America's Test Kitchen (2000–…): Season 21, Episode 3 - Simple Chicken Dinner - full transcript

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

-Welcome to "America's
Test Kitchen" at home.

Today I'm making
my favorite recipe

for chicken under a brick.

Jack's gonna tell us
everything we need to know

about buying mozzarella.

And, finally, Lan's making
buttermilk panna cotta.



We've got a lot in store today,
so stick around.

♪♪

-Roast chicken is
my all-time favorite dinner,

and I make it
at least once a week,

and this recipe
is the recipe I use.

Now, I developed this recipe
called pollo alla mattone,

or chicken under a brick,
nearly 15 years ago,

and I like it 'cause
the skin gets super crisp.

Alright, so the key
to getting super-crisp skin

is we're going to butterfly it,
or spatchcock it,

if you want to sound fancy.

So here I have a chicken.

Now, to do this recipe,

you need a chicken
on the smaller side,



3 to 3 1/2 pounds.

If it gets much larger
than that,

it won't fit in the skillet
so well,

because we are cooking this
in a skillet.

Alright, so here
we have a little chicken.

I'm gonna tuck the wings
back behind the body.

That just keeps them
out of the way

so that all the surface area
can get good and brown.

Alright.
Patting it dry.

Throw this in the laundry.

Now, to butterfly a chicken,

you're gonna flip it
upside down.

Here's the backbone.

And this is why you want to have

a nice sharp pair
of poultry shears.

You're going to go up one side
of the backbone.

[ Snipping ]
And these poultry shears,
you can hear them.

They just go right through
the bones with no work.

This one up at the top
can be a little tough,

but these things
go right through.

I like to flip it around

so I'm always
cutting away from myself.

Go right down the other side.

Now we're going to flip
the chicken over.

And now you've got to give it
a little CPR.

You're going to press
on the breastbone to flatten it.

And then when
that's good and done,

I'm gonna take
some plastic wrap.

We're actually going to take it
a step further

and pound it flat.

Really make sure that the bones
in there are nice and flattened.

That way, you ensure
all the skin

makes contact with the skillet,

and that's how you get
it good and crisp.

Now I'm just going to season it
with a little salt and pepper.

You really don't want to add any
other seasonings at this point,

'cause those seasonings
will burn in the skillet.

Alright, and you can also
season the back side.

Never hurts.

This chicken is ready
for the skillet.

I'm just gonna wash my hands.

Here I have
a 12-inch nonstick skillet.

Has just a little bit
of vegetable oil in it,

and it's been heating up
over medium-high heat.

You want to get this skillet
ripping hot

so it really makes
a good crisp skin.

And I mean, the oil
is just beginning to smoke.

Yep.
Seeing wisps of smoke.

So now it's time
to get the chicken into the pan.

I'm just gonna pick
the chicken up with tongs,

lay it skin side down
in the pan.

That's a good sizzle.

Now this is where the brick
or the alla mattone comes in.

What I use instead
is a nice heavy Dutch oven.

I've learned over the years

to wrap the bottom
of the Dutch oven in foil

just to help keep it clean.

Alright, so this weight is then
gonna press the chicken skin

into that hot skillet,
and it gets a beautiful golden.

We're going to cook it like this
for 20 to 25 minutes,

checking every five minutes

and adjusting the heat
as necessary

to make sure that it's getting
brown, but not scorching.

♪♪

While that chicken is browning,

and it's time to make
a little bit of a marinade.

Now, a lot of the recipes
I found

marinated the chicken
before they started cooking,

but I found that
that didn't work so well

because the marinade
really had a tendency to burn.

Instead, we're going to add it
partway through.

And for the marinade,
keeping it really simple.

We just have some olive oil.

To this, we're going to add
a little bit of garlic --

about 3 cloves.

You can mince them by hand,
but I love using a garlic press,

especially if it's
a fast midweek dinner.

And I don't even peel it.

I just cut the root end off,

and then
I put it in cut side down,

and I let it all squeeze out.

Next, I'm going to add
a little bit of fresh thyme,

about 1 1/2 teaspoons.

And if you don't have
fresh herbs, it's okay.

You can use dried herbs here.
It'll taste just as good.

But if you use dried herbs,
you want to use a lot less,

maybe more of about
1/2 teaspoon, 3/4 teaspoon.

