Cook's Illustrated 091

7/22/2019 Cook's Illustrated 091

1/36

B R T- A RC b AP R I L 2008

S R E D

Crisp Roast ChickenNew Baking Powder Method

Premim OJTaste est

ropicana Squeezes Competition

Oven-RoastedSamo

Quck High-Low Method

One-MiuteChocolate Frosting

Better MashedPotatoesFaser, Lighter and luffier

Ratig SerratedKnives

Italian-Stye Meat Sauce

Roasted Vegetable Salads

Chicken Satimbocca

Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew

Perfect Meringue Cookies

Fluf Yellow Cakewwwcooks i state d. co m

$55 $5

0 4>


2/36

March April

2 Notes from Reader

4 Quck Tps

Crsp-Sknned Roas ChckeYears ago, we developed an ideal roastng method for

tender, juicy meat. Now could we fgure out ow to get

supercrisp skin? BY J KENJI ALT

8 Itala-Style et SaceIn tis counry, eat sauce usualy means a astiy prepared

dish wt rubbey meat and no favor We wanted somethng smple-but a lot better BY HARLES KLSEY

I Perfectng Oven-RoasedSalmonMost recpes for samon create ether a ncey brownedexterior or a silky, ost nterior. Why shouldn't weave our salmon bot ways? BY KEITH DESSR

I 2 Rethnkng ashed PottoesSpuds boiled n ter jackets make great masedpotatoes. But who wants burnt fingers from peeing hot

potatoes before dnner? BY DAVID PAZMIO

14 Hearty uscn Bean StwIn Tuscany, creamy, favou beans transform rustic soups

and stews into sometng speca We were determned

to avoid tough, exploded beans BY HARLES KELSEY

I Roastng Meat A perfecty cooked roast s smple and satising It is aso

a rary. Heres ow to make a great roast evey tmeBY KEITH DRESSER

18 Ccen SaltmboccDone RghtAdaptatons of ths Itaian classic smother t in breading,stung and cheese We wanted a dish that would givethe ccken, proscutto, and sage ter proper dueBY DAVID PAZMIO

COOK'S ONLINE

2 Roasted Vegale SaadsRoastng can give new ife to tired produce It can asomake for imp, soggy saad BY REBEA AYS

2 1 F Yeo Lr CkBox mixes are famous for engineerng cake withultralgt texture We set out to make an even fuffier

cake-without the cemcas and addtives.

BY YVONN RUPERT I

2 oop Choclate rosgWe wanted a frostng tat woudn't curdle or defate

or take an our to setBY YVONNE RUPRTI

24 w erge CiesTese cassic cookies can ave a Styrofoamlke textureand a saccarnesweet favor ow coud we avoidtese pitfalls?

BY J KENJI ALT2 Is Sper-r OrangeJuice Wr t Super

Pri Prc?Hgend orange uces cam to taste better and fresertan ordinary notfroconcentrates At twce te prceare they a sweet dea? BY LISA MMANUS

28 a e Serrad Kfe I A?Do you reay need a bread knfe, a tomato knfe, asandwic knife, and a cake spltter? We wanted an

apurpose serrated knfe. BY LISA MMANUS

che otesBY J KNJI ALT

2 qipmen CerBY ELIZABETH BOMZ WIH MREDITH SMITH

Go to coosillustratdco to access a recpes rom snce Watc videos of all te recpes nts ssue beng prepared and a repor on serated knves

! }. $?

Te ntricate arcitecture of Indian cuisne depends onte precse eldng of eotc spces and ragrant erbs Seet and savory dises beneft

from te bttersweet muskiness o golden saron threads Turmeric s used not only as a

spce but aso as a preservat ve and food coorant in pickng blends, curry powders, andtandoor pastes Fres crry eaves are szzled n o to extract te pungent, sweet favors

tat add depth to das, curries, soups, and breads Lessassertive fenugreek leaves lend a

btter, celerylke favor to dses Te peppery wart of nutmeg akes t versate n a

varety of appications Cunary twns are arvested from the cassa tree: cassa bark (wc

boasts an astringency tat dstnguises t from its cinnamon reaton) and te glossy, green,

cnnamonscented Indan bay ea Licorice notes are detected in star anse, te seedpod

o te san magnoa tree int contrbutes a refresng eement to cutneys, sauces, and

teas een and back cardao pods are vaed for ther spcy sweetness

( di pp ( rm /aJ d : n n

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jets MaagerAice Cummskey

Senor ducton Maager Jessica L Qurkducton Imagg Specast Lauren Pettapece

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Ve resdet New echoogy Crag MorrowSystems Admstrator S Padd McHugh

I Deveopmet Maager Justn GreenoughWeb Deveoper Doug Ssko

Web ducton Coordator Evan DavisSupport echca Brandon Lynch

Chef anca Oer Sharyn ChabotHuma esoues Maager Aele Shapro

Conter Many ShtoSenor Accoutant Aaron Goranson

Sta Aoutat onnie orbesAcouts ayabe Speast Steven Kasha

Oe Maager anelle PezelyReceptost Henrietta Murray

ubty Deborah Brode

NTED N THE USA


3/36

1ack just celebrated his 0th birthday. Helives across the valley in a white clapboardfamhouse owned by his girlfriend, Jean,who is younger, a lateOctober/Deceber

lationship, i f you will. e has good bones; hist and uscle hang on a stout frame, barre

hested, the cooper having selected aged oakr the staves. J ack is a soli d construct of neortise and tenon, the joinery expertly chiseledd built to last. He walks as if on tibes: a bi t

i, perhaps, but hip is conected to groundke a tal, straight ash, rmly roote. f you were

meet hi, you would coe to otice that hiseripheral vision is a better bet than ookingraight ahead, bu t he gets around well enough .tink he can tell a petty girl when he sees one,

nce he always goes to bear hug them rst theoment he halfsteps ito a room. et Jack isearly in love, tell ing Jean that he is looking for-ard to speding eternity with her, both of theireastoes already caved ad placed on a side in a cemetey up in Walingford. Jea n picke de spot for the view to te west. I t wil b e hard

ot to remeber ack each day at sunset.He is te exac t opposite ofmy greatuncle Jack,

ho, aer being bed idden for half a year, dec idedat he did not wish to regain e use of his legs.e spent the rest of his li fe in a caeseated wheel

hair, legs covered in a tartan blanket, playing soliire at a card table in te corner oftle great room

f is house outside of Baltiore, attended to bys daughter, Snoozie , a nd his wife, Dorothy. Thetter spent much of her time c onstructing scul p-res of chicke b ones and coloed glass, wrappeddelicate white paper, l ike sal l origami jewels.

discovered an entire chest of her works whe as 8 yeas od, opening a door onto this privateorld of adul ts, where old bones were bo iled addden instead of used for walking .Our faily ecently purchased a house (now

he hoe of Cook's Country agazine thatas once owned by the Sheldons, who prettyuch ra the nor end of town, whereas the

hermas were located a few iles sou (whereherma's store still operates today. t is a cl assic

OL BOSt was step ad recently owhich made walking treous, but we found a gdfor lunch about 50 yards e rid ge, with a cl ar viewthe valley

coloial structure, upstadigand suaredo, the hrs bain gd repair, te dairy ba set-tling into te weeds, plus a ilkhouse and a smokeouse. t hadfallen it bad disrepair, astentirely hid den i a stan of pie,popla, and maple, te jistspunky ad rotte, te putty-clored paint scaled ad ried,the or so warped that a secoloor was ailed on top t pro-vide a sense of level wel beingjust iches above the da.

Criope Kimbal

Parets ften say tatagers ar awkward, te dii age ad experience toofr normal coversati. it is the toll o f il eag , joits ad sinews at stius through the wods bu

But the house has good bos. I know thisbecause the bulding was stripped down t its

load bearig beams, evely spaced ax cu ts still visible alog eir ngth two centuies ater iththing mre than a rof ad strapping angthe exterior wals, th house std jack up onheavy tiber pyls while te fudatio wasremoved ad pured aew, a skeet stadingi the north end of twn, bare but stil strong,sti, ad aive, havig settled into its shape lngbfore the Civi War.

Last sumer, my 1year d aughter,Carlie, a e ade u t t st u r roperty iorder t o reduce th e c stat ow of outofstateunters ad fourwhee ers. e carrie d knapsac kslled with orang ad black N Huntig signs,

rong nails, hamers, water, sadwiches, anappes. We heaed u nt the ridges that w,serpeine, through the hi s ad hollows andwalked o the very spies f the hills, throughbright spots of birches and small patch es of wavylimecolored grass, ad we scrabbled over rockyoutcroppigs where the scist and imestonesowed thrugh We tued this way and that,desceded through a wid stand of freshscetedbalsa pie, crssed deer trails so clear theyeeded no highway sig, and then scrambledback down an embankmet an onto a loggigoad. Soon, we headed back up ito te oun-

tais, back behind the LeShae prperty andthen up toward Orval ad Delres Thompson's.

a bit ess certainty ad spthe youger frae makes better time and tbetween us widens. But sittig back prop

against a red map e on tt ate August dtw of us were bth yug enough coto the o oaks, el , and hic kory, sme oso ancient tat te wood had swallowe eof barbed wre ad sheep fece that wasnaile t the outer bark hen you sit very back of the beast, the outais tlat through Camel's Hump and Mount aad the up toward Caada ad the froze ou becoe fellw travelers, hitching a rweather ad gegy and histry. Far frcity, te diereces diiish t a nite wh ca hit a distat tree stup wit acore or nd e ext mar ked tree alog e

erty line. Poce de Len was wrog. he tain o f youth is not in F lorida; it is u i nts, where one can walk on te very tie an becoe tieless onesef, keepiwit the cheer stride ofyout

At the tabe, over Tanksgiving or a suspread of pies and cobblers, Jack ad Caofte sit side by side, od and ew, it makdierece . Ad hen the bones g back iground, they are not buried for memorybut hed in livi ng memory, as what is bredboe stil eoys a sheltered view, oe tatte anc ien t desce nt of the su, far past e

and mountais on to the birthplace of ursoewhere beyond tie, to tle west.

