Chef De Cuisine Josh Claus was welcomed to the Snake River Grill in late summer 2019. Since then, he has imparted his love of rustic Americana cooking to the Grill with house-made pâté, perfectly prepared tomahawk steaks, bone-in pork chops and similar fare paired with locally-sourced, deliciously prepared vegetables.
He is a born and bred Montana man who grew up working in his family’s restaurant in Bozeman. When he was seventeen, he opened a restaurant in Missoula for the Hilton family, then moved to Portland, Oregon. There, he worked with, and was mentored by, some of the best chefs in the business. His love of the mountains brought him to Jackson, and we found out a bit more about this outdoorsman chef.
Dishing: What was it like working in your family’s restaurant?
My family’s restaurant, Country Kitchen, serves simple country fare for lunch and dinner. I stood on milk crates washing dishes until I turned 14, then started cooking on the line. Over time, I held every job in the restaurant from front to back, and was a front-of-house manager for years, so I got to see both sides.
Dishing: What chefs inspire you?
I’ve cooked with great chefs like Chef Vitaley Paley (an Iron Chef), known as the Godfather of Portland, who was my mentor for about seven years. I also worked with Doug Adams, who was a runner-up on Top Chef, and I helped him open up two restaurants. We traveled to New Orleans and engaged in seafood cooking competitions. I got to meet and cook for Anthony Bourdain, which was a highlight in my career. People like Hank Shaw and Francis Mallmann really inspire me as well.
Dishing: What was your experience like in Portland?
Every restaurant I worked with was really focused on farm-to-table. There was great produce and seafood, and every restaurant I worked for embraced that. With Chef Vitaley, we would meet the Native Americans with their truck full of salmon, pick what we wanted and throw it on the scale. We would receive half pigs, and then hang prosciutto, cure the meats, make porchetta and then spice the end pieces to make sausage. We would throw the hooves away, and that was it, wasting as little as possible.
Dishing: What is your favorite style of cooking?
I really like Francis Mallmann’s style of cooking. He lives down in Patagonia and is just crushing it, using techniques like charring, smoking, burning- the rustic Americana style. I like to use these methods in the specials we run at Snake River Grill, like the bone-in tomahawk steak and grilled whole Idaho trout. I look forward to the summer because we sell a lot of great steaks and seafood, but my bread and butter is simple vegetables cooked well. I am really looking forward to highlighting those, and getting the local farms involved.
Dishing: What do you cook at home?
I do a lot of meal prepping for my partner, Jessica. She loves bowls, so I prep a bunch of different vegetables and sauces with some rice, so she can build what she wants each day without having to worry about it.
Dishing: What is your must-have kitchen tool?
Cast iron pans. I have been cooking on cast iron forever, and I absolutely love them. I also have a hoarding problem with spoons and have to hide them from Jessica..it’s so bad!
Dishing: What tips would you share for caring for cast iron?
Don’t wash it! I like to use grape seed oil the first time, and high, high heat. Any high smoking oils, or bacon fat and rub it in, throw it in the oven on high heat for a long time, and let it set and cool with the fat in it, then wipe it off. If it gets out of temper, you can throw a bunch of salt in there and cook it on high heat, then rub it in a little bit, and that salt will help get into the creases and take out any impurities.
Dishing: How do you incorporate food into your passion for the outdoors?
I am a huge outdoorsman, and I love to go camping (always bringing a cast iron with me). I often do one-pan dishes and set it right over the fire. In Oregon, I used to go out with six different chefs for four days, and we wouldn’t bring any food, we would just go forage. We would get mussels, clams, mushrooms, springs onions, wild asparagus and just cook with whatever we found that day. We would only bring the essentials of some oils and spices. I recommend always having a hiking spice pack with chili flakes, salt, pepper and garlic powder. I keep a tube with compartments of those spices any time I go out camping.
Dishing: Where do you dine out in Jackson?
I really enjoy sitting down for a good lunch and tasting things on other menus. For a late-night snack, I enjoy Thai Me Up. I like Snake River Brewery for a beer or Roadhouse Pub & Eatery for a beer and a burger. We went to Glorietta for Valentine’s Day, and had an awesome ricotta pasta. We are still getting to know the restaurants around here, and look forward to exploring more spots.