I'm just pulling the leaves
off the stems.

If the stems are
really delicate and they break,

that just means
you can chop them up

and it's going to be as delicate
as an herb.

Into the oil it goes.

I'm going to add
a little bit of lemon juice.

This is 2 tablespoons
of lemon juice.

Just a few red pepper flakes
for a little kick.

You can add more if you like.

Last but not least, a little
pepper and a little salt.

That's it
for this simple marinade.

And now the best part about
this recipe is it's a twofer

because when we put
the chicken in the oven,

it gives us an opportunity
to put some potatoes in the pan

so they get good and schmaltzy.

So these are
some red bliss potatoes,

about 1 1/2 pounds.

And if they're bigger,
it's okay.

Just cut them
into smaller pieces.

You want them to measure
about 3/4 inch

so that they'll cook
at the same rate as the chicken.

I like to just slice them
in half

so you can lay a few of them
cut side down in the skillet,

and they get good
and crisp and browned.

So I'm going
to finish cutting these up,

and then we can
check the chicken.

♪♪

-I go through a lot of garlic,

and I can't be bothered dealing
with whole heads of garlic

and peeling all
that papery skin off,

so I've got a shortcut.

I buy garlic in bulk.
These are already peeled.

And I put them in a bag
and store them in my freezer.

And whenever I need
a clove or two,

I just pull out a clove --
still nice and frozen --

and I get my rasp grater,
and I just start grating away.

This is minced garlic
in seconds.

It shaves a lot of time
off of a recipe.

And look at that.
Perfect minced garlic.

♪♪

-This chicken has been cooking
under this weight

for a little over 20 minutes,

and I've been checking it
every five minutes or so

to make sure it's good
and browned but not scorching.

And at this point,
the skin is gorgeous,

but it's very delicate.

So you want to treat it gently

because you want that skin
to stay intact.

I like using two pairs of tongs.

Oh ho ho ho!

That is why
I love this recipe.

It's fast,
but also it's the only way

to get a mahogany crisp skin
on a whole chicken.

So now it's time to get
those potatoes into the skillet.

First off, I'm going to
drain off this excess oil.

Plenty more schmaltz is going to
come out of that chicken

in the oven for those potatoes.

Alright.

Did you like that back flip?
Did you see that?

I learned that
in the test kitchen.

It's a really nice way
to prevent the drip

from going to the bottom side
of the skillet.

It falls back in the skillet.
And it looks cool.

Alright, so, into the skillet
go the potatoes.

We're going to add
a little bit of fresh thyme,

about 1 1/2 teaspoons.

Some salt and some pepper.

Alright.

Like to put some of them
cut side down.

This is being a little fussy.

You definitely
don't have to do that.

But when they're cut side down,

that cut side gets
so beautifully crisp.

It's almost like a potato chip.

I usually take time to do that

to some of them
until I run out of patience,

because this is a midweek dinner
after all.

That's a good amount.

Alright, so the chicken goes
back on top of those potatoes.

Ho ho!

And last but not least,

now is when we're going to add
that marinade

by brushing it over the top,

and then it goes into the oven
with the skin side up.

That skin stays good and crisp.

I found a lot of recipes

that cook it skin side down
in the oven,

but with the skin on the bottom,

all the juices
just made it soggy

by having it skin side up,
the hot air of the oven

makes sure that it stays
good and brown and crisp.

Oh, and it drips down
onto those potatoes.

Oh, stop.

So good.
Alright.

So this is going
to go into a very hot oven,

450 degrees,
on the bottom rack.

That bottom rack
is just going to help

those potatoes cook through.

And the chicken only needs

another 10 to 15 minutes
to cook through.

We're looking for the internal
temperature of the breast meat

to be about 160.

♪♪

It's been about 15 minutes,

so it's time
to check the chicken.

Ho ho!

Goodness!

That is a good-looking bird.

Now, again, we want
the breast meat to register

about 160 degrees

in the thickest part.

Ooh, right there.

Hovering around 160, 161.
Perfect.

Now time to let
that chicken rest.

I'm gonna let it rest
on a carving board --

that way, any of the juices
get nice and trapped --

and transfer it very gently
to the carving board.

