America's Test Kitchen (2000–…): Season 21, Episode 12 - Schnitzel and Roesti - full transcript
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-Welcome to "America's
Test Kitchen" at home.
Today, I'm making
chicken schnitzel
with an apple fennel remoulade,
Adam's talking
cooking thermometers,
and Keith's making
a delicious potato roesti.
We've got a lot in store today,
so, stick around.
♪♪
-We make breaded chicken cutlets
all the time for dinner,
but the first time
I made chicken schnitzel,
my daughter said,
"These are fancy,"
and I knew just what she meant
because the chicken
is pounded thin,
the breadcrumbs have
a very fine, even texture,
and, as the chicken cooks,
the coating puffs up.
So the key to making
a good chicken schnitzel
is, first, to start
with the right cut of chicken.
Now, these are boneless,
skinless breasts
and you want to make sure
you get them
between six and eight ounces.
That's because you want
them big enough
to cut in half,
into good cutlets.
Alright, so, first thing
I'm going to do is
I'm going to trim off any fat
right along the outside.
You can see
this white line here.
Just kind of trim that off.
There we go.
And sometimes in this corner,
there's a little knob
of cartilage
and a little bit of vein,
so we'll cut that off.
Alright, so that looks
pretty good.
Now, to make a cutlet, you want
to lay it flat on the board
and rest your hand flat on top
and then, using your knife,
you want to go right
through the center,
horizontally,
through the cutlet.
And it's not a bad thing
to open it up
and see how you're doing,
seeing that it's even.
And then you can just take
your time and open it right up,
make it as even as possible.
This is fun because this is
where it makes a little heart.
And I've seen recipes
that leave schnitzel
in this nice big piece
and, when you pound it out,
it's as big as your head.
And that's fun, but they're very
hard to cook evenly that way.
So cutting them
into these smaller sizes,
it's just more efficient.
I'm just going to finish up
these last few cutlets
and wash my hands and then,
we can get to pounding.
Alright, so, now it's time
to pound the cutlets
to a nice, even thickness
and that's going
to make them cook
at the same rate
and make them tender.
So it's easiest to do this
between sheets of plastic wrap
and you can just use
a small piece of plastic wrap
and do them one at a time
or you can do it catering-style,
like I like to do,
which is do them all at once.
So you lay out a big sheet
of plastic wrap,
you put all the cutlets down.
That was four boneless,
skinless chicken breasts,
so it's eight cutlets.
And then, a nice, another long
piece of plastic wrap
over the top.
And, now you get pounding.
So you really want to focus
on that thicker end
of the piece of chicken
and you want the whole cutlet
to be about 1/4 inch thick.
Alright,
that looks pretty good.
Because the cutlets
are nicely spread out,
it's a great time
to season them,
and the seasoning won't get
all over your counter.
Now, we're going to use a total
of 2 tablespoons
of kosher salt.
I know it's a lot,
but there's no other seasoning
anywhere else in this recipe --
not in the breading,
not in the egg,
not in the flour --
so you really want to season
these cutlets well.
And a good amount of pepper,
about 1/8 teaspoon of pepper
per cutlet.
Flip them over and don't
forget the second side.
I'm just going to now set
these cutlets aside,
right back on the cutting board,
and we can move on
to the breading.
For the chicken schnitzel,
we're going to use
a classic bound breading,
which involves flour,
eggs, and breadcrumbs.
We're going to use
two large eggs.
But, the trick here is to add
a little bit of vegetable oil,
about 1 tablespoon.
This will help loosen
the eggs up,
but also help make that egg
coating a little more flexible.
That'll help that coating puff
as the chicken cooks.
So you just want to,
with a fork,
whisk together the eggs
and that vegetable oil.
So we have the flour
with the eggs
and, last, but not least,
the breadcrumbs.
So, taking each piece of chicken
into the flour.
You know,
I know a lot of people
that are really good at using
one hand for the dry ingredients
and one hand
for the wet ingredients,
but I get it all mixed up and I
wind up with breaded fingers,
so I find it easier just
to use a pair of tongs.
You want to shake off
any excess flour.
Just a thin coating.
Right into the egg.
Want to make sure
it gets fully covered.
You want to hold it up
and let that egg drip off.
And right into the breadcrumbs.
Now, you can't just use
any breadcrumbs,
if you want to make
a good schnitzel.
You need very fine,
very dry breadcrumbs,
the kind you buy in a canister
at the supermarket.
You want to make sure
they're unseasoned
because the seasonings
in those breadcrumbs
usually don't taste very good.
So, packing the breadcrumbs on,
shaking them off,
and we're just going
to lay it onto a wire rack.
Alright, so I'm just going
to continue
to breed all of these cutlets.
These cutlets now need
to sit for about five minutes
to really help that coating
set before we cook them.
♪♪
While that breaded chicken
is resting,
I'm going to make a quick
fennel apple remoulade
that tastes delicious
with the schnitzel.
So a remoulade
is a classic French sauce
that's based on mayonnaise.
So this is 1/4 cup
of mayonnaise.
Now, traditionally,
the remoulade
has a lot of capers in it
and usually some herbs,
but, this time,
we're punching it up
and adding some vegetables,
so it's almost as much a salad
as it is a sauce.