Q :

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28


4/36

NOTES FOM AD

g Breadon't have a stand ixer and was wonerig howconert stad-mer kneading mes to handadig.

JESSICA VOLOUDAKIS

BRAINTREE. MASS

To answer your quesio, mad a fetches of whie bread and whol heat bread,xing soe o the ough with a stand mix som by hand. To ake dieen hand sizesd srenghs io accout, we askd several estoks to kead he dough. hey handknader the same amout of tim suggsted in thendmixer recipe, abou 10 minus. The hand

aded and machie-keaded doughs were theoed to ris i th sam spot in he test kichen.nc bake a cooled, he oaes were earlyntica. Som tasers prefrr the machineaded bread, which as somhat ighterd lss dns, bu oths pefrd the chwir

xure of h hadkeaded bead. vera, theffernces er sight, so o convsios aecssar: Simply hannead bread dough for same amou of im as you would knead ia machie.

uttermlk Substituteyour NewYorkyl Crumb Cake recip (May/

n 2007), you say hat i is possibe to repace trmil ith plai lo-a yogrt s it possbl o

h same subsitton i other recipes?ELSABETH KULAWICK

OTAWA, ONTARIO

To nd ou i thre is a simpl conersion forplacig buermilk ih yogt, e ito thet itchen and cood up ou recipes for Ta

u Butrmilk Biscuis (Juy/Augus 2004), Bestmilk Waes (Novmbe/Decembr 993),d Buermilk Mashe Poaoes (Nomber/cmbr 2005 ).

A rst w tried sipy substing ual amoutsplai holemilk yogut for butermk. The resut biscuits and waes re a bit dese ad d, ande mashed potaoes were somewhat s To improve texture, e ext thinned the yogurt ith milk,n 3 parts yogurt to 1 part k. While the yogusd biscuits and waes were slighty less ang than butermilk ersions, tastrs foud tat thiedgrt (holmi or lo-t) was a prfectly acceptl sbson (Aoid onfat yogrt; i poduccis and aes that ere too dr.)The mashd potaoes e a diren sor. hi

eir consistenc remaied the sam ith yout, he

COMP I D D A V ID P A Z M I O

lack of te butermk's ag was oticeabl i his

savor dish. u advic? or baed goos, a ixureof 3 pars plai holemilk o lowfat yogrt to 1part ik ca b swappe for buttrmik (a raslates o % cup yogrt plus cup mik to replac1 cup bumik). o savor ecipes, sick with he

rea tg.

+

M U U For bakng substtut plan yogurt tnd

wt lk for buttrlk

Toasted-Nut Controversys it bttr to toast nuts on he sovop or in eon?

HARRY HOLMBERG

POST FALLS IDAHO

A quick staw vote in he ts kichn reealed aivided camp o is issue. To sete the mater ocead for al, we oastd a ange of dieretsied nuts

(sliveed amods, slic almos, wlut hals,peca has, ad hole pine us) i a 10ich ski

over mediu heat ad o a bakig sheet i a 350deg on. er comparing e coole us, wo no avor dierences. for chqu, toasguts on the soeop reqes more attenon om tecook Frqun sg is a necessi. Aoer srikeagaist he stoeop is that larg amouts o uts acrow a skile, preg torough oasg. hebottom : For more than 1 cup of s (or iyouhappen to hae the ove on lray), us yor oen.For sler quans, pu ou a skillet; just reembro s th us o o pee em om big.

gh eat ookng SpryI recty oced a e PA cookg spray poduc,PAM ofssional High Heat, in my suprmarkt.Wha do you of it?

JILL KNON

WINCHESTER. MASS

purchasig a f cas of PA PofessionalHigh Hea, e hadd into the tes kitchen o sehow it compared ith t ornal P. We sprayedone skilet with the orginal and another ith PAProfessioal, te placd both ovr a miumhigh

am. Aer 2% miues, the origial PA

nearly black ad smoig, a the PA Prfas crstal cear, jus as it had ben h itito th skille.

A ook at the label reveald ha e originalcontais our iediets: caola oi, gi alsoy lcithi, ad popean. Canola oi is hipolyunsaturaed s, hich oxidze, or brak whn had. Thes oidizd ts bun raher o reduce t risk of scorcig, PAM Professwaps canola oil for parally hydrogeat so canola ois. Ths fas are more saraedig them ss proe to oxidao a bg.Professioal aso contais caboae, andiet that helps fas rsis he oxiaon procs

or our next test, we cooked bee stiris a fe sprays of each e of PAM istead of taspoos of oil ca for i e ecip. h cookd ith he origia PAM was bublackeed, wih beef rippigs that wee harmov om te pan. Th pa spaye wi Professional exhibite oy mio charingclea up much more easiy. Whie here igmior health drawbacks o eaig te hydogoils i PM Profssioal, ve lil spray is usmos cooking tasks. If you use cookig sprhighheat stovetop cookig, you shoul coPAM Proessiol. you se oog sprayoy fo bakig, hre is o easo o a a

second ca o yo se

MT ols orgn M rak ow an urn

a g tpratrs

M O F P Pfssonal do sn't burn wn atd


5/36

anci Oilbought a giant botle of canola oil o years ago.ow can I tel if it has gone bad?

PAI MULLAN

NWON. MASS

Because we go through oil so quicky in he test

tchen, we had to scrounge hrough some of ourome cupboards to get our hands on properly agedecimens. In the end, we found several bttles ofnola and soybean oil raging in age om aboutyear to Not sure; it was in the cabinet when oved in." ther tan subjecting tasters t slurpg poteally rancid il, we asked tem t sni it

recy om the bote and aer it was gently heated

a pan. At room temperaure, some of he lder oilsere clearly rancid, wih odors variously described asin to crayons," must paint," and paint thinr." By contrast, new botles of oil were completely

dorless. The rick oils were the aged ones that fellbeeen. When heated, he odor of the oviously

ad oils became even more pronounced, an, more

mportant, he i ones were exposed as rancid. Weso noiced the over-the-hl oils tended to e more

scous than he esh oils, as well as sick under thep, making some caps dicult to remove.So if you have doubts about he eshness of yur

l that a quick sni can't erase, warm a cuple ofblespoons in a pan and en take a whi. If t sells

ythig other than neutral, buy a new bottle.

g Pancake Batteroen pancake batter rst thing in the morningr my early-rising daughter, saving some of he atr for later in he mornig, when my son rolls out fed. But by that time, the pancakes aways urn out

and at. Is here a way to revive he bater?LIZABH BASS

AMPA. LA

To answer your question, we mied up a fewatches of basic pancake batter and held em forerent lenghs of tie before cookng: one our,

o hours, and three hours. Holing e atter forne hour had no derimental eect on the pancakes.

er to and thee ou, however, the bater spreadut too easily, producing hn, oppy cakes tat wereuch less appealing than the ones made from es

atter. ere's why: In esh pancake batter, baking

owder reacts quicky, releasg most of its gas in aort period of time. The lnger the batter sits, the

Panca ad wit old battr

UYPanca ad wit battr ruvnatd by an wit

?

I recently moved into a house and found a lae box of od kitchen gadgts in the

basement. Although I knew what most thngs were, this little contraption bewidered

me. Is it a type of funne?

DUH OYR WRNHAM MASS

Your basement nd stumped many of us h in the test kitchen. Aer some diing,

we dtermind that this antique meta device is not a funnel, but an automatic baster.Mad by the Paul Shel Company in the Percomatic Baster promises to continuousy baste a chicen so

Tis gadgt is dsignd to autoatcally bast acicn witou t coo vr aving to opn

t ovn door.

fewer bubbles there are le when it's ime to cook,increasing the likelihod of at apjacks.

At rst we thought we could add a bit more baking pwder to the batter to provide some extra l i,but this merely lent an unpleasant cemical taste to

te pancakes. ext, we tried adding a stiy beatenegg wite to the batter. The resulig pancakes

were ot quite as u as those from fresh batter,ut the egg white added a god amount f height.

S the next time you nd yourself with pancakebatter past its prime, simply add a siy beaten

egg white.

I Draining Canne Bean Necea?Wy o most recipes call for canned beans t bedrained and rinsed? Is rinsing necessar?

MAURI DIONN

S LOUIS MO

Caed beans are made by pressure-cookig driedbeans rectly in the can ith water, sat, nd preseraves. the beans cok, sarches and potes leachino te liquid, tickening it. To d out nsing thebeans is really necessar, we used canned eans in wo

recipes chickpeas for humus and red kney beansfr Siple Beef Cli March/ril 2003). Tastersfund n dierence in the chii; here are so manybld avors and contrasting textures in ts ish atrinsing he beans dn' matter.