Ohh! Because that skin
is very delicate.

We often cover meat with foil
as we let it rest after cooking,

but I'm not going to do that
with the chicken

because I want that skin
to stay good and crisp.

Alright, now, these potatoes
almost always need

a few more minutes in the oven.

So just give them a little toss.

You can see all that schmaltz
in there.

I'm going to put them back
in the oven

while the chicken rests
for about 10 minutes.

Oh ho ho!

Schmaltzy potatoes
are the best.

Now when I take them
out of the skillet,

I'm using a slotted spoon

to try to keep some
of that schmaltz in the pan.

And you can see
that potato right there,

that was one that was facedown,
and that's why it has

that potato-chip-looking
browning on it.

Just to finish these potatoes,
add a little bit of parsley,

about a tablespoon,
and as you serve the potatoes,

that parsley will get mixed in,
add a really nice fresh flavor.

Now time to dive
into this chicken.

This is a homestyle chicken.

No need to get fancy
with the carving.

I like cutting off the legs.

I'll cut right between
the drumstick in the thigh.

Give myself a nice thigh here.

Yes, please.

Gonna leave the wings on,

and I'm just going to cut
through the breast

and then cut it
into nice big rustic hunks.

Everyone gets a piece of white
and a piece of dark.

Ho ho.

Serve a few potatoes.

Oh, those potatoes,
crisp on the outside,

but has that soft mashed
potato texture on the inside.

Potatoes first.

Potatoes with schmaltz
just make me so happy.

It tastes like just
a home-cooked dinner.

The best bite is when you get
chicken and a potato together,

and then you squeeze it
with lemon.

[ Laughs ]

I mean, it's just roast chicken
and potatoes, but it is so good.

One of my all time
favorite dinners right here.

You want to make chicken under
a brick with roasted potatoes,

be sure to flatten
that chicken as well as you can,

use a nonstick skillet,

and let those potatoes
finish cooking

while the chicken rests.

From "America's Test Kitchen"
at home,

my favorite recipe
for chicken under a brick

with herb-roasted potatoes.

♪♪

-Pop quiz.

Do you know what's
America's favorite cheese?

Big hint -- It's in front of me.
Yeah, it's mozzarella.

Because of all the pizza
that we eat,

as well as all
the baked ziti and casseroles,

we eat more mozzarella
than any other cheeses.

The biggest difference between
all of these different choices

at the supermarket
is moisture content,

which can range from 45%
to 60%.

Let's start with
the really good stuff.

So this is fresh mozzarella.

This is actually vacuum packed,

our top-rated brand,
from Bel Gioioso,

a Wisconsin-based company.

It's not packed in water,

but it is really
fresh mozzarella.

You can see
it's kind of squishy,

as opposed to these other blocks
which are really quite firm.

This one
is really, really soft.

The moisture content here
is 60%,

which makes it really great
for salads -- caprese salad.

It's milky, creamy.

It's a little tricky
to cook with

because it's got such
a high moisture content.

Honestly, I save it
for raw applications.

Most of the mozzarella
you're going to use

is what we call
block mozzarella.

So I've got the two choices
here, whole milk and part-skim.

And I know
what you're thinking --

"Oh, the part-skim,
it's gonna be

so much better for me
because it's low in fat."

Remember, it's part skim.

It's only 5 grams versus
7 grams per ounce of fat,

so it's not a big difference,
but actually a big difference

in how it melts
and how it tastes.

Go for
the whole milk mozzarella.

You deserve it.

Again, Polly-O is
our top-rated choice here.

What you want to avoid?
Yeah, this big boy.

And he's a bad boy.

Now, if you see the words
"low moisture,"

put it back down.

Low moisture means low flavor

and it's not going to melt
very well.

By law, when the moisture
content falls too low,

they have to put "low moisture"
on the label.

This one is closer to 45%.

If you're going to
buy block cheese,

which you should be
for a lot of baked applications,

make sure you're buying a brand
that's just mozzarella,

not low moisture mozzarella.

Now, I like convenience
as much as the next cook,

but I'm telling you,
shredded cheeses,

they're not
worth the convenience.

This is coated
with either starch or cellulose,

depending on the brand.

You can actually feel
how dry it is.

Look, it's left on my hands.

And it's just not
going to melt as well.