Mustard is another
classic flavoring,
and this is 2 tablespoons
of whole-grain mustard.
And the texture
of those whole-grain mustard
when those little seeds pop
in your mouth
is one of my favorites.
Capers, as I mentioned,
is a traditional ingredient.
This is the caper brine.
Just 1 tablespoon
adds a good little zing.
Last, but not least,
a little bit of lemon,
about 2 tablespoons or so.
I'm just going to use
this citrus press
to get the lemon juice out.
That's about one.
That's about two.
Alright, so I'm just going
to whisk this together.
And some capers.
Just 2 tablespoons of capers.
Now on to the main attraction.
First up, an apple.
And I'm going to cut this apple
into matchsticks
without having
to core it, first.
We're going to cut
around the core.
So I'm going to slice
down on one side,
spin the apple,
down on the other side,
and just cut around the core,
so you have a straight core.
And sometimes I save that
to nibble on it later.
Now, taking one of these pieces,
I'm going to slice it
about 1/4 inch
because that's what you want,
1/4-inch-thick matchsticks.
Slice it into nice planks
and then, you can slice
each plank down
into a nice matchstick.
That's it for the apple
and I'm going to put it
right into the dressing.
Next up, we're going
to add some celery,
and this is
four stalks of celery.
So I'm going
to trim off the ends.
And notice I trimmed
off the edges on a bias.
That's because I'm going
to slice it
nice and thin on a bias,
which I just think looks
really pretty in a salad.
Alright. Celery goes
into the bowl with the apple.
And, last but not least,
the fennel.
This fennel has beautiful
fronds on top.
And, while I'm going to trim
most of them off,
I'm going to save a few
of the pretty-looking ones
because that's a nice
herb garnish for the top.
And on to the bulb
of the fennel.
So the first thing
you want to do
is cut it in half.
And the bulb has an oval shape,
so I like to cut it lengthwise
and then work with each
half independently.
So I'm going to trim off
the bottom and then open it up.
You can see this core
on the inside.
I'm going to use
the tip of my knife
to cut that core out.
There we go.
And then, laying the bulb flat,
I'm just going
to slice it crosswise
into very thin slices.
If you get down to the end,
and you don't have a lot
to hang onto,
start to pull apart
these pieces,
and you can slice them
individually.
And then we'll just repeat
that for the second half.
And that's it for the fennel.
Going to add it to the bowl.
So now just toss it
all together,
make sure everything's nice
and evenly coated
with that dressing.
Alright. A little bit
of salt and pepper
because we didn't put any
in that dressing.
So I'm going to use my good
finishing salt here.
Fresh ground pepper.
Toss it in.
Now it's time
for those finishing fronds,
which have a very nice,
delicate flavor,
and it's nice to use as much
of the whole part
of the vegetable as possible.
Just going to mince them up
like they're an herb...
...and I'm going
to sprinkle it on top.
That's it for the
apple-fennel remoulade.
We also have a terrific recipe
for cucumber dill salad.
That tastes pretty good
with chicken schnitzel,
and you can find that
on our website.
Time to fry
the chicken schnitzel,
and what I have in this pot
is 2 cups of vegetable oil
that I'm heating up
over medium high heat
and the trick is
to get the oil good and hot,
right around 350 degrees.
You have to tip the pot
on its side.
You have to let that oil pool
to one side of the pot.
There we are.
Alright. So, now, time
to add the chicken.
I'm only going to add two,
maybe three cutlets at a time,
depending on their size.
I'll start with two.
And this is the other key
to making a good schnitzel,
is to shake the pot gently
as it cooks
because you want the oil to lap
over the top of the cutlets.
That way, they'll cook evenly
and you'll get a nice,
sustained puff on the coating.
We're going to cook these
for about a minute and a half
on each side,
till they're nice and golden.
[ Sizzling ]
Ooh, beautiful.
Alright.
Flip them over and cook
for another minute and a half.
Now, these cutlets are so thin
that they will definitely
cook through in just two
to three minutes.
You don't really need to take
a temperature of the meat,
but you do want to keep taking
a temperature of the oil,
so that it maintains
around 350 degrees.
[ Sizzling ]
These are beautiful
and they are ready to come out.
I'm going to put them
on a paper towel-lined tray.
And you can see that puff.
That is a good schnitzel.
Alright, just going to flip them
over once or twice,
try to get any extra oil off.
Oh, that puff.
That is a good puff.
Alright, I'm going to keep
these warm in a 200-degree oven
while I finish frying
the other cutlets.
Oh, you can see this one's
puffing so much,
it's sticking
right out of the oil.
That's a good sign.
Alright, flip them over
so they can cook
on the second side.
Oh, look at that puff!
Very happy with that.
Alright,
keep these warm in the oven
while I cook the last batch.
Time to eat.
Look at that schnitzel.
Look!
Now, for a hefty dose
of this salad
because I love this salad.
Give it a little stir, first,
make sure that dressing
is nice and incorporated.
Mmm.
Ah, a little more.
Last, but not least,
a little squeeze of lemon,
right on the chicken.
Oh!
