The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (47 page)
Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
SERVES 6 TO 8
Adjust the heat in this dish by adding the minced ribs and seeds from the jalapeño as directed in step 6. If New Mexican chiles cannot be found, add an additional poblano and jalapeño to the chili. Serve this chili with sour cream, tortilla chips, and lime wedges.
3 | pounds bone-in split chicken breasts or thighs, trimmed |
Salt and pepper | |
1 | tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra as needed |
3 | jalapeño chiles |
3 | poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces |
3 | New Mexican chile peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into large pieces |
2 | onions, cut into large pieces |
6 | garlic cloves, minced |
1 | tablespoon ground cumin |
1¹⁄ | teaspoons ground coriander |
2 | (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed |
3 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
3 | tablespoons lime juice (2 limes) |
¹⁄ | cup minced fresh cilantro |
4 | scallions, sliced thin |
1.
Season chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and ¹⁄
4
teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until skin is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and lightly brown on other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; remove and discard skin.
2.
While chicken is browning, remove and discard ribs and seeds from 2 jalapeños, then mince jalapeños and set aside. Process half of poblano chiles, New Mexican chiles, and onions in food processor until consistency of chunky salsa, 10 to 12 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl halfway through. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining poblano chiles, New Mexican chiles, and onions; combine with first batch (do not wash food processor).
3.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from Dutch oven (adding additional vegetable oil if necessary) and reduce heat to medium. Add minced jalapeños, chile mixture, garlic, cumin, coriander, and ¹⁄
4
teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
4.
Transfer 1 cup cooked vegetable mixture to now-empty food processor. Add 1 cup beans and 1 cup broth and process until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add vegetable-bean mixture, remaining 2 cups broth, and chicken breasts to Dutch oven and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken registers 160 degrees (175 degrees if using thighs), 15 to 20 minutes (40 minutes if using thighs).
5.
Transfer chicken to large plate. Stir in remaining beans and continue to simmer, uncovered, until beans are heated through and chili has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
6.
Mince remaining jalapeño, reserving and mincing ribs and seeds, and set aside. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken into bite-size pieces, discarding bones. Stir shredded chicken, lime juice, cilantro, scallions, and remaining minced jalapeño (with seeds if desired) into chili and return to simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Substitute 1 bone-in, skin-on split turkey breast (about 2¹⁄
2
pounds), trimmed, for chicken breast halves. In step 1, cook turkey, skin side down, until skin is golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip turkey and lightly brown on other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer turkey to plate; remove and discard skin. In step 4, add turkey breast, bone side down, to Dutch oven, bring to boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until turkey registers 160 degrees, 30 to 35 minutes.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
The best chicken and dumplings boast dumplings as airy as drop biscuits in a broth full of clean, concentrated chicken flavor. We found that browning chicken thighs and then adding store-bought chicken broth (which, unlike water, contributed a savory depth) produced the most flavorful stew base. To give our broth body, we added chicken wings to the pot—they readily gave up their collagen, giving the stew a velvety texture. For a light but sturdy dumpling recipe with good flavor, we came up with a formula that employed buttermilk for flavor and swapped in baking soda for baking powder. Wrapping the lid of the Dutch oven in a kitchen towel to prevent moisture from saturating our light-as-air dumplings was the final step in perfecting our chicken and dumplings.
SERVES 6
We strongly recommend buttermilk for the dumplings, but it’s acceptable to substitute ¹⁄
2
cup plain yogurt thinned with ¹⁄
4
cup milk. If you want to include white meat (and don’t mind losing a bit of flavor in the process), replace 2 chicken thighs with two 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts; brown the chicken breasts along with the thighs and remove them from the stew once they register 160 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes. The collagen in the wings helps thicken the stew; do not omit or substitute. Since the wings yield only about 1 cup of meat, using their meat is optional.
