and the stars come out, the twinkling lights of the candles illuminate plates full of delicacies as the plates make the rounds served family style (come back for seconds!). Free flowing local wine, Lagunitas beer, and Mountain Valley Water keep the guests’ thirsts quenched as relaxed laughter echoes through the ranch - a sign of a successful and satiating meal.

From farmstand to table, the chefs’ dedication to the sourcing and preparation of quality ingredients shines through in the consistently outstanding menus such as Runkle and Duplechan’s; demonstrating the importance across Texas’ culinary community of honoring the source of it all.

#LuckyLibations - The Golden Trinket Recipe

Our friends at Tito's Handmade Vodka have joined us in Nashville and out at the Luck, TX Ranch for our #LuckMansion and #LuckSocial events this fall serving up specialty drinks like this one, The Golden Trinket. Vodka, lemon, St. Germain, and sparkling water make this drink perfect for an effervescent afternoon or lighter evening. Watch the full video and try your own Golden Trinket via the recipe below.

Golden Trinket

1.5 oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka

.5 oz St Germain

.25 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

Shaken and poured into Collins glass

Top with 2-4 oz sparkling water

Garnished with a lemon wheel

photo by Brooke Hamilton

Stay tuned for more recipes, exclusive videos, and interviews from our Luck Mansion and Luck Social events sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

Luck Reunion Presents: The Luck Social

all photos by Brooke Hamilton

Last night in our home of Luck, TX we hosted the inaugural Luck Social, an intimate gathering celebrating food and music in the special place we get to call home. The first Social was a trial run of sorts, testing the waters so that we can build more unique opportunities to share the ranch with all of you.

As our guests arrived they were greeted with specialty drinks from our sponsors Jim Beam, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Mountain Valley Spring Water as our chefs for the evening put the finishing touches on the dishes they created just for Luck. The scent of chef Ben Runkle’s five-hour roasted porchetta wafted through the small town as everyone took in our latest addition to the ranch grounds: a chance to leave your mark in Luck. We also partnered with our longtime sponsor Jim Beam to offer Luck visitors the chance to leave their legacy alongside the history of Luck. Luck Social guests were the first to experience the new community walk of fame, leaving their mark in freshly poured cement that will become a part of a walkway weaving through the town of Luck. The #LuckLegacies stone will be immortalized and expand with each new event as Luck visitors sign their names. Floating flowers and candles created an altar along our Jim Beam building, making a truly ceremonial setting as each of our guests signed their names in the freshly poured cement, leaving a little bit of their legacies in Luck.

One long communal table lined the main road to Willie’s Headquarters, full of fresh flowers, candles, and hand-dyed indigo cloth that complemented the artisan porcelain ceramic settings generously donated by Keith Kreeger. Guests refreshed their glasses at our Tito’s Handmade Vodka Saloon before sitting down for dinner. Our resident Luck culinary director, Chef Ben Runkle of Austin’s Salt & Time, hosted the evening and our guest chef, Todd Duplechan of Austin’s Lenoir for a mouth-watering four-course meal. The stars of the show were certainly Duplechan’s Stuffed Fish with Hoja Santa elevated by sheeling beans, smoked mushrooms, tomato jam, and green beans, and Runkle’s Porchetta with coal roasted butternut squash, farro salad, and wild greens. It was a true farm-to-table event as all of the night’s produce was locally sourced from Boggy Creek and Eden East Farms in Austin. Complimentary Lagunitas beer and wine from local winery Southhold Farm and Cellars were free-flowing as the dinner came to an end with a perfectly tart and sweet peach pie.

After dinner, guests followed the twinkling lights back to the chapel as the stars and a tiny sliver of the moon blanketed the evening in wonder and enchantment. Everyone piled into the pews as our special guest, artist Langhorne Slim, took the Chapel’s small stage. Flowers, candles, and disco balls made for a neon revival in the Chapel as Slim spoke to the audience spinning stories of his past, his grandparents, and lessons he has learned before each song. His powerful voice and captivating storytelling echoed through the rafters and spilled out of the open windows as the cool October breeze swept across the pews. Even after the music ended, Slim stuck around to chat, take photos, and enjoy the evening under the grand Texas sky.

We can’t wait to bring everyone back for a chance to see the ranch without all of the hustle and bustle of the Reunion for more Socials in 2019.