I really loved everything about this feta roast chicken, as long as I was eating with my eyes closed, and that�s because despite the juicy texture, and wonderful flavor, I had trouble getting past the grainy-looking appearance of the cooked cheese mixture. The good news is, it was mostly an aesthetic issue, and the mouthfeel wasn�t nearly as dry and grainy as it looked. Having said that, the next time I make this I will probably go with a little higher-end sheep�s milk feta which is much softer, and creamier. Speaking of the feta, you may need to add some salt to the mixture, depending how salty the one you use is.
As usual, your roasting time will depend on the size of your chicken, and the feta under the skin will increase the time needed, so check with a thermometer, and shoot for 155-160 F. in the thickest part of the thigh. Surprisingly, even though the feta was only under the breast, the thighs did actually pick up some of the flavor, which is enhanced even further if you create a simple pan sauce from the drippings.
While your chicken is resting, pour off all, some, or none of the fat from the pan, and squeeze in your lemon. Set over medium heat, and use the juice to deglaze the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. You may need/want to add a splash of broth or water, but once hot, and adjusted for seasoning, it�s ready to spoon over your sliced chicken. For an experiment, I thought this was very successful, if not triumphantly so, and I do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for one large whole chicken:
1 large whole chicken
kosher salt, as needed
a few fresh rosemary and oregano sprigs
2 teaspoons olive oil for coating chicken
cayenne to taste
For the feta cheese mixture:
4 ounces feta cheese
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
zest from one lemon (save juice for pan sauce)
2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons olive oil, or enough to make a smooth paste
I was watching golf the other day, and the announcer said that great golfers don�t need lessons, they only need reminders, and I immediately thought how well that saying applies to cooking. Well, this creamy chicken toast recipe is both a lesson (aka recipe) and a reminder, and a comforting one at that.
We�ll get to the recipe, but first, the reminder. Sometimes even I forget just how simple it is to make a cream sauce by reducing heavy cream. Almost every �cream sauce� you see is really milk thickened with some type of starch, usually a roux. These sauces are easy, and delicious, and we�ve made hundreds of them, but once in a while it�s nice to have the thing those concoctions are meant to mimic.
If you�re worried this might be too rich for you, keep in mind that by the time we add all the buttery roux to a milk-based sauce, we�re getting pretty close to the fat content of this. So, why not just do this with cream all the time? Cream is way more expensive than milk, and that�s before we reduce it. How much more? You know the old saying�if you have to ask, use milk.
As far as the recipe goes, I loved how this came out, but it begs for adaptation, especially when it comes to which diced veggies to toss in. Just be sure you cooked whatever you're using before you add the cream, since once that reduces, your dish is done, still crunchy vegetables, or not. Besides that, not much can go wrong, and a lot can go right, so I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Welcome to another episode of food you only see in restaurants, starring the always eye-catching �airline chicken� breast. Legend has it that the name comes from the fact this cut of chicken is shaped like an airplane wing, but that�s not actually the reason.
This beautiful breast is known as airline chicken because it was such a popular menu item back in the day, when airlines still gave their guests real food. Above and beyond the wing-like shape, this worked so well is because food for air travel needs to be cooked way ahead of time, which means it can dry out, especially something like a chicken breast, but by leaving the wing joint attached, that becomes a little less likely. Plus, once you finished your breast, you got to eat a chicken wing drumette. Now that�s value-added service.
As I mentioned in the video, please feel free to use whatever spices and seasoning you wish, since that will not affect the technique at all. I should have used fresh herbs inside for a little nicer appearance once sliced, but I think I more than made up for that with the sprig of rosemary. Regardless of how you flavor yours, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
There�s a restaurant up the street that serves a whole chicken wrapped in brioche, and ever since I saw it, I�ve wanted to do that video. I�ve never actually had it, since it�s $100, and you have to order it a day in advance. I love chicken, but I think I�ll save my hundred dollar bills for more sensible things, like lighting Cuban cigars.
Anyway, I was planning on doing a bread-wrapped bird, when I saw a photo for what looked like a pie crust wrapped chicken. Suddenly, I remembered doing something similar in culinary school, except they made us call the pie dough, �pate brisee,� for some reason, but same idea. That�s when plans changed, and the brioche went bye bye.
When bread�s used, you usually have to peel the soft, flabby skin off before enjoying the meat, but that�s not as big an issue here. Pie crust doesn�t insulate nearly as well, and so the skin gets cooked more thoroughly. This was very noticeable on the breasts, where the skin and crust fused together into some sort of marvelous hybrid. The thicker skin around the thighs didn�t render out quite as well, but even if you do pull off the skin, the meat is moist, tender, and very flavorful.
If you use a 3 1/2 pound chicken for this, then the roasting/resting time should work out, but if your bird is larger, you�ll have to add more time, and should probably use a thermometer to check your work. By the way, this is a technique video, and everything from the stuffing, to the pan sauce ingredients should be adapted to your tastes, but no matter what you use, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
It�s not hard to make a great marinade with just a few ingredients, as long as one of those ingredients is the magical miso. This super savory paste, made from fermented rice, barley, and soybeans, isn�t that hard to find, but what can be a challenge is understanding the different varieties available.
