The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (150 page)
Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
SERVES 4
To make butterflying the chicken easier, freeze it for 15 minutes.
HERB BUTTER
8 | tablespoons unsalted butter, softened |
1 | tablespoon lemon juice |
1 | tablespoon minced shallot |
1 | tablespoon minced fresh parsley |
¹⁄ | teaspoon minced fresh tarragon |
³⁄ | teaspoon salt |
¹⁄ | teaspoon pepper |
CHICKEN
4 | slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into quarters |
2 | tablespoons vegetable oil |
Salt and pepper | |
4 | (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, tenderloins removed, trimmed |
1 | cup all-purpose flour |
3 | large eggs |
1 | teaspoon Dijon mustard |
1. FOR THE HERB BUTTER:
Mix all ingredients in medium bowl with rubber spatula until thoroughly combined. Form into 3-inch square on sheet of plastic wrap; wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
2. FOR THE CHICKEN:
Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pulse bread in food processor to coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses; transfer to large bowl. Transfer crumbs to large bowl, add oil, ¹⁄
8
teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄
8
teaspoon pepper and toss until crumbs are evenly coated. Spread crumbs on rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown and dry, about 25 minutes, stirring twice during baking. Let cool to room temperature.
3.
Slice each chicken breast horizontally, stopping ¹⁄
2
inch from edges so halves remain attached. Pound between 2 sheets of plastic wrap to even ¹⁄
4
-inch thickness with meat pounder. Pound outer perimeter to ¹⁄
8
inch. Unwrap herb butter and cut it into 4 rectangular pieces. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, place on counter, and season with salt and pepper. Position breasts cut side up and place 1 piece of butter in center of bottom half of each breast. Roll bottom edge of chicken over butter, then fold in sides and continue rolling to form a neat, tight bundle, pressing on seam to seal. Repeat with remaining butter and chicken. Refrigerate chicken, uncovered, to allow edges to seal, about 1 hour.
4.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Combine flour, ¹⁄
4
teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄
8
teaspoon pepper in shallow dish or pie plate. Lightly beat eggs and mustard together in second dish. Place bread crumbs in third dish. Working with 1 chicken bundle at a time, dredge in flour, shaking off the excess, then coat with egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Coat all sides of chicken bundle with bread crumbs, pressing gently so that crumbs adhere. Place on prepared wire rack.
5.
Bake chicken until center of bundles register 160 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
TO MAKE AHEAD:
Unbaked, breaded chicken Kiev can be refrigerated overnight and baked the next day or frozen for up to 1 month. To cook frozen chicken Kiev, increase the baking time to 50 to 55 minutes (do not thaw the chicken).
1.
Place butter piece near tapered end of cutlet and roll up end to cover completely. Fold in sides and continue rolling to form cylinder, pressing on seam to seal. Refrigerate.
2.
After dredging chilled, rolled chicken bundles in flour, shake off excess, then roll in egg mixture, letting excess drip off.
3.
Roll chicken bundles in bread crumbs, pressing to adhere crumbs to chicken.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Glazed chicken has a reputation for being humdrum at best, overly sweet at worst. To elevate this dish to an elegant weeknight dinner, we knew the chicken needed to have perfectly rendered skin and moist meat sufficiently coated with a complexly flavored glaze. We started by browning the chicken on the stovetop, setting it aside to prepare the sauce in the same pan, and then finished cooking it in the oven. We found that a combination of orange juice, corn syrup, and honey gave us a thick and not-too-sweet glaze (corn syrup has half as much sugar as other sweeteners) and it also helped the meat seem juicier. Some minced shallot, vinegar, mustard, and red pepper flakes added complexity. Flouring the chicken prior to cooking helped the glaze cling to the chicken.
See “TRIMMING SPLIT CHICKEN BREASTS” illustration that follows recipe.
SERVES 4
We prefer to split whole chicken breasts ourselves because store-bought split chicken breasts are often sloppily butchered. However, if you prefer to purchase split chicken breasts, try to choose 10- to 12-ounce pieces with skin intact. If the glaze looks dry during baking, add up to 2 tablespoons more orange juice to the pan.
1¹⁄ | cups plus 2 tablespoons orange juice (4 oranges), plus extra as needed |
¹⁄ | cup light corn syrup |
3 | tablespoons honey |
1 | tablespoon Dijon mustard |
1 | tablespoon white vinegar |
¹⁄ | teaspoon red pepper flakes |
Salt and pepper | |
¹⁄ | cup all-purpose flour |
2 | (1¹⁄ |
2 | tablespoons vegetable oil |
1 | shallot, minced |
1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk 1¹⁄
2
cups orange juice, corn syrup, honey, mustard, vinegar, pepper flakes, ¹⁄
8
teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄
8
teaspoon pepper together in bowl. Place flour in shallow dish or pie plate.
2.
Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Working with 1 breast at a time, dredge in flour mixture, shaking off excess, and transfer to large plate.
3.
Heat oil in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place chicken breasts skin side down in skillet and cook until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes, reducing heat if pan begins to scorch. Flip chicken skin side up and continue to cook until lightly browned on second side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to clean plate.
4.
Pour off all but 1 teaspoon fat from skillet. Add shallot and cook over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes. Add orange juice mixture, bring to simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and measures 1 cup, 6 to 10 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and tilt to one side so glaze pools in corner of pan. Using tongs, roll each chicken breast in pooled glaze to coat evenly and place, skin side down, in skillet.
5.
Transfer skillet to oven and bake until chicken registers 160 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes, flipping chicken skin side up halfway through baking.
6.
Using potholders (skillet handle will be hot) remove skillet from oven. Transfer chicken to serving platter and let rest while making sauce. Meanwhile, being careful of hot skillet handle, return skillet to high heat and cook glaze, stirring constantly, until thick and syrupy, about 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons orange juice. Spoon 1 teaspoon glaze over each breast and serve, passing remaining glaze separately.
Substitute apple cider for orange juice and 2 tablespoons maple syrup for honey.
Substitute pineapple juice for orange juice and 2 tablespoons brown sugar for honey.
Using kitchen shears, trim off rib sections from each breast, following vertical line of fat from tapered end of breast up to socket where wing was attached.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts offer more flavor than their boneless, skinless counterparts, but getting the skin to crisp without overcooking the delicate breast meat can be a challenge. For the best results, we turned to pan-roasting, a restaurant technique in which food is browned in a skillet on the stovetop and then slid, skillet and all, into a hot oven to finish cooking. Brining the chicken ensured the meat stayed moist and flavorful. We then browned the chicken on all sides on the stovetop before placing the skillet in the oven. Cooking the chicken at 450 degrees allowed the skin to crisp while the meat cooked through relatively quickly. Finally, we used the caramelized drippings, or fond, left in the pan to make a quick and flavorful sauce.