We detected notable dierences in the hummus.Most tasters thought the version with rinsed beanswas brighte in avr and less pas than the versionwith unrinsed beans. S wile rinsing the eans maynt be necessar for a rbust dish like chili, a th ick,say ean liquid des have the potential to thrw asimpler recipe okilter. rinsing beans nly takes

a few seconds, we recmmend doing so.

[

3

cook doesn't have to. To use the baster, th 5 metal support bar is positioned under a chice

turkey, roast, or ham) with the circular base e

beside the bi. Similar to the action of a c

percolator the hot drippings from the chicen

ect in the bottom of the roasting pan and are p

up throug the base into a cued 6-inch tub,

which drippings spray onto the bir. When we

it a try in t test kitchen, however, he basting a

was unreliabl. Sometimes the basting iquid drib

out of the tube and back onto itself; other tim

overshot te chicken, missing it altogethr. We fo

this too for sae at online auctions.

Natural Glutamates veru MSGI enjoyed your recipe for Beef and VegetablSeptember/Octer 2007). The stor menat fods containing glutaates were uenhance he soup's avor. Hw do these compier frm mnosoium glutamae?

OD

WS VANOUV BIIS O

Glutamates re naural cpounds found ifr onions and soy sauce to toatoes and

eing a natural aino acid, the same molecuuilds proteins, glutaate leaves a savor, taste on the tongue. Mnosou glutamate is prodced by grwing bacteria on sugar or mand corn. It is cmmonly added o Chinesecanned vegetables, soups, and meat to enhan

vor. MSG is aso cmercially available in pofrm under te brand name Accent.

Atough the Food and Drug Admistraclassied MSG as a fod ingredient that is gerecognized as safe," its use reains controReprts abund of adverse reacns to MSG, ing headaches, nmbness, and shrtness of

Scienc sudies, however, have yet to nd eda deitive beeen MSG and such sympWe have found without a dobt that MSG

up he avor of fod. When we aded MGfrm of Accent t our Beef and Vegetaletasters raved abot he ric," ultrabee" u given the cntroversy over MSG, we'll sguring out oher ways to increase savor a

U YOU Q UO We wi provide aentary one-year subscription for each etter we prnt Sinquiry, nae, address, and daytie teephne number tr Reaers, Cook's Iustrate, Bx 08, BMA 0, or to notesfrmraders@americastestkitche


6/36

Quick Tips:CP D B Y W Y RP R !

Thin patula tand-Inf you have only a thic plastic spatu

a it can be diicult to remove warm

ooies frm a baing sheet without

reang them Finding herself in such

situation Olga Marino of Baltimor

Md reached for a metal cheese

icer With its thin sharp blade its

he perect tool for sliding under

warm cooies and transferring them

o a cooling rac without breaing or

osed Gri

Preventing Doughfrom tickingGina Colby o Astin, Texas ond

that lightly spaying he dogh

hook with nonstick cooking spay

beoe mixing bead dogh pe

vented dogh m edging p the

hook and made cleanp a beeze.

Rememberig I WaterIs atedharley Eastman of Needham Mass

could never remember f he had

salted the water he was bringing to

a boil for pasta or vegetbles Aer

burning his tongue one too many

times to determine if the water

was salted he thought of a way to

remember: Every time he adds the

salt he now also puts one whole

l pepperorn in the water as a

reminder

When sing all o he stovetop bnes in

epaation o a dinne paty, nda ooe o

Richmond, Va., peeed not to tn the oven on

st to ast galic. nstead, she sed he toaste

ven.

2.

. oosely wap p to eight npeeled galic cloves in asmall poch o aminm oil with teaspoon o olive

o canola ol.

2. Bake the acket in the toaste oven at 375 degeeso abot 20 mintes, o ntil the cloves soen. The

coves shold be biely cooled and then peeled.

e wl l prvde a cmplm etary eyear suscrpt r eac tp we prt Sed yur tp ame address t uck Tps ks ll ustrated x 47589 rkle MA 2447 r t uc ktpsamercastestktcec

K

s J

lippery Chicken olutioalving a chcken beast hoi

zontally to om thin ctlets is

slppey pposition. ooking o

a sae way to accomplish this

task, anny andn o Raleigh

C, came p with the ollow

ing appach: Using tongs, hold

a chicken beast that has been

zen o

mntes pependicla to the

wok sace.

Ct thgh

the chicken

t woeven ctlets

Quic CookieRenata angrum of Wae Forest

N oen baes a few fzen ba

of cooie dough in her toaster ov

for a quic snac Instead of cuttin

up parchment paper to line a sma

toasteroven baing sheet she use

paper muntin liners

. Flaten thee or four papermunin lners on a toasteroen

baing sheet2. Place a bal of dough on each linand bae the cooies as usual


7/36

Moistenin y CaeFidig herself with a dry overbaed

ae Gia Jamieso of Dubli alif.

dsovered that brushig the ae

with a favored simple syrup restored

moistess. he tehique wors with

yellow white ad hoolate aes

. Brig up eah of water adsugar to a simmer i a small saue

pa. oo stirrig oasioally

util the sugar dissolves. Remove

from heat ad add 2 tablespoos

of liqueu suh as Framboise

Fragelio hambord or Kahla2 Brush eah ae layer with a fewtablespoos of the flavored syrup

before frostig the ae.

estn Fryin iemeratureAmy Malek of ousto, Texas,

has a tic that takes the guess

ok ot of detemining whe

fyig oil is hot. She smply places

kenel of popcorn in the oil as

t heats up. The kenel will pop

hen the ol is between 350 ad

365 egees, jst te igt tem

eatue fo eefig.

teady tued TomatoesStued tomatoes have the tendency to

slp and slde all over the pan when hey're

being tasfee i a ot of te ove.

ay ipman of Boklyn, .Y., came p

with a esouefl solutio that uses all

parts of the tomato.

uaCoated Cooiesather tha rollig balls of gigersap

or sugarooie dough idividually i

sugar Mary Moltma of Vaouver

British olumbia fills a small plasti

otaier with sugar the plaes

the dogh balls i the otaier ad

seures the lid Aer a getle shae

she removes the lid to reveal dough

balls that are oated i

. Slice the blossom e o of eachtomato a d arange, cutsde down,

in a bakng dish.

2 Place the stue tomatoes on theblossomend slices to keep them in

place dung baking.

afer Way to Cut BagesSlicng a bagel evenly and saely s a challenge.

Donna Williams of Burton, Ohio, has the solution.

. 2

. ay the bagel flat on the work sace and cut thugh the center to maktwo peces.

2 Place each pece, cutside down, on the work surface to safely slice in

No-ip trainerhe straiig vegetables or broths

Kristi Shawl of Spreels alif.

always foud it diiult to ee the lip

of her fiemesh straier from fallig

ito the bowl or pot she was strai

ig ito. Her solutio? She wraps a

thi rubber bad aroud the bala

ig loop of the straier to reate a

oslip grip that stays i plae.

asy Butter Cuesalyn Wnslow of Bellngham

Wash., uses an e slicer to qu

and precisey cut butter into s

pieces fo ie dough and bisc

. Place up to tablespoons obutte into an e slice and p

down on the slicing lades to

create planks.

2 Rotate te btte a aet ten us do o te s

blaes to ceate small ieces.

\ ARC b A I' R 8


8/36

Cis-inne oas ChicenYears ago, we developed an ideal roasting method for tender, jucy eat.

Now coud we figu ot how to t suercs skn?

B ak in 1996, our Easy Roast Ciknrip solved te iggst prolm witroasting ikn: gtting ot trast and lg mat to stay juiy andis ooking at te same tim T remaining

olm We've always put juiiness and vnlyokd mat rst and av simply mad do witso skin Tat's not to say t skin on our Easyast Cikn isn't goodit as a urnisdldn rown nis and a ni roastd avort ikn skin as mu more potntial Tst skin sould rakl against your tt witr it for mlting into ri ikn avorod w dvlop a mtod tat would delivert juiy meat and risp, avorl skin

agig Ou o ry

)I A T

aording to our Easy Roast Crip It was a qualied suessskin ame out mu risr an for s reip, ut it was nowr

as risp as it ad een wen roason its own

Esap Rou for ui

ordr to isolat al t varials tat ontriutskin risping, I didd to work wit skin alonetis nd, I rmoved t skin from a few dozn

kns Baus I knew tat meat (or skin) an't

own ntil all its sufa moisture as evaporatd,idd to s wat would appn if drid out

skin for ookinga standard mtod inips for king duk I strtd a pi of skin

a wir rak and l it overnigt in te rfrigerato dr out Te next day, I oastd it sid y side a moist pi of skin I ad just rovd from ikn T dirn was striking: r 20nuts, t drid skin ad turnd goldn rownd risp, wil t frs skin rmaind pal andp Could I dr out t skin ven more wit salt

ud a nw pie wit salt and again le it to overnigt T nxt day, te skin lookd sriv

d as it am out of t rfrigrator ut ookdvn risper tan for

A study ctasts: ultracrsp sk ad extremely mst meat.