That's a beautiful piece
of chicken, right there.
Mmm!
Alright,
I got to point this out.
Look at that puff.
[ Laughs ] That's why chicken
schnitzel is so elegant --
it has that souffléd look
and that delicate crust.
Mmm!
It's such a simple recipe,
but, when it's done right,
man, does it taste good.
So, if you want to make
the ultimate chicken schnitzel,
remember to use fine,
dried breadcrumbs,
heat the oil to 350 degrees,
and shake the pot
as the chicken cooks.
So, from "America's
Test Kitchen" at home,
a marvelous recipe
for chicken schnitzel.
♪♪
-Whether you're cooking
meat or poultry,
baking bread,
other baked goods,
even boiling water,
to make coffee or tea,
if you know the temperature
of whatever it is
you're cooking,
that will help ensure
the best results.
That's why we've tested
so many different thermometers
over the years at "ATK,"
and here are a couple
that we feel like
everyone should have.
No kitchen should be
without a digital
instant-read thermometer.
This is our favorite.
This is the ThermoWorks
Thermapen Mk4
and we love it for a lot
of different reasons.
Number one, it's super accurate.
Number two, it's quick
to register temperatures,
on average, about 2.2 seconds,
in our tests.
It's got big, legible digits
that are really easy to read
and they rotate, so they're
always going to be upright,
no matter how you're
holding the thermometer.
Also, it's got an automatic
shutoff and, even better,
it's got an automatic
wake-up function,
so you don't have to stop
to turn it back on mid-task.
You can calibrate it, as well.
It's $99, so it's not cheap,
but we think it's worth
every penny.
If that's too much money
for you, good news.
The same company, ThermoWorks,
makes our best
inexpensive digital
instant-read thermometer.
This is the
ThermoWorks ThermoPop.
Just like its big brother,
it's accurate,
it's quick
to register temperatures,
usually around 3 seconds,
on average, in our tests.
The readout's a little smaller
and you have
to use the functions manually,
not automatically,
but it's only $29, so you do
save a bunch of money.
Now, an instant-read thermometer
is for spot-checking
the temperature
towards the end of cooking.
A digital probe thermometer
will monitor the temperature
while you're cooking
and, better yet,
it will sound an alarm
when you reach
a finished temperature
that you program right into it.
It's got a couple of parts.
This is the temperature sensor
that goes into the thickest part
of whatever you're roasting.
You run the wire out
through the oven door,
plug it into the receiver,
program in
your finish temperature,
and this will sound an alarm
when you get there.
This is our favorite.
It's also by ThermoWorks.
It's the ChefAlarm.
It's $59.
This was accurate, easy to use,
and you can calibrate it.
If $59 feels
a little bit steep to you,
we have a best buy
probe thermometer.
This is the Polder Classic
digital thermometer and timer.
It's got the same
basic functions --
you can program in
a temperature,
it will sound an alarm,
it's got a timer,
and it's just $25.
Now, we've done a lot
of testing of home ovens
and we've found that
the temperature can vary
by as much as 50 degrees from a
set temperature of 350 degrees.
That means you should always
use an oven thermometer,
so you know how hot
your oven actually is.
This is our favorite.
This is the CDN ProAccurate
oven thermometer.
It's about $9.
It's accurate.
It's easy to read.
It's got a nice, wide base,
so it sits nice and stable
on the oven shelf.
You should absolutely
have one of these.
In fact, I actually have
two oven thermometers
because the temperature
inside your oven
can vary in different spots.
So don't buy just one, buy two.
♪♪
-Ice cube trays are used
for a lot more things
than just ice, these days.
You can use them for leftovers,
for dips, for spreads.
Let me show you what I have
in my freezer right now.
Right now, I have
ice coffee cubes in here
so that I don't have
to water down my ice coffee.
These are smaller ice cubes.
They're about 1 teaspoon in
size, and it comes with a lid.
In this tray,
this holds about 1 tablespoon.
I froze leftover red wine
from a bottle that I
wasn't going to drink
and they're
in perfect-size cubes,
so, if I am following a recipe
that calls for 1/4 cup of wine,
I'll grab four ice cubes
and put them into my pan sauce.
And this one holds
about 1/4 cup,
if filled halfway,
and I use this one a lot.
And let me show you
how I use it.
Here, I've made a batch
of red-pepper dip.
It has almonds and garlic.
There's a bunch
of good things in here.
And cut the corner
off of this bag.
I'm going to squeeze it.
Makes it a little easier
to transfer into each cube.
So I like to make double
batches of dips and spreads
and freeze them in cubes.
If I have last-minute
visitors coming over,
I can grab some tapenade
and some muhammara
and put together
a really nice, quick spread.
And you have to keep in mind
that, when things freeze,
they expand, so I don't want
to fill this all the way up.
I'm filling it about half full.
Now, all I do is I tap it,
so that they're flat.
Tap, tap, tap.
To protect them from
freezer burn in the freezer,
I'm going to cover
each one of them
with a very thin layer
of extra virgin olive oil.
Olive oil will do a good job
of protecting them,
plus, it tastes good,
so, when it defrosts,
it's going to add a little bit
more flavor to my dip.
It's as easy as that.