Miso is sold by �color,� and I�m recommending the white one here, except when you open the container, it�s not white, it�s sort of a golden yellow. They also sell a yellow miso, which is a slightly darker golden yellow, as well as a red miso, which is also a golden yellow. I�m just kidding�it�s actually dark brown.
The point is, the colors don�t refer to the actual color, but rather the processing method, and ratio of ingredients. And that�s basically the extent of my expertise. I choose the white, since it�s the most mild, but I encourage you to do some more research, as well as some experimentation.
After marinating overnight if possible, you�ll definitely want to cook your chicken with indirect heat. Otherwise, it will get too dark � as in black. Roasting in a 375 F. oven would be great, but if you use a charcoal grill, be sure to push your coals all the way over to one side of your grill, and place your chicken on the opposite site. Keep and eye on it, and turn/rotate the pieces as needed.
You can add many other things to this marinade, but maybe try the minimalist version first. I used to tell my students that the older you get, the fewer ingredients you use, so that�s my excuse, but I really want the clean flavors of the miso and honey coming through. Either way, I really hope you find some miso paste, and give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for enough marinade for one whole chicken:
3 tablespoons white miso
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon kosher salt (about 2 teaspoon fine salt)
lemon wedges and pepper flakes to garnish
- Let marinate overnight before roasting or grilling until the internal temp in the middle of the thigh is 165 F.
A big bowl of spaghetti and meat sauce is one of my all-time favorite meals, and like most cooks, I make it a little different every time. The veggies change seasonally, and as far as the meat goes, sometimes it�s beef, or pork, or a combination, but for whatever reason, chicken is rarely considered. It�s usually only when I�m using up leftovers that I think to toss it with noodles. So, I almost forget how great this is when you dedicate a whole bird, and a few hours to the effort.
Other than requiring a little time, this recipe is dead simple, with the only major decision being how thick to make your sauce. I like something fairly light, I guess because it�s chicken, but if you do want something thicker, simply change the ratio of sauce to water when you start the recipe. You can also reduce it longer, but you knew that.
Just be sure to undercook your pasta by at least a minute here, since as you saw we�re going to finish it in hot sauce for a couple minutes at the end. This is a critical step, and allows all those flavors to get sucked up by the still hydrating spaghetti. This is also a great make-ahead meal, as you can prep your sauce one day, and then assemble the finished dish at a later date. Either way, I really do hope you give this chicken spaghetti a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for enough Chicken Spaghetti Sauce for between 1 and 1.5 pounds of pasta, depending on how �saucy� you want it:
1 large whole chicken (4 1/2 to 5 pounds), with bag inside cavity removed
1 jar (24-oz) marinara sauce (about 3 cups)
6 cups water or chicken broth
2 anchovy fillets
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
red chili flakes to taste
To finish the dish, for each person:
4 ounces spaghetti, cooked, drained (not rinsed!)
enough chicken spaghetti sauce and to please you
more grated cheese
1 tablespoon cold butter
1/4 cup thinly sliced basil leaves
salt and hot pepper to taste
at least 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino cheese
If I had to pick a favorite color chili, it would have to be green. And, if I had to pick a favorite kind of green chili, it would be this chicken and white bean green chili, which, notwithstanding a very minor pumpkin seed issue, really came out amazing.
A true �chili verde� is made by roasting and pureeing fresh tomatillos, which is kind of labor intensive, if you can even find fresh tomatillos, so we�re going with a ready-to-use green salsa from the market. You should be able to chose from several varieties, but just be sure to read the labels carefully. Tomatillos must be the first ingredient, followed by onion, and chilies.
If you never had tomatillo before, I�d describe it as having a less sweet, slightly more acidic, but fruitier, tomato-like flavor. It�s very bright, and refreshing, and makes a chili prepared with it especially excellent for pairing with things like cornbread, or homemade corn tortillas.
Once you find some tomatillo salsa, there�s not a lot that can go wrong, as we�re simply going to simmer everything until tender, assuming you�re using the recommended thighs. If you decided to use chicken breast, you�ll only need to simmer it until it�s cooked through, otherwise, unlike the thigh, it�ll get dry. No matter what you use, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 to 6 portions of Green Chicken Chili:
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, seasoned with salt
1 bottle (24-oz) tomatillo-based salsa verde, about 3 cups
1/2 cup fire-roasted hatch chilies, or other roasted green chili
3 garlic cloves
1 large jalapeno, sliced
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground chipotle
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
2 cans white kidney beans (cannellini beans), drained, rinsed
I used to do a new chicken wing video every year before the Super Bowl, but that yearly ritual stopped when I sort of ran out of things to do with them. Being from Western New York State, where chicken wings are as much a religion, as they are a snack, I didn�t want these posts to become gratuitous and contrived.