I ooked anoer ikn I proug oven's glass door for Tirt minuts into oast I gimportant lu Juies ad rndrwr auang ena e isk wi nowere to go, rnione-d skin wet and ay Cfor maxi rispnss, sin wnd more an just an overnigt

dr out; it would ned a way for liqsap during ookig For my nxI usd a mtal skwer to pok aools i e t dposits of a raand tg, tn prodd to roaikn T total aount of fat

Enouragd y tis suss, I pusd on wit myprimnts I rald a tniqu I'd wissd

ooking -risp pies of dep-frid

kin Conditioning

pork llyduring a rnt trip to Sout ria

To gt ts pis to risp to t point of rittlnss, ty ar oatd wit aking soda and allowedto rst for ooking I got to tinking aout wysu a ting would work T Maillard ration tatours duing rowning (in wi proteins dnatur

and reomin wit sugar moluls to rat drds of nw avor ompounds) is spded up inan alkalin nvironmnt n I tried mixing aking soda into my salt ru, it l a ittr artastBaking powdr (wi is also akalin, toug lss

so tan akig soda), owvr, produd a markedly rispr skin witout otrwis aouning itsprsene A it of resear rveald two more etstis lavning agnt produs on ikn skin:

ang powdr eps iken skn ydrat more radily, naning t ets

peces sk emved rm w c ckes eceved deet teat

t ere eg rasted. Oe p ece was le au ature l; te te was

dted wt a u akg pwde ad salt ad allwed t dy

of ovrnigt air-dring In addition, itrats wit t protins in kn ski toprodu a runier txtur (see Nwowrs for Bakng owdr," page 7)vegt.

U U U -:F Y U

I was ready to tr tis tiqu on twol ird I omind akig powderwit sat and rd e xtur evnlyovr a ikn, n lt it rst ovrnigtin regerator T nxt day I putt ikn in t ovn and ooked it

COOK'S ILLUSTRATED

6

skin was now greaty rduedso pokts rmaind, w led to ay

on t sd idWould kiking up ovn temperatue o

tis I uppd it from 350 dgs to 450 fomajority of ooking tim, n inreasde way to 500 for e last fw minutes wasried at ig at would dr out e ut I found at y starting ien reasdown and ipping it idway roug ookinrast mat was amply prottd and ooed gnoug to om out tnder and juiy One utunat onsequn: T ig at aused epings in pan to urn, reating louds of smTis was asily d y plaing a seet of aufoil wi ols puned in it under e ik

sild te rndr fat om t oven eatAnd skin Bttr an efoe, ut sti

pefet I was nearly tempted to rmov eom te ikn and ook wo separately

. S IV Oga st Kce Vdew w w coo k s us t r a t e d o m

H W M A

Crsp Rast ck

V

w d I carve a c cke?

Wat's te derece ee se ad ta


9/36

C R I P - I N O V RA ltle advace prep ad a g-eat rast gve u r cce s s crsp t cracles

. CUT CHANNELS FOR FAT 2 L O O S EN S K N P O K E H O L E S RU B A ND C H L - O U T . ROAST AT HGH HECuttg css te s seg te s rm te Pg les te s te Rug ag pwder ad salt Rastg at 450 degrees (w

alg e cce's ac creaes tgs ad reast alws re- reast ad tgs creates add- t e s ad ar-dryg e a al last at 500 degrees)pe gs r at t escape derg at trce ut te ta\ ca els r at ad juces cce te rrgeratr elps speeds rwg

pegs

reazed e aswer To allow fat to ow eely omy roastig chicke, would have to separate the

ki from the meat over much of the bird. For myet test, carelly ra my had betwee the meat

d the ski all over the bird (makig sure ot toar it). Hopig that graviy would do some of theork for me, also cut a few holes i the ski ear

he back of the bird to provide extra-large chaelsr the rederig fat to drip dow ad escape. Whepulled the chicke out, the proof was i the pa arge amout of redered fat, far more tha before.here was so much fat that could't help woderg i the meat would be less avorl But the skias ow better tha athig could have hoped

or deep, eve brow ad crackligly crisp to theoch. The speed at which my tasters ate ever biteroved that this chicke's beauty was't oly skieepudereath the crisp exterior, the meat was

der, uicy, ad avor to the boe.

R R N

V

or best avor, use a highqualit chicke, such as

e rom Bell & vas. Do ot brie the bird; it willrohibit the ski om becomig crisp. The sheet ofoi betwee the roastig pa ad Vrack will keepe drippigs from burig ad smokg.

hol hik ( 24 2 os),

gilts mov a sa (s ot)

tasoo kosh salt o 2 tasoostal salt

tasoo akig o

2 tasoo g lak

Pace chicke breast-side dow o workrface. Followig photos above, use tip of sharpife to make four -ich icisios alog backf chicke. Usig gers or hadle of woodepoo, carelly separate ski from thighs adreast. Usig metal skewer, poke 1 5 to 20 holes

fat deposits o top of breast halves ad thighs.ck wig tips udereath chicke.

t escape te s crsp ad rw

2. Combie salt, bakg powder, ad pepper ismall bowl. Pat chicke dr wih paper towels adsprie all over w salt mire. ub i mire

with hads, coatig ere surface evely. Set chicke,

breast-side p, i V-rack set o rimed bakig sheetad rerigerate, Lcovered, for 12 to 24 hours.

3 Adust ove rack to lowest positio ad heatove to 450 degrees. Usig parig kife, poke20 holes about iches apart i 1 6- by 1 2-ichpiece of oil. Pace foil loosely i large roastigpa. Fip chicke so breast side faces dow, ad setV-rack i roastig pa o top o foi. oast chicke25 miutes.

4. emove roastig pa from ove. sig 2 arge

wads of paper towels, rotate chicke breast-side up.Cotiue to roast Lti istat-read thermometer

iserted i thickest part of breast registers 135degrees, 15 to 25 miutes.

5. crease ove temperature to 500 degrees.Cotiue to roast util ski is golde brow, crisp,ad istat-read thermometer iserted i thickestpart o breast registers 160 degrees ad 75 degreesi thickest part of thigh, 10 to 20 miutes.

6. Trasfer chicke to cutig board ad letrest, ucovered, for 20 miutes. Care ad see

immediately.

s 1 N New Powers forBaking PowderOu rec pe e l es a vergt ru made w ag

pder ad sa t guaratee

supecrsp s e pcesswrs tw ways Frst agpwder as aal e prpertes tat speed up deydrat te s , leadg t etter

O

aster rwg as e cce rasts . Secd,ag pwder reacts wt te prtes tec e s ver te curse ts vergt restpddg tem ea dw me eady tprduce crsper s . J KA

RC [ A P R L 8

7

T A s T 1 N I s a $5 ChickenWorth the Sp lu rge?Ra reeds cc e alwed t mature r l

perds ta te supermaret varety are tr er rc tase But are ey really wrt

stcer-sc prces ad vergt sppg c

We cmpared tre specalty ds wt ur avsupe maret cc e, rm Bell Evas ($2.29pud) e w g rds ested te Bel Ecce ad are gy recmmededr t

wt ulmted cce udgets Elzae B

G Y R N

D'rtagnan Heritage Blue Foot

Price: $20.99 e 3 !- t 4-pud ccevergt s ppg

s Calr a-rased rd ege

t sare te pyscal trats ad lavr prle Frec gd stadard pultry Pu\et de Br

cmpletel y w ver tasters wt ts "exceptlavr ad "sweet, teder meatess

R N

Joyce Foods Poulet Rouge rmer

du Piedmont

Prie: $ 1 5 - $ 7 per rd depedg sze

vergt sppgasters ed te "gte cclavr tese rds rased smal l rt Ca

arms sp red y te amus rec slw-gr

prgram, ael Ruge

R N W R R O

Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch Dark Co

Indian ame ChickenPr: $69 r tw 3- t 3 -pud cces pg cludedCommts: A deret reed ta te CRc cces tat accut r mst s upermpultry, ts rd garered mxed revews Prr ts "excelet , s lgtly gamy lavr ascrczed r "rue ry s ad " dy we m


10/36

e aan-e ea acen this country, meat sauce usual y means a hastly made dish with rub bery gro d e

and no flaor We wanted something sple-but a ot better

n Italy, cing a meay pastasace is an al-day aair Whethersing grnd meat fr a rag aaBolgnee r chns f meat fr atic sace, ne thing is fr sre These

ces swy simmer fr three r frrsr even nger This lng simmerveps cncentrated avr and, mreprtant, breas dwn the meat, givings, sh texre

In America, Italian meat sace" has

ically cme t mean a shrtct versinwich grnd beef, nns, garlic, andnned tmates are thrwn tgether int and ced fr half an hr Whileh saces may be qic, their aclster

vr and rbber meat bear n resemnce t their Italian csins Bt thebe is, when I crave pasta with meatce, dnt aways have hrs t spenda Bgnese Culd I devep a meatce t mae n a weenight that tastedi had been simering fr, if nt all day,

east a gd prtin f it?