So, ice cube trays are really
handy to have on hand
for leftovers
and for planning ahead.
♪♪
-I have a couple
potato lovers in my house,
one of them being me,
so potato roesti
is a dish that we make a lot.
Now, potato roesti is
a crisp cake made
with shredded potatoes,
that hails from Switzerland.
And it's a versatile recipe.
It can be served
with fried eggs for breakfast.
It can be served with a roast.
It can be served
a hundred different ways.
So let's get started
with the potatoes.
Our favorite potato for this
was a Yukon Gold potato.
Medium moisture, medium starch,
and they have
a great buttery flavor.
So I'm just going to peel
1.5 pounds
of Yukon Gold potatoes.
I like to peel the ends
of my potatoes, first,
and then you can just go around
and do the sides really easily.
Okay, the potatoes are peeled,
and now we can get
into shredding them.
Now, I'm going to use
a food processor today
because it makes
really long shreds
that stick together
and make a nice network.
You can use a box grater,
but you want to make sure
you get the longest
shreds possible.
Okay, so we have
our potatoes shredded
and you can see that we have
some nice, long shreds here.
Now, Yukon Gold potatoes
are almost perfect,
but sometimes they have
a little bit too much starch,
which makes them gummy.
So I'm going to rinse
the starch off the potatoes,
so we can get the perfect
amount every single time.
Okay, I have plenty
of water in there.
We've gotten the starch
off the potatoes.
Now, I can drain them.
We want to mix the potatoes
right in this bowl,
so I'm just going to wipe it out
and get rid
of any excess starch.
Now our potatoes are too wet,
so I'm going to take this towel
and I'm going to wring out
as much moisture as I can.
It's best to do this
in a couple of batches
and, that way, you can get
all of the moisture out.
Gather up the sides.
Make a ball.
Like that.
You can really put
some muscle into this.
I'll take that and dump that
right into our bowl.
Okay.
We'll do this again.
Second batch is done.
We've gotten rid of the
potatoes' natural starch.
Now it's time to add back
the perfect amount of starch.
So I'm going to do that
using cornstarch.
I have 1 teaspoon.
I'll just sprinkle that
over the potatoes.
We're also going to add
1/2 teaspoon of table salt
and some black pepper.
I like a lot of black pepper
in my roesti.
I'm just going to stir this
together with a fork.
I've got 2 tablespoons
of butter starting to melt
in this 10-inch
nonstick skillet.
Now, I really like to cook
my roesti with butter.
I think it adds much more flavor
and it really pairs well
with the Yukon Gold potatoes.
Now that it's melted,
I'm going to add the potatoes.
You could also use bacon fat
or duck fat, too.
Now that I have
the potatoes in there,
I'm going to leave
these unpacked and loose
and I'm going to cover it
for the first six minutes.
That cover's going
to trap the steam
and it's going to rise up
through that loose network
of potatoes
and cook the potatoes evenly.
♪♪
It's been six minutes,
and let's check on our potatoes.
You can see that the potatoes
have taken on
this translucent color,
which means that they're
actually almost cooked.
So now it's time
to pack it down,
form a nice, tidy cake,
and continue to cook it
until it's nice and golden brown
on the bottom,
about four to six minutes.
And, as it cooks
in that four to six minutes,
I'll continue to press down
on the top of it.
It's been about six minutes
and I've been pressing
on this occasionally
and I can see
that the potato cake
is nice and golden brown
around the edges.
So it's time to flip.
Now, if I were brave,
I would do it in one fell swoop,
but I'm not.
I'm going to do it the safe way.
So I'm going to slide this out
onto the first plate.
I'm going to take a second plate
and invert it
on top of that cake
and then flip
the whole thing over.
Oh, perfect on the first side.
Now it's time
to cook the second side.
I have 2 more tablespoons
of butter here.
We'll add that to the skillet
and let it melt.
Okay, our butter is melted
and I'm going to slide
this potato cake back in.
Oh, perfect.
I'll tidy up the sides,
press it down,
and we're going to cook this
on the second side
for about seven to nine minutes,
until that side is golden brown.
♪♪
It's been nine minutes, and the
second side is well browned,
but it's not time to eat yet.
I'm going to shut the heat off
and let the cake sit in the pan
for five minutes.
The starches will gel
a little bit,
and it will make a nice,
cohesive cake.
The roesti has sat
for five minutes in the pan,
and now it's time to eat.
Looks beautiful.
Feeling a little hungry,
so I'm just going
to cut this into quarters.
The edge part is always
the best of the roesti.
[ Crunching ]
It's really great.
The texture's outstanding.
The exterior is super crisp
and the inside is super,
super creamy.
It's two polar opposites.
And the flavor is also
off the charts.
It's buttery in a couple
different ways.
You have the butter
that we cooked the cake in,
but also, the Yukon Gold
have a nice buttery flavor
that matches that.
So, if you want to try making
this potato roesti at home,
here are a couple of things
to remember --
start with Yukon Gold potatoes,
make sure that you
control the starch,
and start cooking
in a covered pan.
So, from "America's
Test Kitchen" at home,
the perfect recipe
for potato roesti.
-Thanks for watching.