However, this year I was inspired to reestablish the tradition after enjoying an appetizer called �Chennai Chicken,� served at Dosa, which is one of my favorite Indian restaurants in San Francisco. Their version features thin strips of breast coasted with a ton of spice, and deep-fried to a gorgeous brick red.
It�s one of those dishes you can�t stop eating, no matter how badly your mouth is burning, and I thought it would make a great approach for a batch of Buffalo wings. Since they�d never published the recipe, I did a lot of guessing here, but think I got pretty close. One of the key ingredients is an Indian spice blend called garam masala, which isn�t too hard to find, but if you can�t, here�s a link to a recipe for making your own.
As usual, feel free to alter the spice amounts as you see fit, but as I said in the video, do not skip the rice vinegar sauce. It really makes the dish. I�m not sure if these wings are too exotic for your Super Bowl party, or if your guests are not exotic enough for them, but I really hope you give them a try anyway. Enjoy!
Armed with nothing more than a sharp boning knife, and some patience, pretty much anyone can make this visually impressive, �chicken little.� At least that�s what I�m calling it, for lack of a better name. In the business, this is sometimes referred to as an individual chicken ballotine, which really doesn�t have much of a ring to it.
I was thinking of going with �pear chicken,� but then I�d have to deal with all those �where�s the pear?� comments. Anyway, regardless of the name, this is a real showstopper, and easily adaptable when it comes to seasonings, and glazes. I did the simplest pan sauce possible, by deglazing the drippings with a splash of chicken stock, but you could use wine, and/or demiglace, to fancy it up even more.
I�m recommending that we cook this to an internal temp of 150 F., to ensure ultra-juicy meat, which will terrify some of you, �Henny Penny�s�. I still see recommendations online to roast chicken to 165 F., which is not only crazy, but completely unnecessary. Anything that would harm you is killed at 140 F., so please try to relax.
Since there is a bit of production involved, I do suggest making these ahead, and keeping them in the fridge until you�re ready to serve. Not only will they roast to an even more beautiful golden brown, but your flavored butter ingredients inside will have time to permeate the meat. So, whether you�re making these to impress guests at a dinner party, or just improve your knife skills, or both, I really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 2 portions:
one 1.5 pound game hen (this will work with any size bird, but roasting times will change)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the butter:
1 clove garlic, sliced
large pinch of salt and pepper
1 teaspoon minced thyme and rosemary
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup seasoned chicken broth to deglaze and reduce in roasting pan
- Roast at 450 F. for about 30 minutes, or until internal temp of 150 F.
As promised, here is the rice-flour coated chicken wings recipe I teased in the mumbo sauce video. It�s hard to believe that this is the first fried wings video we�ve ever done, but that was the case, which is why I�m so glad these turned out as well as they did.
Besides being gluten-free, which is probably a big deal to a small, but enthusiastic part of my audience, this rice flour coating ended up being light, crispy, and extremely sauce friendly.
The original buffalo style chicken wings are fried without any type of coating, and while I do enjoy them that way, they aren�t the best at holding on to a sauce. This is why people started adding some kind of starch to the outside, which creates a less slick, rougher surface, that really grabs onto whatever you�re dipping, or tossing them in.
By the way, before your wings get coated with the flour, you�re free to spice these anyway you want. Other than the salt, everything else is up for grabs. I went very simple, as I usually do, but the mind reels at the possibilities. Regardless of how you flavor yours, I really do hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for *one pound of rice crispy chicken wings:
1 pound chicken wing sections (flats and drums)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon fine salt)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 cup rice flour, preferably "stone-ground" (you can grind you own in a spice mill)
* This can be scaled up to however large a batch you need. I usually allow 1/2 pound of wings per person for a party.
- If you�re doing a larger batch, be sure to give the wings a toss or two during the refrigeration time. By the way, two hours would be a minimum, but if you want, you can leave these overnight with the seasoning.
Whenever I�m ordering something with chicken at a taqueria, I�m always presented with the same three choices. The grilled chicken, the green chicken, which is cooked in a tomatillo sauce, and the red chicken, also know as chicken tinga.
I usually forgo the grilled option, since whatever I�m ordering almost always benefits from sauce; which leaves me with the nearly impossible decision of choosing between the red and the green. I love both, so I�m always torn. By the way, in Mexican culinary lingo, tinga means, �torn.�
Anyway, now that the title makes sense, I can finish this post up by reiterating how great this came out. There are faster methods to make this, but taking the extra time to reduce the cooking liquid, as well as possibly the sauce, really pays off in the end.
The real challenge here is deciding how to use it. You can�t go wrong with tacos, but my favorite delivery system is tostados. Fry up a corn or flour tortilla nice and crisp; top with tinga, and garnish with the usual suspects. It doesn�t get any better than that�unless the tortilla is shaped into a bowl, which I�ll show you how to do quickly, and mess-free, in the next video. Until then, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 6 large portions:
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 cloves peeled whole garlic cloves
1 large yellow onion, halved
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 can (7-oz) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 can (28-oz) peeled plum tomatoes (I recommend using San Marzano) or 3 1/2 cups of any fresh or canned tomato product