If you use this in salad,
I'm going to come find you,

because that's really,
really not a good thing.

But even in baked applications
where it's going to melt,

it just doesn't melt as well.

So stick with the block cheeses.

And if you're using it raw,

make sure that it's the good
stuff, the fresh stuff.

Enjoy your mozzarella.

♪♪

-I have made hundreds
of batches of panna cotta.

I really love this dessert

because it's really easy
to make,

you can make it well in advance
so there's no last-minute prep,

and I can change up the flavor
and the feel of the dish

by changing the garnishes

or infusing different
things into the cream.

My favorite version
contains buttermilk,

and that's what
we're going to make today.

But before I get to that,
let's start with the sugar.

And I need 1/2 cup of sugar,
which is 3 1/2 ounces.

I don't like to use
measuring cups

when I don't have to.

I spent
a lot of time in restaurants,

where we just
weighed everything.

So that's what I'm doing today.
Great.

Next up, a pinch of salt.

And then the key ingredient
to panna cotta is the gelatin.

And I'm using powdered gelatin
here today.

You often see recipes where
they tell you use one packet.

And I like to measure
the gelatin

because it's a little bit
more precise,

and that precision really
matters to the texture.

I'm looking for
2 teaspoons here.

Each of these packets contains
about 2 1/4-ish,

and that's why we measure
with spoons.

Next up, I'm just going to whisk
all of this together.

What I'm looking for is to make
sure it's really well mixed.

I don't want any clumps
of sugar or gelatin in here.

So just a really good whisk.

That looks pretty great.

Next up, I've got 2 cups
of heavy cream,

and I'm just going
to pour this right in

and give this another whisk.

While I'm doing this,

I really want to make sure I get
into the corners of the pot

so that there aren't
any dry clumps.

Everything in here
has to be really well moistened.

Now, this is just going to
hang out for five minutes.

♪♪

So our cream has been sitting
for about five minutes.

It's time to get
some flavor in there.

I've got a vanilla bean today.

And you can flavor this
with just about anything.

If you're using a vanilla bean,

you want to split it down
the middle.

And it doesn't
have to be precise.

You just need to get it open.

So I'm using vanilla today,
but you can use other extracts.

You can use herbs or citrus.

In fact, I developed a couple
variations on this recipe.

One of them features Thai basil

and the other
features grapefruit,

and they're on our website.

And then you want to scrape out
those seeds.

I like to use the back of
the tip of my knife to do this.

And those seeds are sticky.

They can go right in the pot,
as can the bean.

Alright, let's get cooking.

I want to heat this mixture
over medium heat

until it comes to about
150, 160 degrees.

And this should take
maybe five minutes.

I'm just going to give this
a couple of stirs as it cooks

to help that sugar dissolve.

I think you can see that there
are a bunch of clumps of vanilla

bean floating in here,
and that's perfectly normal.

Don't worry about it.
We'll break them up later.

So it's been about five minutes.

It's starting to get the tiniest
bit translucent and yellow.

And those bubbles
from whisking earlier,

they've gone away mostly.

It's a good time
to start temping.

And we're shooting for 150
to 160 degrees.

This looks awesome.

So this needs to cool before
we can move on to the next step.

Gelatin is really important
to the texture of panna cotta,

and we're working
with powdered gelatin here,

which has to be rehydrated
before we can use it.

That process is called blooming.

Now, how you add the liquid
to the gelatin,

it's really important.

If you add it improperly,
the gelatin clumps

and then you don't get
its full thickening power.

Let's look at
the traditional method.

Powdered gelatin consists
of tiny granules

of dried protein strands.

The granules are sprinkled
over a liquid

and left to hydrate
for several minutes.

As the granules hydrate,

water slowly makes its way
from the outside

to the center of each one.

If you shortchange this step

and simply stir the gelatin
into the liquid,

the surfaces of the granules
will stick together,

forming lumps before the water

has a chance to penetrate
all the way through.

This not only makes
the mixture lumpy,

but it means only some of
the gelatin is fully hydrated

so it won't have
the same thickening power.

There's another way to prevent
clumps from forming,

and it's called bulking.

We're using it today,

and what it involves
is combining the gelatin

with dry ingredients
before we add our liquid.

Today, our dry ingredients
are sugar and salt.