B Y C H A R S K S Y

a of ary search started wih analyzng Bgneseipes, and I iscvered right away tha the

t ts spple ts meat ad rc lavr yu'd ever guessur meat sauce sm mers r less ta a ur.

t nes dnt brwn the meat Instead, hey calcng the grd meat nti it ses its raw

r, then ading the iqid ingreients ne bye, swy redcing each and biing avr befreing the next One f the rst iqids in the pt isally sme frm f dair, a Bgnese saces sigre ingredient tha imparts a sweet creaminess tish Mst American meat saces, n the ter

nd, brwn the beef rsa step that adds avr

t tghens the meat They als sip he dair inr f tma sace, which desnt prvide the

eys o Great Flavor

i fat e se ayers f mex avrWd eimiating te brwning step and add

ing i wr better? I eaded t the test itchent nd t Aer satig nin and garic, I stirredin a pnd f grd ef, breaig it p with a

wden sp As s as i stated t se i ts rawcr, immediaty added cp f mi ang

with the tmats, and e simered the sace fr3 intes r s The rests were disappinting:me f the meat was teer ad mist, bt mst

f it was tgh ad meay And desite te mi,

M U M TMT T R M N

i ncd musom s bwnd in oi l boost t saucs maty tast spoonful of tomato pastand a sprin of Parmsan cs add complxty

KS LL STR T F D

8

the sace aced avr verall If nyng, wiscient time t redce, he il actaly

pwere the mea avr in the sace t cct me that in rder fr the mi t develp theavr cmpnds that are its ey cntribtinBgnese sace, a engthy simmer was neceWd cing the sace a little lnger5tes instead f 30help? Nt engh nFrtermre, the extra 1 5 mintes f simmhad ittle impact n the mea, which was stil rbber than nt

It was time t l beynd Bgnese frt imprve my simple weenight sace tenderizer seemed lie an bvis place t stfew teaspns did sen the beef,bt it as it spngy Wld sy sace wrk? y sacbase ingredient in many f r sea marinwhere it acts mch lie a brine, enderizing

by heping i retain misre B I qiclycvered tat while sy inimizes misture llarge pieces f meat, sch as stea, it has irn impact n tiny bits f grnd bee Aer aresearch I fnd t why Bigger pieces f cntain mre waer, which taes a lnger timevaprae ding cing The waer in smal p

f grnd meat, n the ther hand, evapalmst immediatey, and nt even sy sachep prevent this

A cleage sggested a tric that hccrred t me mixing in a pande This pas

bread and mil is en blende in meatbalmeataf t hep them hd heir shape and ristre dring cng It was wh a a fr, mashed p a piece f bread with smenti I had a smth paste and mixed i intgrnd beef ntil well cmbine I ten prceas sa with the rest f he recie stirringbeef mixtre int the sated nins and gadding te maes, and simmering ntideence n the sace even bere I laed tpasta fr tasters The mea ed mister adengh, tasers cnrmed that i was It rnthat starches frm the bread abrb liqid the mi t frm a gel that cats and lbricatemeat, mch in the same way as fa see at the Resce," page 9) Bt al was nt peTastes were pleased with the meats endebt cmpained that the sace wa chnresembled chii N prblem I lsed e meapanade tgether in a fd prcessr t createpieces f spple, jicy eat


11/36

g Up lavori e mea issue solved, i was ime o umy aeio o avo. Wiou rowig o aegy simme o coceae ad uild ew ays of avo, comlexiy ad de were oicealyackig from my sauce. Coud e ye of groudeef sed eace avor? oug fou dieesgroud oud, cuck, ad sirloi, as wel as

ea laeed "groud ee (a mix of vaious eef

s ad immigsad made fou sauces. Teoud oud was lad ad sogy, u asersked e oe ee equay well. Eigyve er-e lea eef oved o ave us e rig degeef eaess, adig ricess wiou makig eace geasy. Si, ases wee essig, "Wee'se eef [avor] ?

ex, esed a rage ofigredies a are oesed o oos meay avor. Beef o eded u

aig a iy ase o e sauce. Wocesesied seak sauce oveweled i wi eir oeavoigs, ad ed wie le a sou ase. ialy, ied msoosad a las ad a wie. Te

musooms oug a eal eeess o e sauce.e exeimeig wi diere yes, dscovereda ai we musroos woked us e. Teey was owig em. miced a modes amouaou 4 ouces ad added em o e a wie oios. Bowig coceaed ei av o ue em ede ad se, allowig e o addomexiy wiou oerwise l eig eir resecee kow

e i came o oer comoes of e sauce,ases iked a mix of diced ad cuse omaoes.

Te diced omaoes oug a cuy exure,d e cused ovied a smoo foudaio. esere a small amou of uice fom e daied

iced omaoes o deglaze e a aer rowige msooms. Tis lile rick gave e sauce's

s H o P P I N G : Gound BeefGond eef n e de fo ey of s,nd f leels y fo 70 o 95 een len.

e se e ls fo ny 5 een len

nd eef ohe hn ond ond. B hen

e doesn se, ho do yo no h o

y? ees de

G R O U N C H U C K : C f he sholde,

ond h s d snshed y s h, ee flo

nd ende exe.G R O U N S R O N : hs fo he os

dse on ne he h oes good ee flo, n e on he dy sde. Ge nelly fly len.

GROUN BEEF A yseyeof sos, nd

eef n e ny o onon of s, hh

ens flo nd exe e ely ons sen.

G RO U N RO U N : en, oh, nd oensly, gond ond oes fo he e e lend of he o. Elzeh Boze

omao avo a oos, as did a aesoo of omaoase. Ealie, ad led agais mik i e sauce(exce fo e coue of aesoos i e aae, eisaed daiy i e fm of a af ofgaed Paresa, wic roug a wecome agi-ess. Wil a das of ed ee akes ad some esoegao, was doe.

ow ad a sace wi meigy ede meaa was as comlex ad lodie as ay sace

simeed f e a o coud e. True, o oewould isake i fo a oogese o oe woeve elieve ad' used ome eay o u i oe sove, eie.

N Y

Exce fo goud od (wic asers fodsogy ad ad, is ecie will wok wi mosyes of goud eef, as og as i is 85 ecelea. (Eigy ece ea eef will e sacegreasy 90 ece wi make i os. se ig-

quaiy crused oaoes ou oie radsare Tuoosso, uir le Ogaic, ad u'sOrgaic. f usig died oregao, ad e eieamou wil e caed omao iquid i se 2 .Te sauce makes eoug fo early 2 os ofasa. eove sace ca e eigeae i a airigcoaie fo 3 days o foze fo m.

4 un wh uh , n,

, n bn n ugh p

g hgh- quy wh nwh b,

n n q ur

bpn wh

Tb n gun b ppp

pun 85 pn n gun bf ( nn bx )

bpn v

g nn, hpp fn (bu 2 up)

6 u g v, n p

hugh g p (bu b pn)

pn p pp fbpn p

( 45u n) n , n,

up qu vbpn n h gn v

pn ( n)

(8un) n uh

2 un g n h (bu up)

Process msooms i food ocesso iey coe, ao ei ! seco ses, sca-ig ow side of ow as eee ase o medimowl. Add ead, mik, 1 easoo sa, a easoo ee o owemy fo cesso aocess uil ase frms, ao eig ! secoduses. Ad eef ad se i mixe is wecomied, ao si ! seco ses.

2. ea oi i ae sacea ve eimigea i s smg. oi a ms-ooms cook, siig fequey, i veeaes ae

M R i l b R 2 0 0 8

S C I E N C E :

nde to the RceA aste of m k and bread ae d a anade s re

sb le for keeng he ground beef n r eat mst and tende Because anades are tcall y

to he fods lke meatals and meataf hod

shae (and oste) addng a anade t a

sace where the beef s rumbled seeed

odd dea Woldn t the shed l k and jst dssove nto the sace? We were le scatou heads when the anade worked

O sence edt exlaned w hat was ha

ng: Starces fom the bead bsob lqud

he l to fom a gel that oats and rcateoen molecules n the meat much n te

way as fat keeng them most and eventnfrom l nn g together to form a togh atx M

the beef and nade n a food oesso e

ensure that the stach s well dsesed so hthe meat reas ts be nets C K

we a dak is fom o a o 2 mies. Si i gaic, ee akes, a ase cok uil faga a mao as ow, ao 1 mie. Add c mao iqi a 2 easoos es oesig ie, ad fl am, scaig a wi woode soo o loose owAdd mea mixe ad cok, eakig msmal ieces wi wooe soo, i eeaw coo, 2 o 4 mies, makg se es o ow.

3 Si i cse a aie ice a ig o simme ece ea o o simme il sauce as lickeed a aveded, aou 30 mies. Si i ceeemaiig easoo fes oegao seas a ee o ase

lCO OK 'S LIVE Orign l Test Ktchen V o l u t a t d m

H O W T O M A K E

Sml e taanStle Meat Sauce

V I D E O T I P S

an wash mushrooms Bu ng ude : Tomato aste


12/36

erecing Oven-oase aonMost rec i pes for sa l mo n create e the r a n i ce ly b rowned exer io r o a s i l ky, m oi st inter io

Why sh ou ld n't we h ave our sa l mo b oth ways?

n the two decades since improved shfarming techniques began to make gooqali fresh salmon available year-rond,this sh has become oe o America'sorites; salmon s second to cane tuna in p erita consumption. The reasons or its poput are simple: Salmon is ric without beigressively shy, and, unli ke a lo t of whte sh ,eeds no dressing up to taste good.

