- Learn more about the chef-owner of White Pillars in Biloxi and try your hand at the recipe for his Grandfather’s oyster pie that he makes every year for Thanksgiving.
Chefs often tell a story with their food, and Austin Sumrall is no different. That holds especially true at Thanksgiving, when treasured family recipes bring back memories of loved ones in a special way that ties the past with the present.
Austin, the chef-owner of White Pillars in Biloxi, grew up in McComb, where he attended Parklane Academy. He graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. While there, he met his wife, Tresse (a Gulfport native). Austin went on to receive classical training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. During his career, he has worked for three different James Beard award winners, all with the title of “Best Chef: South.”
Since Austin and Tresse opened White Pillars in 2017, Austin has been recognized and awarded both locally and nationally. In 2020, he was nominated as a Semi-Finalist by the prestigious James Beard Foundation in the category “Best Chef South.” He was crowned “King of American Seafood” when he won the acclaimed Great American Seafood Cook-off in New Orleans the next year. In 2023, Austin was recognized by the alumni association at his alma mater as an Ole Miss 40 under 40 recipient. Austin brought home the gold for the South on the Food Network’s Alex vs. America, a high-stakes cooking competition that pits experts in a certain cuisine against Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli.
The Sumralls and their staff at White Pillars aim to provide an authentic taste of the Mississippi Gulf Coast by offering the freshest locally-sourced farm-to-table cuisine, handcrafted cocktails, as well as an extensive wine and spirit list.
It’s not Thanksgiving for Austin Sumrall without his Oyster Hand Pie.
“This is Austin’s adaptation of his Grandfather Peeps’ oyster pie that he makes every year for Thanksgiving,” says Austin’s wife, Tresse Young Sumrall. “Peeps grew up in Louisiana and is an amazing cook. This is one of many delicious family recipes, and it is a family favorite.”
Oyster Hand Pie
Yield: 1 qt of filling/1 qt of remoulade
FILLING INGREDIENTS
2 T pure olive oil
1 C celery (small diced)
1 C onion (small diced)
1 C bell pepper (small diced)
1 T garlic (minced)
1 pt oysters (rough chopped), reserve liquor
1 lb ground beef
0.5 T thyme (chopped)
2 T Worcestershire
1 T hot sauce
1-2 C bread crumbs
0.5 C parsley (chopped)
0.5 C scallions (chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Sweat celery, onion, peppers, garlic and thyme until tender.
Add oysters and ground beef and cook until beef is browned.
Add oyster liquor, hot sauce, Worcestershire and stir until combined.
Add bread crumbs, parsley and scallions to desired consistency and season to taste.
REMOULADE INGREDIENTS
3 C basic aioli
1 C coarse mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
1 T hot sauce
2 T capers (chopped)
3 eggs (boiled and grated)
2 T chives (chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste
Instruction: Combine
HANDPIE INGREDIENTS
(Yield: makes dough for 6 handpies using scraps 1x. Austin says ready-made pie crust will work as well.)
2 ½ cups AP flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
8 oz cold butter (grated with block grater)
½ cup ice cold water
1 egg yolk
½ cup heavy cream
DIRECTIONS
Mix dry ingredients with whisk in bowl.
Add cold butter, mix with hands until crumbly, squeezing butter and flour together.
Add water (no ice) mix until it forms a ball.
Form into disc and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
Cut into 4 quarters roll out and cut with 9” ring cutter.
Take left overs combine, roll out to make two more rounds.
Throw away last of scraps, its overworked dough.
Place filling off center and fold dough to make a crescent, pinch closed the edges.
Make an egg wash with one egg yolk, and 1/2 cup of heavy cream and brush tops of pies with mixture.
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
Susan Marquez