You can get all of the recipes
from this season,
♪♪
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♪♪
♪♪
-Welcome to "America's
Test Kitchen" at home.
Today, I'm making
chicken schnitzel
with an apple fennel remoulade,
Adam's talking
cooking thermometers,
and Keith's making
a delicious potato roesti.
We've got a lot in store today,
so, stick around.
♪♪
-We make breaded chicken cutlets
all the time for dinner,
but the first time
I made chicken schnitzel,
my daughter said,
"These are fancy,"
and I knew just what she meant
because the chicken
is pounded thin,
the breadcrumbs have
a very fine, even texture,
and, as the chicken cooks,
the coating puffs up.
So the key to making
a good chicken schnitzel
is, first, to start
with the right cut of chicken.
Now, these are boneless,
skinless breasts
and you want to make sure
you get them
between six and eight ounces.
That's because you want
them big enough
to cut in half,
into good cutlets.
Alright, so, first thing
I'm going to do is
I'm going to trim off any fat
right along the outside.
You can see
this white line here.
Just kind of trim that off.
There we go.
And sometimes in this corner,
there's a little knob
of cartilage
and a little bit of vein,
so we'll cut that off.
Alright, so that looks
pretty good.
Now, to make a cutlet, you want
to lay it flat on the board
and rest your hand flat on top
and then, using your knife,
you want to go right
through the center,
horizontally,
through the cutlet.
And it's not a bad thing
to open it up
and see how you're doing,
seeing that it's even.
And then you can just take
your time and open it right up,
make it as even as possible.
This is fun because this is
where it makes a little heart.
And I've seen recipes
that leave schnitzel
in this nice big piece
and, when you pound it out,
it's as big as your head.
And that's fun, but they're very
hard to cook evenly that way.
So cutting them
into these smaller sizes,
it's just more efficient.
I'm just going to finish up
these last few cutlets
and wash my hands and then,
we can get to pounding.
Alright, so, now it's time
to pound the cutlets
to a nice, even thickness
and that's going
to make them cook
at the same rate
and make them tender.
So it's easiest to do this
between sheets of plastic wrap
and you can just use
a small piece of plastic wrap
and do them one at a time
or you can do it catering-style,
like I like to do,
which is do them all at once.
So you lay out a big sheet
of plastic wrap,
you put all the cutlets down.
That was four boneless,
skinless chicken breasts,
so it's eight cutlets.
And then, a nice, another long
piece of plastic wrap
over the top.
And, now you get pounding.
So you really want to focus
on that thicker end
of the piece of chicken
and you want the whole cutlet
to be about 1/4 inch thick.
Alright,
that looks pretty good.
Because the cutlets
are nicely spread out,
it's a great time
to season them,
and the seasoning won't get
all over your counter.
Now, we're going to use a total
of 2 tablespoons
of kosher salt.
I know it's a lot,
but there's no other seasoning
anywhere else in this recipe --
not in the breading,
not in the egg,
not in the flour --
so you really want to season
these cutlets well.
And a good amount of pepper,
about 1/8 teaspoon of pepper
per cutlet.
Flip them over and don't
forget the second side.
I'm just going to now set
these cutlets aside,
right back on the cutting board,
and we can move on
to the breading.
For the chicken schnitzel,
we're going to use
a classic bound breading,
which involves flour,
eggs, and breadcrumbs.
We're going to use
two large eggs.
But, the trick here is to add
a little bit of vegetable oil,
about 1 tablespoon.
This will help loosen
the eggs up,
but also help make that egg
coating a little more flexible.
That'll help that coating puff
as the chicken cooks.
So you just want to,
with a fork,
whisk together the eggs
and that vegetable oil.
So we have the flour
with the eggs
and, last, but not least,
the breadcrumbs.
So, taking each piece of chicken
into the flour.
You know,
I know a lot of people
that are really good at using
one hand for the dry ingredients
and one hand
for the wet ingredients,
but I get it all mixed up and I
wind up with breaded fingers,
so I find it easier just
to use a pair of tongs.
You want to shake off
any excess flour.
Just a thin coating.
Right into the egg.
Want to make sure
it gets fully covered.
You want to hold it up
and let that egg drip off.
And right into the breadcrumbs.
Now, you can't just use
any breadcrumbs,
if you want to make
a good schnitzel.
You need very fine,
very dry breadcrumbs,
the kind you buy in a canister
at the supermarket.
You want to make sure
they're unseasoned
because the seasonings
in those breadcrumbs
usually don't taste very good.
So, packing the breadcrumbs on,
shaking them off,
and we're just going
to lay it onto a wire rack.
Alright, so I'm just going
to continue
to breed all of these cutlets.
These cutlets now need
to sit for about five minutes
to really help that coating
set before we cook them.
♪♪
While that breaded chicken
is resting,
I'm going to make a quick
fennel apple remoulade
that tastes delicious
with the schnitzel.
So a remoulade
is a classic French sauce
that's based on mayonnaise.
So this is 1/4 cup
of mayonnaise.
Now, traditionally,
the remoulade
has a lot of capers in it
and usually some herbs,
but, this time,
we're punching it up
and adding some vegetables,
so it's almost as much a salad
as it is a sauce.