Steaming and poac hing are o of th e besthods for achieving the si, almost butte,ure that is salo n's signaure trait; pan-searig

he best ay to expoit its high fat contet toduce a avor, caramelized crust. But whatou wat both qualtesmoist, succulet eshde, and, i f ot a crst, at least a contasng texe on the otside? Recipes for roastin salmonmise jst that.

kew that roastg at a high temperarem 400 to 475 degrees) can create browninthe exteror of the sh, but by the time thatnt is reached, you've got a well-done piece of

mon. Slow-roasting at a ver gente oven temature, beteen 250 and 300 degrees, seemed

a better place to start. To ensure uniform

es that wold cook evenly, bought a whoetercut et ad vided it into fou pieces at

ooked at 275 degrees for about 20 minutes.s metho resulted in moist, near-translucenth tough and rough, but t1e sh was ae mushy, an there was no contrast in textureatsoever. Craning te temperare hg her woldntely create a more golde exterior, but i t woulsacice some of the medi um-rare esh insi de.

K E I T H D R E S S E R

A bht tomato e s h ome mets the sa m o's h ess

Perhaps a hybrid cokg tecque combininghigh and ow heat, as we oen use or roastingchcken with crisp sn and tender, juicy meat, woudwork. Aer a bit of experimentation, I settled on

- - j P R P R I N O N O R R O T I N

. o d a sha kfe at a shtoad ae to the fesh adt o the hts h fatt otof the be

t the samo fet to fo 3. ake fo o ve shaoees of ea se to he ese sashes aog the sk sd e of eahthat the ook at the same ate ee of sh, be aef ot to

t to the fesh

C K

s S RA ED

1

a startg temperature of 500 dewich I reduced to 275 degrees imately upon placing te sh in t1e oThe ini tal bast of high h eat rmedexteror o te samon ad elped resome of e excess fat tat had madslower-roasted sh mushy. To prethe oven temperare from droptoo rapidly, I aso preheated the basheet. This necessitated cookngsh with its skn on, so the ets cbe placed skn-side dow in t1eto protect the esh. The s tastlittle too fatt o my rst witew approach, but makg severaltrough the skin before placing te pan allowed most of the fat resdiectly beneat1 te sin to rendeoto the baing sheet.

The sh then gently cooked wthe oven temperature slowy dropTough the temperaure as never rin a range that I would consder slow-roasting, ts technqe id on te declining ambient tempera

as opposed to constant heat, to slocook te sh. It worked beautinow had salmon wi1 a itle rmesthe outside and a lot of moist, sccumeat on t1e insde

I was inspired to dress up 1s perfecty coosamo t make it more of a company medismissed spice rubs and glazes, which reqsstaied high heat to fuly avor the sh. I tsevera mariades, but their impact was more sut1an wanted. Quck sasas and easy, ocrelishes ere the answer. Aer trin dozencombnatios, I fLd ose wit an acidic eemworked best to balance t1e richness of te

asters ed a toma as resh, a sc ccumversio, a tangy tangerine and ginger combo,a tart rapefruitbasil airing. In adition to bravor, each reish rovided a further contratextre to compement te salmon's sikiness.

S IV ga Test Kthe d eow w w c o o k s l u s t r a t e d c o m

H O O M A K E

veRoasted Samo

V E O

By Gde : Sa mo


13/36

N R A A N

V

o ensue unfo pece s of sh that cook at theame ate, buy a whole cente-cut llet and cut tnto 4 peces I f you knfe s not shap enough toasly cut though the skn, try a seated It

mpotant to keep the sn on dung cookng;emoe t aewad f you choose not to see t

O ecpe fo angeMnt Relsh s avalable fee

t cooksllustatedco/apl

non on f ( 1 poun),

bou I 2 n ch h c p ( no)

poon ov o

b n gun bc ppp

cp h (cp foow)

l Adust oven ack to lowest posJon, placemmed bakg sheet on ack, and heat oen to 5egees Followg ustatons on page 1, use shap

fe to eoe any whtsh fat o bey of let andut to 4 equal peces Mke 4 o 5 shllow slashes

bout an nch apat aong skn sde of each pece,eng cael not to cut nto esh2 Pat salon dy wth pape towels Rub ets

enly wth ol and season lbeally wth salt andeppe Reduce oen tepeatue to 275 degeesnd eoe bakg sheet Caelly place salonkn-sde down on bakng sheet Roast unt centesf thckest pat of lets ae stl tanslucent whenut nto wth pang fe o nstant-ead theote nseted n tckest pat of lets egstes 1 2 5eees, 9 to 1 3 nutes Tasfe llets t o dvduallates o platte Top wth elsh and see

F R R

I

poun p oo, co, ,n cu no nch c (bou I 2 cup)

2 h o, n c (bou I bp oon)

gc cov, nc o p hugh

gc p (bou 2 poon)

bpoon xvgn ov o

poon wn vng

bpoon chopp fh b v

b n gun bc pp p

Combne all ngedents n edu bowl Seasono taste wth salt and peppe

Y B R R

u cucub p, ,

n cu no n ch c (bou cup)

2 h o, nc (bou bpoon)

no ch, n b ov,

nc (bou I bpoon)

bpoo n chopp fh n v

bpoon juc f I

b

T A s T 1 N G : S mon Pr imerIn season, weve aways preferred the more pro

nounced favor of wid-caught samon to farmedAtantic samon, which has traditionay been the mainfarm-raised variety for sae in this countr But with

more species of wid and farmed samon avaiabethese days, we decided to see what distinguishes on e

from the next We tasted three kinds of wid Pacic

samon aongside two armed kinds; they ranged in

price from $9 to $20 per poun d Whi e we oved thegeneray stronger favor of the wi d-caught fsh, our

tasting confrmed If you're going to spend the extra

mon ey on wid samo n, make sure it ooks and smes

fresh, and reaize that high quaty is avaiabe ony

from ate spring through the end of s umm er

FRMED SPECIESTNT

$/b

eon:

ye-und

The sedentary,

Meredith Smith

farm-bound ifestye of this sh gave it a "butterytexture enjoyed by some tasters, but its farm diet

may account for the "band, "vegeta favors notedby others Tasters were dvided on texture Some

praised its "suppe consistency, but others caed it"squishy or " mushy

KN

$ 1 2/ b

eo:

yun

Tasters oved this F

variety's "custardy'' texture and " rich yet "mi d favor

that "tasted of the sea But this farmed spe cies is no tas wide y avai abe as its Atantic counterpart and may

requi re a trip to a speciaty store

Cobne cucube, shallot, chle, nt, 1 tablespoon le juce, and 4 teaspoon sat n edubowl et stand at oo tepeatue to blend avos, 1 5 nutes Adjust seasonng wth addtonalle juce and salt

A N G R N N G N G R R

I

4 ngn, n n ph ov n

gn cu no 2nch pc (bou I cup)

con, c hn (bou cup)

I 2 poon g fh gng

poon uc f on

poon xvgn ov o

Tb n gun bc ppp

1 . Place tangees n ne-esh stane set oeedu bowl and da fo 1 5 ntes

Pou o a bt tablespoon tangee jucefo bowl; whsk n scallon, gnge, leon juce,

M R i l 6 P R

WLD SPECES

$ 1 2/ o: uy thug

tb

This species of wi d

samon has never enjoyed the popuarity of kin

sockeye, perhaps due to its far eaer constitu

Many of our tasters found it to be "m eay, comp

its texture to that o canned sh Coho was prahowever, for a favor that was "j ust rightneithe

shy nor too mid

KN $20/b

eon: My tug

eptemb

This prized variet wind sup on the menus of

many top restaurants, which pushe s the retai pr

about $20 per pound Wid king has to trave fa

than coho samon to reach is spawnng grounds

hus boasts far fattier fesh Tasters found the have a strong favor and a "meaty texture How

the rmness of this fshs fes was considered by to be overy "rubbery

KEYE

$ 1 3 / b

eon: My hug

etebe

In great demand in Japan,

the sockeye (its name is a

F

corruption of an American Indian word and has no

to do with the shs eyes) was distingui shed by its "

riny notes and deep reddish coorthe darkea the species Some found the "big favor o-pu

but others prais ed the same assertive ness Tasteri ked the "smooth, " rm texture that gave the so

a "good bite

and ol St n tangenes and season to tassat and peppe

G R A F R N B A R

I

gpfu, n n ph ov

n gn cu no 2 nch pc

(bou cup)

2 ho, nc (bou I bpoo

bpoon chopp fh b v

poon ju c f on

poon xvgn ov o

Tb n gun bc ppp

l Place gapeut n ne-esh stane sedu bowl and da fo 1 5 utes

2. Pou o all but 1 tablespoo gapefufo bwl; whsk n shallot, bas, eon juo St n gapefut and season to taste wand peppe


14/36

ehnng ashe oaoesSud boied i their jacet ake reat mahed otatoe

But who wat burt ier ro ee i hot otatoe beore din er

Our favorie mashed poaorecipe ca s for boili g wholepoaoes i heir jackes,he peelig ad mashingm righ efore sevig. Keepig e

ns o duig cooking yields he besao avor, bu he mehod iself is'ha covenie . Aer boi ling he poa

s for 30 miues, here you are, righore dinner, burig your ngers onskis. We decided i was ime o revisirecipe o come up wih somehig

alowed a i le mo re of he prep workbe done in advance.

