Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (146 page)
WHITE WINE FOR COOKING
When a recipe calls for dry white wine, it’s tempting to grab whatever open bottle is in the fridge. Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio may taste different straight from the glass, but how much do those distinctive flavor profiles really come through in a cooked dish? To find out, we tried four varietals and a supermarket “cooking wine” in five different recipes. Only Sauvignon Blanc consistently boiled down to a “clean” yet sufficiently acidic flavor that played nicely with the rest of the ingredients. Vermouth can be an acceptable substitute in certain recipes, but because its flavor is stronger, we don’t recommend using vermouth unless it is listed as an option in the recipe. Never buy supermarket “cooking wine,” which has a significant amount of added sodium and an unappealing vinegary flavor.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Broiled chicken can be a quick and easy dinner, but that doesn’t mean it has to be ordinary. When done right, the result is moist, well-seasoned meat encased in a crisp, caramelized exterior. For chicken parts of similar size (that would cook at the same rate), we found it best to buy a whole chicken and cut it up ourselves. Brining the chicken was a must for moist, well-seasoned meat and caramelized skin (owing to the sugar in the brine). We broiled the chicken on the lowest rack to prevent the skin from charring, but moved it up closer to the heating element for the last couple minutes of cooking for better browning. Finally, slashing the skin and starting the chicken skin side down ensured that plenty of fat rendered from the skin, resulting in a crisp exterior.
SERVES 4
If using kosher chicken, do not brine in step 1, and season with salt as well as pepper. See
“CUTTING UP A WHOLE CHICKEN”
for information on cutting up a whole chicken.
¹⁄ | cup salt |
¹⁄ | cup sugar |
1 | (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (4 breast pieces, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs), wings discarded |
Pepper |
1.
Dissolve salt and sugar in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge chicken in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Using sharp knife, make 2 or 3 short slashes into skin of each piece of chicken, taking care not to cut into meat; season with pepper.
2.
Meanwhile, adjust 1 oven rack to lowest position and second rack 5 inches from broiler element; heat broiler. Set wire rack in aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet. Place chicken pieces skin side down on prepared wire rack.
3.
Broil chicken on lower rack until just beginning to brown, 12 to 16 minutes. Flip chicken pieces skin side up and continue to broil on lower rack until skin is slightly crisp and breasts register 160 degrees, about 10 minutes longer (if some chicken parts are browning too quickly, cover only those pieces with small pieces of foil). Transfer breast pieces to large plate and tent loosely with foil. Continue to broil thighs and drumsticks on lower rack until they register 175 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes longer.
4.
Return breast pieces skin side up to wire rack and broil on upper rack until chicken is spotty brown and skin is thin and crisp, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.
If using kosher chicken, do not brine in step 1, and season with salt and pepper. If you’re making Garlic, Lemon, and Rosemary Rub or Spicy Jamaican Jerk Dipping Sauce (recipes follow), prepare them while the chicken brines. See
TRIMMING SPLIT CHICKEN BREASTS
for information on trimming split chicken breasts.
Substitute four 12-ounce bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed of rib sections, for whole chicken. Move chicken to upper rack once breasts register 160 degrees and broil until spotty brown and skin is thin and crisp, about 1 minute.
If using kosher chicken, do not brine in step 1, and season with salt and pepper. If you’re making Garlic, Lemon, and Rosemary Rub or Spicy Jamaican Jerk Dipping Sauce (recipes follow), prepare them while the chicken brines.
Substitute eight 6-ounce bone-in chicken thighs for whole chicken. Broil chicken on bottom rack until just beginning to brown, 12 to 16 minutes. Flip chicken skin side up and continue to broil on lower rack until thighs register 175 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes longer, before broiling on upper rack.
SALT CONTENT AFTER BRINING
We have been brining meat in the test kitchen for years and were interested in finding out how much sodium penetrates the meat during the process. To answer this question, we brined boneless, skinless chicken breasts and natural pork chops in standard quick-brine solutions of ¹⁄
2
cup table salt dissolved in 2 quarts of cold water. After 30 minutes, we removed the chicken and pork, patted them dry, and cooked them in different skillets. We also cooked a kosher chicken breast that had been salted during processing and an “enhanced” pork chop (injected with a saltwater solution).
We sent the samples to a food lab to measure sodium content. The brined pork chops had a sodium content of 245 milligrams per 100 grams of meat (just under ¹⁄
8
teaspoon per serving); the enhanced pork had a bit more, with 268 milligrams. The kosher chicken breast weighed in at 252 milligrams of sodium. The brined chicken came in with the most sodium of all, at 353 milligrams (just over ¹⁄
8
teaspoon per serving). Why did the chicken absorb more salt during brining than the pork? The loose white muscle fibers in chicken absorb salt water more quickly than the tighter muscle fibers in pork. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends limiting your daily sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams, about 1 teaspoon.
MAKES ENOUGH FOR 3 TO 4 POUNDS OF CHICKEN
Prepare the rub while the chicken brines.
5 | garlic cloves, minced |
2 | teaspoons grated lemon zest plus ¹⁄ |
1 | tablespoon minced fresh rosemary |
¹⁄ | teaspoon pepper |
3 | tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil |
Combine garlic, lemon zest, rosemary, and pepper in bowl. Combine lemon juice and oil in separate bowl. Follow recipe for Simple Broiled Chicken, Simple Broiled Chicken Breasts, or Simple Broiled Chicken Thighs, spreading portion of garlic rub under skin of chicken pieces before slashing skin. Brush chicken pieces with lemon juice mixture before broiling on upper rack.