Mustard is another
classic flavoring,
and this is 2 tablespoons
of whole-grain mustard.
And the texture
of those whole-grain mustard
when those little seeds pop
in your mouth
is one of my favorites.
Capers, as I mentioned,
is a traditional ingredient.
This is the caper brine.
Just 1 tablespoon
adds a good little zing.
Last, but not least,
a little bit of lemon,
about 2 tablespoons or so.
I'm just going to use
this citrus press
to get the lemon juice out.
That's about one.
That's about two.
Alright, so I'm just going
to whisk this together.
And some capers.
Just 2 tablespoons of capers.
Now on to the main attraction.
First up, an apple.
And I'm going to cut this apple
into matchsticks
without having
to core it, first.
We're going to cut
around the core.
So I'm going to slice
down on one side,
spin the apple,
down on the other side,
and just cut around the core,
so you have a straight core.
And sometimes I save that
to nibble on it later.
Now, taking one of these pieces,
I'm going to slice it
about 1/4 inch
because that's what you want,
1/4-inch-thick matchsticks.
Slice it into nice planks
and then, you can slice
each plank down
into a nice matchstick.
That's it for the apple
and I'm going to put it
right into the dressing.
Next up, we're going
to add some celery,
and this is
four stalks of celery.
So I'm going
to trim off the ends.
And notice I trimmed
off the edges on a bias.
That's because I'm going
to slice it
nice and thin on a bias,
which I just think looks
really pretty in a salad.
Alright. Celery goes
into the bowl with the apple.
And, last but not least,
the fennel.
This fennel has beautiful
fronds on top.
And, while I'm going to trim
most of them off,
I'm going to save a few
of the pretty-looking ones
because that's a nice
herb garnish for the top.
And on to the bulb
of the fennel.
So the first thing
you want to do
is cut it in half.
And the bulb has an oval shape,
so I like to cut it lengthwise
and then work with each
half independently.
So I'm going to trim off
the bottom and then open it up.
You can see this core
on the inside.
I'm going to use
the tip of my knife
to cut that core out.
There we go.
And then, laying the bulb flat,
I'm just going
to slice it crosswise
into very thin slices.
If you get down to the end,
and you don't have a lot
to hang onto,
start to pull apart
these pieces,
and you can slice them
individually.
And then we'll just repeat
that for the second half.
And that's it for the fennel.
Going to add it to the bowl.
So now just toss it
all together,
make sure everything's nice
and evenly coated
with that dressing.
Alright. A little bit
of salt and pepper
because we didn't put any
in that dressing.
So I'm going to use my good
finishing salt here.
Fresh ground pepper.
Toss it in.
Now it's time
for those finishing fronds,
which have a very nice,
delicate flavor,
and it's nice to use as much
of the whole part
of the vegetable as possible.
Just going to mince them up
like they're an herb...
...and I'm going
to sprinkle it on top.
That's it for the
apple-fennel remoulade.
We also have a terrific recipe
for cucumber dill salad.
That tastes pretty good
with chicken schnitzel,
and you can find that
on our website.
Time to fry
the chicken schnitzel,
and what I have in this pot
is 2 cups of vegetable oil
that I'm heating up
over medium high heat
and the trick is
to get the oil good and hot,
right around 350 degrees.
You have to tip the pot
on its side.
You have to let that oil pool
to one side of the pot.
There we are.
Alright. So, now, time
to add the chicken.
I'm only going to add two,
maybe three cutlets at a time,
depending on their size.
I'll start with two.
And this is the other key
to making a good schnitzel,
is to shake the pot gently
as it cooks
because you want the oil to lap
over the top of the cutlets.
That way, they'll cook evenly
and you'll get a nice,
sustained puff on the coating.
We're going to cook these
for about a minute and a half
on each side,
till they're nice and golden.
[ Sizzling ]
Ooh, beautiful.
Alright.
Flip them over and cook
for another minute and a half.
Now, these cutlets are so thin
that they will definitely
cook through in just two
to three minutes.
You don't really need to take
a temperature of the meat,
but you do want to keep taking
a temperature of the oil,
so that it maintains
around 350 degrees.
[ Sizzling ]
These are beautiful
and they are ready to come out.
I'm going to put them
on a paper towel-lined tray.
And you can see that puff.
That is a good schnitzel.
Alright, just going to flip them
over once or twice,
try to get any extra oil off.
Oh, that puff.
That is a good puff.
Alright, I'm going to keep
these warm in a 200-degree oven
while I finish frying
the other cutlets.
Oh, you can see this one's
puffing so much,
it's sticking
right out of the oil.
That's a good sign.
Alright, flip them over
so they can cook
on the second side.
Oh, look at that puff!
Very happy with that.
Alright,
keep these warm in the oven
while I cook the last batch.
Time to eat.
Look at that schnitzel.
Look!
Now, for a hefty dose
of this salad
because I love this salad.
Give it a little stir, first,
make sure that dressing
is nice and incorporated.
Mmm.
Ah, a little more.
Last, but not least,
a little squeeze of lemon,
right on the chicken.
Oh!
That's a beautiful piece
of chicken, right there.