h Manageme nt

3

Aot1er mel1od, recmmeded owebse of e Idah Poa Board,simler ad equally irigig. To agluey mashed poaoes, e sie suga o-sep cookig prcess ha has sar e poaoes i acvey bilig ( ral1er 1a1 1e raitioal cd waerhe immediaely reduce he emperao keep he waer a a are simmer. A20 mius, you crak up 1e hea andthe spuds ui so. The idea is o keeppeci 1a glues idividual poao ogel1er (and helps keep waer ou fdegradig o qucy. A emerabeow l1e boilig poi, l1e pecin wdisslve ad ca coiue ac as arier o waer.people eir favorie way o make

hed poaoes an mos will say hee hig: They peel he skins, chopsuds, he t1row hem ino a po of

d waer o boil. e like cookig eaoes in 1eir jackes because i keepsearhy poao avor from leechig ou

o he waer, ad aso because we dields he creamies exure. The skis

ven he sarc granules i 1e poaos from absorbig oo much waer asig like overlled waer balloos

A unique cooking metod gives tese mased otatoes teir igt,fuf texture

Tased side by side wih cnveoesep poaoes sared i cold whe w-sep spuds er deiely ligB hey si ased more hi ad waha l1e oaoes cooked wil1 eir jao. To ge boh u cosisencygrea avor, I was goig o have o excess waer from geig io e s

graues in he rs place. Why oforge sim merig ad boil ing ad go a meod ha wold expose e poa

e mashed, spillig heir sicky, gluey coeso he mix. Bu mee my goal of cuing backas-miue pe, clearly he skis would have

go before cookig. Waerlogged sarch granules,, were a give. as ere a way o preve a some of hem from bursing?

Oe way is o se a ricer, raer han a poaoher, is e dish. Poaoes pass hroughsievelike hoper of his ool oly once, avoidingrepeaed abuse of mashig. (Poundig aready

shed porions ver ad over grealy increases l1e

ce of bursig sarc graues. cig aside,a else coud I o?

ried a o of uikely echniques, mos of whichded oor resuls. One brigh ligh durig hisy esing was a recie i eey eingare's

ok Te Ma Who Ae Everhig ha employedcique iveed by 1e insa- mashedpoaousr. Seigare parially cooks e spuds inmerig waer, drais ad rises em uder waer, and ses hem asie fr af an hour.ce fuly cooed, e poaoes are cooked agai mased. ooig poaoes paray 1rough

cooking causes l1e sicky ge i sac graleso csallize ad become ress o di ssolvig i waer or mik (eve if e ce was surundigem sbsey rupure, adig o uerpoaoes. The y prbem: This mea cookingoaoes for ve a hr i merous chagesof ho a c wae. This was o 1e " advaceprep I had i id.

o lile or o waer?

ull Steam Ahedakig he poaoes was oui wuld akeg (plus, if coked poaes wil1 heir , was back where I sared. Microaprdced a sarchy, pasy mash. Seamig my bes be.

C I P S H H N D L F F M A S H E D A E S

Wasng o excess starc from cut otatoes s te rst ste n revent ng dense mased otatoes M ookng te otatoes over smmerng water mantans avor and cuts down on bur st stares Rnsng te otatoes aa troug cookng wases awa an stck starces tat do b urst4. Pusng te otatoes troug a r cer s anot er wa to revent te swo en starc granues from b urstng

C O K

S L L U S T R AT F D

2


15/36

s c 1 E N c E How Steaming and Rinsing elpPrevent Gluey otatoes

potato chosen, was eady to tacke

t btter and mashing liqui Up t

this point, had been using a stick

of buttr and a cp of ceam hadbeen gettng complaints all along

tat t potatoes tasted a little ric

surprsing, since these ae tl1e vey

proportions we have loved fr so

long in our favorite ecipe Could it

be tat my cooking metd was creating so much ric potato avor onits own tat ess buttr or cream was

ow necessar? it tued outyesJst 4 tablespoons of btter yieldedtl1e right amot of richness forliquid, my potatoes needed less tan

te cp of ceam Two-trdsof a cup of cream reated the right

consistency but sil le t1e potatos

to heav n headto-head tsts, mytasters actally preferred whole milk

to cream or halfand-hal

e fond that insing steamed potatoes ala thogh ookingpodced mashed potatoes with a patilal light and fl txte

and ih potato flavo What was going on?

Potatoes ontain two staches inlding one aled aos that

an be the enem of a fl onsisten If tese stah ganles

absob too m h wate ding ooking te wil evental bst

spilling a stik gel that tns potatos e Bease staing

exposes the potatoes to less wate it edes the han of thseganles swel ing to the point of bsting oe granls wil invitabl b st anwa fom ovefl i ng with wat de to heat baking

down te petin that sons the potato lls Rinsing idwa

thogh cooking helps move some of this fee o saped a

lose l eading to potatoes with a lighte silki txte D

A A O AO G LU Y ?

N C K E DSTARCH

R A N E S

R A N E SS W E W I T H

WATER

S W E N R A N E S

B R S T

now ad a u, smootl1 mash

wit1 robst, eatl1y potato avor

And was able to get it on t table

wit1out brning my ngers once on

hot sins

fashioned a steamer by placing a colaner in

Dutch oven, then bro ugt a few inches of watero a boil peled, ct, and rinsed the sps (toeove any suface starch) and dropped tem into

he colander About 20 minutes late, the otatoeswere soft and ready for mashing They were also

overed in a sticy sbstance that I knew to b e freemylose, te very ting tat trns potatoes gley

see "How Steaming an insing Help Preventluey Potatoes, above) I tried rinsing te potaoes before ricing to get rid of the amylose, butoe of the potato avor washed away as wll,

esulting in a mash tat was as bland as te two-steppotatoes And the po tatoes were now cold Wold

insing the potatoes earlier in te process, beforehey got lly cooked, bring me better reslts?

put a new batch of spuds into te steamer

Peeking ae 10 mintes, saw tey were alreayoveed in gluey amylose I took te colander ot ofe pot, rnsed te hot potatoes 1der col d water for

couple of minutes, ten retrne tem to te potof stllboiling water to nish coong When riced,

ese potatoes were wondelly light and andhad te best avor yet

Back to Basicsdeally, tis recipe shol wok wt a wide range of

potatoes: Russets, Yukon Golds, ed potatoes, and

wite potatoes But due to teir low starc content,he red potatoes were a bst , tasting bland and pirng no matter how mc butter was added to te

ix hie the oter potatoes worked ne, tastesked te eeper avor of te Yukon ols best

ith my cookig meod solved and e typ e of

F F F Y O O

SE R V E S

Tis reci pe woks bes t wit eithe a metal c oandr

t1at sits easily in a Dtc oven o a lage pasta pot

wit a steamer insert To prevent excess evapora

tion, it is important for the lid to t as snugly as

possible over the colander or steamer steamer

basket will work, but you wil have to tansfer theot otatoes out of the basket to rinse tem o

halay through cooking For th ightest, esttextre, use a icer food mill is te next best

alternative Russets and wite potatoes will work in

t1is ecipe, but avoid red-sknned potatoes

pou n Yuon o poo (4 o 6 u),

p, cu no nc cun, n w , n

n

4 bpoon un bu,

Tb 2/ cup wo , w

un bc ppp

1 Place metal colander or steamer isert in largepot or Dtch oven Add enoug wate f it to baelyreac bottom of colander urn heat to high and

brng water to boil Add potatoes, cover, and redceheat to medium-hig Cook potatoes 1 0 minutesTrasfer coland to sink and rins e potatoes unercold water 1l no longe ot, l to 2 nutes Retcolaner and potatoes to pot, covr, and continue tocook untl potatoes ae so and tp of paing knifeinserted int potato meets no resistanc, l 0 to 5es longer Pour o water om Dtch oven

M R l R L 2 0 0 8

3

2 St rcer or food mill over nw-empWorking in batche s, transfer poatoes to ho

rice or food mill and process, removing antoes stuck to bottom Using bbe spatula

melted butter and 1 teaspoon salt until inrated Sti r in warm milk until incorporated

t taste wit salt and peppe; serve immed

E Q U I P M E N E S I N G

o cerFor silksmooth mashed potatoes the bestis a potato ricera device that resemble

ovesized galic press Cooked spds ae lo

into a hopper and sqeezed (o "ied) th

a sievelike disk: billiant bt not ompicated

mch d ieence co ld thee eall be from m

to model? We pessed o wa thogh s

icers to nd ot Most mo des r iced potatoes acceptabl Be

tat testes appeciated lage hoppesbo

o recommended models hold at least I csliced potatoesas well as intecangeable n

coase disks; std egono ic hand les thateqi e bte force to sq eeze; an a pot exte

gip to hold th ice stead o com plete t

eslts go to cooksillstratedcom/apElizabeth Bo

O C O C R.S.V. International Claic Kitchen

Baic Potato Ricer ($ 1 1 .99) Te only plas

model i n the mix impressed s with a clamp t

hold the ricer disk i n place and a mashe plate

opened nearly 1 0 degrees to moe easil llhopper

R U N N R U

Bethany oueware Potato Rice($1 6 .99) The hopper of this taditional ly desice spoted two walls of holes fo eient

bt oered no pot gip and was a bi t sti to o

CS LIV Original Tst Kthen V c o o a e d c o m

O W O M A

Fl Mas hed Potatoes


16/36

eary Tsca Bean ewIn Tuscany, cramy, faorfu bans transform rustc sous and stws nto somtn

sca W wr dtrnd to aod tou , xodd bans

Thepeople of Tuscany are known

as mangafagol, or "ean ea

ers, for he prominen roleeans play in heir cuisine .