MAKES ENOUGH FOR 3 TO 4 POUNDS OF CHICKEN
Prepare the dipping sauce while the chicken brines.
1 | garlic clove, unpeeled |
1 | habanero chile |
¹⁄ | cup lime juice (2 limes) |
¹⁄ | cup packed brown sugar |
¹⁄ | cup finely chopped onion |
2 | scallions, minced |
1 | (1¹⁄ |
¹⁄ | teaspoon dried thyme |
Pinch ground allspice |
1.
Toast garlic and habanero in 8-inch skillet over medium heat, shaking pan occasionally, until softened and spotty brown, about 8 minutes; when cool enough to handle, peel and mince garlic and stem, seed, and mince habanero.
2.
Whisk lime juice and sugar together in bowl until sugar is completely dissolved. Combine minced garlic, minced habanero, onion, scallions, ginger, thyme, and allspice in small bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons of lime juice mixture; set aside as dipping sauce for cooked chicken. Follow recipe for Simple Broiled Chicken, Simple Broiled Chicken Breasts, or Simple Broiled Chicken Thighs, brushing chicken pieces with remaining lime juice mixture before broiling on upper rack. Serve chicken, passing dipping sauce separately.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Cold barbecued chicken is a picnic classic with a host of problems; namely, sticky sauce, flabby skin, and dry meat. We wanted the flavor and appeal of great barbecued chicken—without turning on the grill. To start, we immediately replaced the sauce with a dry rub; by rubbing the spice mixture all over the chicken, even under the skin, we achieved the robust barbecue flavor we sought, and the skin was noticeably less soggy. To further improve the skin, we trimmed the pieces of excess fat and cut slits in the skin to allow even more fat to render. But our biggest discovery came when we opted to salt the chicken instead of brine it; by adding the salt to our spice rub and refrigerating the chicken pieces overnight, we allowed both the salt and spices to penetrate the meat for even deeper flavor. We roasted the chicken at 425 degrees before cranking up the heat to 500 to crisp the skin.
SERVES 8
If you plan to serve the chicken later on the same day that you cook it, refrigerate it immediately after it has cooled, then let it come back to room temperature before serving. If using large chicken breasts (about 1 pound each), cut each breast into 3 pieces. On the breast pieces, we use toothpicks to secure the skin, which otherwise shrinks considerably in the oven, leaving the meat exposed and prone to drying out. We think the extra effort is justified, but you can omit this step.
3 | tablespoons brown sugar |
2 | tablespoons chili powder |
2 | tablespoons paprika |
1 | tablespoon salt |
2 | teaspoons pepper |
¹⁄ | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
5 | pounds bone-in chicken pieces (split breasts cut in half, drumsticks, and/or thighs), trimmed |
1.
Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Combine sugar, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne in bowl.
2.
Using sharp knife, make 2 or 3 short slashes into skin of each piece of chicken, taking care not to cut into meat. Coat chicken with spice mixture, gently lifting skin to distribute spice mixture underneath but leaving it attached to chicken. Transfer chicken skin side up to prepared wire rack (if desired, secure skin of each breast piece with 2 or 3 toothpicks placed near edges of skin). Tent chicken loosely with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
3.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Roast chicken until smallest piece registers 140 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees and continue roasting until chicken is browned and crisp and breast pieces register 160 degrees, 5 to 8 minutes longer. (Smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces. Remove pieces from oven as they reach correct temperature.) Continue to roast thighs and/or drumsticks until they register 170 degrees, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to wire rack and let cool completely before refrigerating or serving.
SWEET AND HOT PAPRIKA
“Paprika” is a generic term for a spice made from ground dried red peppers. Sweet paprika (or “Hungarian paprika,” or simply “paprika”) is the most common form, with a brilliant red color and subtle flavor. Hot paprika, most often used in chilis, curries, or stews, can range from slightly spicy to punishingly assertive. Both sweet and hot paprika come from the dried pods of Capsicum annuum L., which includes a large swath of pepper varieties ranging from sweet red bell peppers to hot chile peppers. The type of pepper used will influence the flavor, spiciness, and intensity of the paprika. Sweet paprika is made from only the middle layer of the pepper’s outer wall (the mesocarp), while hot paprika also contains some of the white veins (the placenta) and seeds, where most of the heat resides.
We compared sweet and hot paprika in three applications—
CHICKEN PAPRIKASH
, barbecue sauce, and a dry rub in Spice-Rubbed Picnic Chicken. Most tasters found the sweet paprika, with its “bright,” “well-balanced,” and “smoky” flavors, to be a better choice in the chicken paprikash; the hot paprika was less flavorful, aside from its pronounced heat. The differences were even more apparent in the spice-rubbed chicken breasts, where the hot paprika took on an unpleasant bitter edge. In the barbecue sauce, however, tasters found both varieties perfectly acceptable, and some preferred the sauce made with the hot paprika. Here, its spiciness seemed less aggressive and was actually a virtue. If yours is going to be a one-paprika household, we recommend stocking the more versatile sweet, as a pinch or two of cayenne pepper can be added to replicate the flavor of the hot stuff.