Mmm!
Alright,
I got to point this out.
Look at that puff.
[ Laughs ] That's why chicken
schnitzel is so elegant --
it has that souffléd look
and that delicate crust.
Mmm!
It's such a simple recipe,
but, when it's done right,
man, does it taste good.
So, if you want to make
the ultimate chicken schnitzel,
remember to use fine,
dried breadcrumbs,
heat the oil to 350 degrees,
and shake the pot
as the chicken cooks.
So, from "America's
Test Kitchen" at home,
a marvelous recipe
for chicken schnitzel.
♪♪
-Whether you're cooking
meat or poultry,
baking bread,
other baked goods,
even boiling water,
to make coffee or tea,
if you know the temperature
of whatever it is
you're cooking,
that will help ensure
the best results.
That's why we've tested
so many different thermometers
over the years at "ATK,"
and here are a couple
that we feel like
everyone should have.
No kitchen should be
without a digital
instant-read thermometer.
This is our favorite.
This is the ThermoWorks
Thermapen Mk4
and we love it for a lot
of different reasons.
Number one, it's super accurate.
Number two, it's quick
to register temperatures,
on average, about 2.2 seconds,
in our tests.
It's got big, legible digits
that are really easy to read
and they rotate, so they're
always going to be upright,
no matter how you're
holding the thermometer.
Also, it's got an automatic
shutoff and, even better,
it's got an automatic
wake-up function,
so you don't have to stop
to turn it back on mid-task.
You can calibrate it, as well.
It's $99, so it's not cheap,
but we think it's worth
every penny.
If that's too much money
for you, good news.
The same company, ThermoWorks,
makes our best
inexpensive digital
instant-read thermometer.
This is the
ThermoWorks ThermoPop.
Just like its big brother,
it's accurate,
it's quick
to register temperatures,
usually around 3 seconds,
on average, in our tests.
The readout's a little smaller
and you have
to use the functions manually,
not automatically,
but it's only $29, so you do
save a bunch of money.
Now, an instant-read thermometer
is for spot-checking
the temperature
towards the end of cooking.
A digital probe thermometer
will monitor the temperature
while you're cooking
and, better yet,
it will sound an alarm
when you reach
a finished temperature
that you program right into it.
It's got a couple of parts.
This is the temperature sensor
that goes into the thickest part
of whatever you're roasting.
You run the wire out
through the oven door,
plug it into the receiver,
program in
your finish temperature,
and this will sound an alarm
when you get there.
This is our favorite.
It's also by ThermoWorks.
It's the ChefAlarm.
It's $59.
This was accurate, easy to use,
and you can calibrate it.
If $59 feels
a little bit steep to you,
we have a best buy
probe thermometer.
This is the Polder Classic
digital thermometer and timer.
It's got the same
basic functions --
you can program in
a temperature,
it will sound an alarm,
it's got a timer,
and it's just $25.
Now, we've done a lot
of testing of home ovens
and we've found that
the temperature can vary
by as much as 50 degrees from a
set temperature of 350 degrees.
That means you should always
use an oven thermometer,
so you know how hot
your oven actually is.
This is our favorite.
This is the CDN ProAccurate
oven thermometer.
It's about $9.
It's accurate.
It's easy to read.
It's got a nice, wide base,
so it sits nice and stable
on the oven shelf.
You should absolutely
have one of these.
In fact, I actually have
two oven thermometers
because the temperature
inside your oven
can vary in different spots.
So don't buy just one, buy two.
♪♪
-Ice cube trays are used
for a lot more things
than just ice, these days.
You can use them for leftovers,
for dips, for spreads.
Let me show you what I have
in my freezer right now.
Right now, I have
ice coffee cubes in here
so that I don't have
to water down my ice coffee.
These are smaller ice cubes.
They're about 1 teaspoon in
size, and it comes with a lid.
In this tray,
this holds about 1 tablespoon.
I froze leftover red wine
from a bottle that I
wasn't going to drink
and they're
in perfect-size cubes,
so, if I am following a recipe
that calls for 1/4 cup of wine,
I'll grab four ice cubes
and put them into my pan sauce.
And this one holds
about 1/4 cup,
if filled halfway,
and I use this one a lot.
And let me show you
how I use it.
Here, I've made a batch
of red-pepper dip.
It has almonds and garlic.
There's a bunch
of good things in here.
And cut the corner
off of this bag.
I'm going to squeeze it.
Makes it a little easier
to transfer into each cube.
So I like to make double
batches of dips and spreads
and freeze them in cubes.
If I have last-minute
visitors coming over,
I can grab some tapenade
and some muhammara
and put together
a really nice, quick spread.
And you have to keep in mind
that, when things freeze,
they expand, so I don't want
to fill this all the way up.
I'm filling it about half full.
Now, all I do is I tap it,
so that they're flat.
Tap, tap, tap.
To protect them from
freezer burn in the freezer,
I'm going to cover
each one of them
with a very thin layer
of extra virgin olive oil.
Olive oil will do a good job
of protecting them,
plus, it tastes good,
so, when it defrosts,
it's going to add a little bit
more flavor to my dip.
It's as easy as that.