STEW
2¹⁄ | pounds bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed |
Salt and pepper | |
2 | teaspoons vegetable oil |
2 | small onions, chopped fine |
2 | carrots, peeled and cut into ³⁄ |
1 | celery rib, chopped fine |
¹⁄ | cup dry sherry |
6 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
1 | teaspoon minced fresh thyme |
1 | pound chicken wings |
¹⁄ | cup chopped fresh parsley |
DUMPLINGS
2 | cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour |
1 | teaspoon sugar |
1 | teaspoon salt |
¹⁄ | teaspoon baking soda |
³⁄ | cup buttermilk, chilled |
4 | tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and hot |
1 | large egg white |
1. FOR THE STEW:
Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¹⁄
4
teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook until skin is crisp and well browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken pieces and brown on second side, 5 to 7 minutes longer; transfer to large plate. Discard all but 1 teaspoon fat from pot.
2.
Add onions, carrots, and celery to now-empty pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 7 to 9 minutes. Stir in sherry, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pot. Stir in broth and thyme. Return chicken thighs, with any accumulated juices, to pot and add chicken wings. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook until thigh meat offers no resistance when poked with tip of paring knife but still clings to bones, 45 to 55 minutes.
3.
Remove pot from heat and transfer chicken to cutting board. Allow broth to settle 5 minutes, then skim fat from surface. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin from chicken. Using fingers or fork, pull meat from chicken thighs (and wings, if desired) and cut into 1-inch pieces. Return meat to pot. (At this point, stew can be cooled to room temperature, then refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to simmer over medium-low heat before proceeding.)
4. FOR THE DUMPLINGS:
Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in large bowl. Combine buttermilk and melted butter in medium bowl, stirring until butter forms small clumps; whisk in egg white. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of bowl.
5.
Return stew to simmer, stir in parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Using greased tablespoon measure (or #60 portion scoop), scoop level amount of batter and drop over top of stew, spacing about ¹⁄
4
inch apart (you should have about 24 dumplings). Wrap lid of Dutch oven with clean kitchen towel (keeping towel away from heat source) and cover pot. Simmer gently until dumplings have doubled in size and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 13 to 16 minutes. Serve immediately.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
In search of a streamlined technique that would give this classic French braise weeknight potential and a brighter, more complex sauce, we replaced the bone-in chicken parts with the busy cook’s favorite timesaver: boneless, skinless breasts and thighs. We found two ways to add back the richness that we’d lost when we opted for boneless, skinless chicken pieces: We browned the meat in a combination of butter and oil, and we browned the vegetables until they developed their own fond to serve as the base of the sauce. Increasing the amount of glutamate-rich mushrooms boosted the fricassee’s meaty flavor. As a final step, we finished the sauce with sour cream, which added body and pleasant tang. Also, whisking an egg yolk into the sour cream thickened the sauce and made it incredibly silky.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Two tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley may be substituted for the tarragon in this recipe.
2 | pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs, trimmed |
Salt and pepper | |
1 | tablespoon unsalted butter |
1 | tablespoon olive oil |
1 | pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced ¹⁄ |
1 | onion, chopped fine |
¹⁄ | cup dry white wine |
1 | tablespoon all-purpose flour |
1 | garlic clove, minced |
1¹⁄ | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
¹⁄ | cup sour cream |
1 | large egg yolk |
¹⁄ | teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg |
2 | teaspoons lemon juice |
2 | teaspoons minced fresh tarragon |
1.
Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¹⁄
2
teaspoon pepper. Heat butter and oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until butter is melted. Place chicken in skillet and cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and cook until browned on second side, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to large plate.
2.
Add mushrooms, onion, and wine to now-empty skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour and garlic; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add broth and bring mixture to boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Add chicken and any accumulated juices to skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes.
3.
Transfer chicken to clean platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Whisk sour cream and egg yolk together in medium bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly stir ¹⁄
2
cup hot sauce into sour cream mixture to temper. Stirring constantly, slowly pour sour cream mixture into simmering sauce. Stir in nutmeg, lemon juice, and tarragon; return to simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste, pour sauce over chicken, and serve.