By dispersing
the gelatin granules

with other dry ingredients
before they get wet,

we ensure they stay separate,
don't clump together,

and the gelatin is able to reach
its full thickening ability.

And that's why
properly hydrated gelatin

is the key
to our silky panna cotta.

♪♪

So it's been about 15 minutes,

so I'm going to check
the temperature of this mixture.

I'm shooting for a temperature
of 105 to 110.

That looks pretty great.

Time to get this out of the pot.

I'm going to strain this mixture

through a fine mesh strainer
into a bowl,

and now is the time to kind of
work out those vanilla lumps.

I like to leave the strainer
in the bowl

and just kind of run
my spat around,

mash everything
into the strainer.

That breaks up those clumps
that I mentioned earlier.

So I've got 2 cups
of buttermilk

and I'm just going to
pour it right in.

I'm adding it now because if I
had tried to add it earlier,

the buttermilk
would have curdled

and we would have ended up
with this gross separated thing

that is not panna cotta.

Now I'll just
whisk this together,

and I want to go kind of gently

because I don't want to make
too many bubbles.

You can use a ladle

or you can transfer this
to a measuring cup.

But I have poured so many
of these that I don't bother.

It's just more dishes
that I do not want to do.

I'm using
5-ounce ramekins here

because I'm planning
on unmolding these later.

If you don't want
to unmold them,

you can use a tumbler
or maybe a wine glass.

As long as it holds about
5 ounces of liquid,

you're good to go because we're
pouring 4-ounce portions.

Okay, that's it.

So these are
going to go into the fridge

for at least six hours.

They could hang out there
for three days.

The last thing I have to do
before I put them away

is to cover them so that nothing
falls in while they're setting.

I don't like to use plastic wrap
for this

because it kind of lands
in the panna cotta

and it makes a mess.

Instead,
I use another baking sheet.

♪♪

-I have a pretty big
cookbook collection,

but this one here is definitely

the most near and dear
to my heart.

This is
my grandmother's 1931 edition

of "The Joy of Cooking."

And when I was
third, fourth grade,

I read this book cover to cover

I don't even know
how many times.

It was the most fascinating book
in the house to me,

and it still is in many ways.

This is the book that I used
to learn how to make crepes,

and I still love the recipe,

and I use this recipe
all the time.

But I wanted to show you
my favorite page

in the whole book here,
which I have marked.

I love -- it has this ribbon,
this red ribbon attached.

So this has always been
my favorite page.

It's how to clean game,
and on this page,

it shows you
how to skin a rabbit.

And you have to make sure
to wear your striped gloves

when you do that.

And then over here,
if you want to make squirrel,

you come to this page.

And I always wanted to try this,

but we could never get
our hands on a squirrel.

But if you did find a squirrel,

you could smother it
with onions, you could roast it.

And then if you get
to the next page,

we've got possum, beaver,
beaver tail, woodchuck.

[ Laughs ]
It's such a good book.

So you see why
it's my favorite book.

♪♪

-So it's been six hours,
and these are good to go.

You can see they're wobbly
but set,

and they're not jiggling
too much.

I'm going to need
a paring knife.

Any thin, sharp knife will do.

I like a small knife

because I have
a little bit more control.

I want to run this knife
all the way around the edge.

And you can see that little gap
that's in there,

and that gap
is really important.

As long as that gap
stays in place,

panna cotta is going to
pop right out.

So, just going to cover this...

...and invert.

Ta-da!

Okay, I went for a really simple
set of garnishes for this,

I'm just going to use
a couple of berries --

couple of blackberries,
and a couple of raspberries.

Nice and simple.

And now just a quick drizzle
of honey and then we can eat.

So, look at that jiggle.
Isn't it great?

Oh, that's so good.

It's clean and light.

You get
that tang of the buttermilk,

and it's fantastic
with these tart berries.

It's tangy, creamy, rich.

Just a hint of sweetness
from that honey.

It's fantastic.

So, for the best
buttermilk panna cotta,

be sure to use
the right amount of gelatin,

hydrate it properly,

and don't overheat
your buttermilk.

So, from "America's
Test Kitchen" at home,

a delightful
buttermilk panna cotta.

-Thanks for watching.

You can get all of the recipes
from this season,