So, ice cube trays are really
handy to have on hand
for leftovers
and for planning ahead.
♪♪
-I have a couple
potato lovers in my house,
one of them being me,
so potato roesti
is a dish that we make a lot.
Now, potato roesti is
a crisp cake made
with shredded potatoes,
that hails from Switzerland.
And it's a versatile recipe.
It can be served
with fried eggs for breakfast.
It can be served with a roast.
It can be served
a hundred different ways.
So let's get started
with the potatoes.
Our favorite potato for this
was a Yukon Gold potato.
Medium moisture, medium starch,
and they have
a great buttery flavor.
So I'm just going to peel
1.5 pounds
of Yukon Gold potatoes.
I like to peel the ends
of my potatoes, first,
and then you can just go around
and do the sides really easily.
Okay, the potatoes are peeled,
and now we can get
into shredding them.
Now, I'm going to use
a food processor today
because it makes
really long shreds
that stick together
and make a nice network.
You can use a box grater,
but you want to make sure
you get the longest
shreds possible.
Okay, so we have
our potatoes shredded
and you can see that we have
some nice, long shreds here.
Now, Yukon Gold potatoes
are almost perfect,
but sometimes they have
a little bit too much starch,
which makes them gummy.
So I'm going to rinse
the starch off the potatoes,
so we can get the perfect
amount every single time.
Okay, I have plenty
of water in there.
We've gotten the starch
off the potatoes.
Now, I can drain them.
We want to mix the potatoes
right in this bowl,
so I'm just going to wipe it out
and get rid
of any excess starch.
Now our potatoes are too wet,
so I'm going to take this towel
and I'm going to wring out
as much moisture as I can.
It's best to do this
in a couple of batches
and, that way, you can get
all of the moisture out.
Gather up the sides.
Make a ball.
Like that.
You can really put
some muscle into this.
I'll take that and dump that
right into our bowl.
Okay.
We'll do this again.
Second batch is done.
We've gotten rid of the
potatoes' natural starch.
Now it's time to add back
the perfect amount of starch.
So I'm going to do that
using cornstarch.
I have 1 teaspoon.
I'll just sprinkle that
over the potatoes.
We're also going to add
1/2 teaspoon of table salt
and some black pepper.
I like a lot of black pepper
in my roesti.
I'm just going to stir this
together with a fork.
I've got 2 tablespoons
of butter starting to melt
in this 10-inch
nonstick skillet.
Now, I really like to cook
my roesti with butter.
I think it adds much more flavor
and it really pairs well
with the Yukon Gold potatoes.
Now that it's melted,
I'm going to add the potatoes.
You could also use bacon fat
or duck fat, too.
Now that I have
the potatoes in there,
I'm going to leave
these unpacked and loose
and I'm going to cover it
for the first six minutes.
That cover's going
to trap the steam
and it's going to rise up
through that loose network
of potatoes
and cook the potatoes evenly.
♪♪
It's been six minutes,
and let's check on our potatoes.
You can see that the potatoes
have taken on
this translucent color,
which means that they're
actually almost cooked.
So now it's time
to pack it down,
form a nice, tidy cake,
and continue to cook it
until it's nice and golden brown
on the bottom,
about four to six minutes.
And, as it cooks
in that four to six minutes,
I'll continue to press down
on the top of it.
It's been about six minutes
and I've been pressing
on this occasionally
and I can see
that the potato cake
is nice and golden brown
around the edges.
So it's time to flip.
Now, if I were brave,
I would do it in one fell swoop,
but I'm not.
I'm going to do it the safe way.
So I'm going to slide this out
onto the first plate.
I'm going to take a second plate
and invert it
on top of that cake
and then flip
the whole thing over.
Oh, perfect on the first side.
Now it's time
to cook the second side.
I have 2 more tablespoons
of butter here.
We'll add that to the skillet
and let it melt.
Okay, our butter is melted
and I'm going to slide
this potato cake back in.
Oh, perfect.
I'll tidy up the sides,
press it down,
and we're going to cook this
on the second side
for about seven to nine minutes,
until that side is golden brown.
♪♪
It's been nine minutes, and the
second side is well browned,
but it's not time to eat yet.
I'm going to shut the heat off
and let the cake sit in the pan
for five minutes.
The starches will gel
a little bit,
and it will make a nice,
cohesive cake.
The roesti has sat
for five minutes in the pan,
and now it's time to eat.
Looks beautiful.
Feeling a little hungry,
so I'm just going
to cut this into quarters.
The edge part is always
the best of the roesti.
[ Crunching ]
It's really great.
The texture's outstanding.
The exterior is super crisp
and the inside is super,
super creamy.
It's two polar opposites.
And the flavor is also
off the charts.
It's buttery in a couple
different ways.
You have the butter
that we cooked the cake in,
but also, the Yukon Gold
have a nice buttery flavor
that matches that.
So, if you want to try making
this potato roesti at home,
here are a couple of things
to remember --
start with Yukon Gold potatoes,
make sure that you
control the starch,
and start cooking
in a covered pan.
So, from "America's
Test Kitchen" at home,
the perfect recipe
for potato roesti.
-Thanks for watching.
You can get all of the recipes
from this season,