nnellini (whie kidney eans) are heons mos famous le gume, and Tuscanks go o grea eremes o ensure ha

se eans are worhy of sar saus.mering he cannellini in rainwaer oduce a creamy, almos uery eure

o uncommon. And puing he eansan empy wine ole o slowcook

rnigh in a res dying emers is noeard o

hen I se ou o make a hearier

w version of he regions classic whien soup, I waned y caelini o ememorae as any you would d incany. Collecing rainwaer and cook

in my replace would e one way o

ao iu I hoped o use a more

cical approach.

ing he Bens

B Y C A L E S K E S E Y

we use in he es kichen o help mea

waer and remain mois durng cook

Over he years, weve rined eve

om poulry and pork o eef and

shrimp. Why no eans? Back in hekichen, I made a rine y dissolvig a alespoons of sa in waer and leeans o soak overnigh in e souThe ne day, I nsed he eans horou

efore proceeing wih he recpe. eperimen was a success The cenow oased ender, almos impercep

skins wih ineriors ha were uery Why he change? When eans are soa

in saled waer, raher han eing coo

in i, no as much sa eners he eIs impac is coned maiy o he skwhere sodum ions nerac wh e cecreae a soer ure (se "nig Be

page 5) .

rs ask was o sor hrough al heradicory advice given for driedean

kery I egan wi he mos holy con

Chu ks of vegetables distiguis h our stew fom ordiary Tusca bea sou p

Ahough asers wee ressed

is echnique, I new ha no Tu

would sand for he numer of eploeans in he po. suly, he cri overvgorous uing of cookig q

whch disurs he eans and causes

ed issue how long o soak eans e fore cookng.me recipes swear ha a lenghy soa leads o ensh a more ender, iform ere. Oers insis

a quick soakan hou-long res o he sove

ered in jus-oiled waeris es. In 1e pas,

recipes have mainained ha no soak a al can

he way o go.To judge fo myself, I cooked up aches of eans

g a ree approaches. To my surprise, I foundively minor dierences. The igges dierence

in cookng me The no-soak eans ook 45

ues longer o soen y han he oher o

hos. Bu I was seekg perfecion. And sinceeans soaked overnigh were, in fac, e mosder and evenly cooked of he un ch and ha d the numer of eploded eans, has he meodled on.

Bu whie te eans ineriors were creamy, heirs remained ough, and overall hey were no ye I magned a Tuscan cook would e proud oe. Like lengh of soang, when o add sal isher muchdeaed oic in ean cookery Wase someng o invesigae here ha could helpcook up perfec eans?

o low ou and disnegra I woud

o simmr he eans very genywih no peile ul ing and no srrg. Tg ack o

Tuscan ecque of cookg eans overngh

dying re, I wondered i f I m gh simpy y coomy eans in a 250-degee oven. In my ne e

rogh he eans and waer o a simer on

soveop, hen covered e po and paced i in

oven. This meod reqired a lile more me,i worked eauy, producing perfecly cooeans ha sayed inac.

The convenonal wisdom is ha sa added oeans a he eg of cooking will preven emo m ever lly soe1ing. aradoicaly, oer advice

mainains ha saltng eans oo early can creae a

mushy eure. When I added sa o a ach of eans

a he ouse of cooking, I found i made some of

he eans meay. I checked >ih our science edioran learned ha te sal eec may e a maerof semanics. eans cook, heir sarch ganulesswell wi waer, soeing o a creamy eure adevenally ursing. The presence of

sal in e cooking waer causes he Simm e Down

sarch granules o swell less, so a he bu bbl g actio of stew smm ered o the stovetop caused ou beafewer reach e poin of bursing. fall apart Cooki g the beas at a ea-smme i a coved pot i a 250deThe resul eans ha have a lo of ove kept them i tactsarch granules still inac. To me, eeure of such eans is meay oersmay cal e same eec griy

Though te eure o he eanswas now inferior, heir skins wereeacly wha I waned so and plale. Was here a ieren way ouse sal o ge e same eec? My

houghs urned o rg, which

C K

s LLUSR TED

S I M M E R E D N S TV E T P N E R S I M M E R E D I N V


17/36

Key to Tede, Flvofl e

I SALTWATER SOAK

Soakg the b ea s sal t water overght helps them cook up creamwth teder sk s

LOW-TEMPERATURE OVEN

Cookg the beas at a ear-sm mer a 250degee ove leads t o fewerexploded beas the f shed stew

3 WAIT TO AD D TOMAOS

he acd tomatoes ca terferewth the beas t eder texture Addthem toward the ed of cookgaer the beas have alread soeed

Nothg to Stew AboutWth tender, creamy beans n my pot, t was tme towork on the stew's other avors. Salt-cured Italanbacon, or pancetta, s tradtonal n Tuscan whtebean stew, lendng depth and avor. I st needed

a few more ngredents to tansform the dsh toa one-pot meal. My tasters and I settled on chewy,earthy-tastng kale, another Tuscan favorte, alongwt caned dced tomatoes, carrots, cele, onon,an lots of garlc. For extra rchness, I also replacedsome of the water n the stew wt chcken broth(lowsodum, of course, to mtgate any mpact onthe beans).

I saute all the vegetables (except the kale andtomatoes) wth the pancetta, aded te beans andwater, and placed the stew n the oven. The acdn tomatoes can toughen beans, so I wated untlthe beans were sucently soene, about 45 mn

utes, before addng e tomatoes to the pot, alongwth the kale. The nal touc h a sprg of rosema,steeped n the stew ust before servng, whch

s c 1 e N c e Briing Bensh oes soakg dred be as salted water make

them cook up wh soer sks? t has to do wth

how the soum os sat terac wth the cels of

the bea sks As the beas soak, the sodum os

replace some o the calcum ad magesum o s

the sks Because soum os are weaker tha

mera os, he alow more waer o peetrate

o he sks, leadg o a soer exture urg

soakg the soum o s wl l ol ter pawa tohe eas so her greaes eect s o he c es

the outermost part of th e beas CK

s t wter

cc +ges -1

sod -be sk +,.

nsed the broth wt a delcate herbal aroma.orrowng from a classc Tuscan dsh called rbol

ltaleftover bean soup thckened wth breadImade my stew even more substantal by sevngt atop slabs of toasted countr brad. Drzzled

wth fruty extra-vrgn olve ol, the stew was purecomfort food. And I hadn't eve ned ed to coll ectranwater or bank a re to make t.

R Y N B N

SE R V E S 8

e prefer the creamer texture of bans soakedovernght for ths recpe. If you're sh ort on tme,quck-soak them Place te rnsed beans n a largeheat-resstant bowl. rng 2 quarts of water and3 tablespoons of salt to a bol. Pour e water overthe beans and let tem st for hor. Dra and

rnse the beans well before proceedng wth step2 If pancetta s unavalable, substtte 4 ouncesof bacon (about 4 slces). For a more substantaldsh, sere the stew over toasted bread. ur recpesfor Qck Hearty Tuscan ean Stew (wt cannedbeans) and Vegetara Heay Tuscan e an Stew areavalable ee at .cooksllustratedcom/aprl.

b t

poun cn n bn (bot cp),

n n pc ovr

tbspoon xtrvrg ove o,

pu xtr for drzzng

6 ounc pnctt, cut nto nch pcs

( not)g onon, cho ppd u (bout I 2 cps)

u c b, cut nto 2 nch pc

(bot cup) crt, p n cut to

2 nch pc (bot I cup)

8 u gc cov, p n cuh

4 cup owou chcn bth

3 cup wt

by v

bunch o co gns (bout I poun ),

t t n v chopp nto nch

M R C i l A R I L

pc (bout 8 cps oosy pc)

( 1 45ou nce) cn ce toto,

rn n n

pg frh y

un bc ppp

8 c county wht b, ch I nthck, b unt gon bwn on bo

n ubb wth grc cov (opt

. Dssolve 3 tablespoons salt n 4 quwater large bowl or contaner. Add beans at room temperature for at least 8 hours an24 hours. Dran and rnse well.

2 Adust oven rack to lower-mddle and heat oven to 250 degrees. Heat ol an n large Dutch oven over medum heat . Corg occasonaly, untl pancetta s lghtly band fat has rendered, 6 to 0 mnutes. Adceley, an carrots. Cook, strrng occasonavegetables are soened and lghtly browne1 6 mnutes. Str n garlc and cook unt fabout mnut. Str n broth, water, bayand soaked beans. Increase heat to hgh an

to smmer. Cover pot, transfer to oven, auntl beans are almost tender (v e center wll stll be rm), 45 mnutes to hour.

3 Remove pot from oven and str n grtomatoes. Return pot to oven and contnueuntl beans and greens are ly tender, 3

mnutes longer.4. Remove pot om oven ad submer

ma sprg n stew. Cover and let stad 5Dscard bay leaves and rosemary sprg anstew w salt and pepper to taste. If desback of spoon to press some beans aganst sdto thcken stew. Serve over toasted bread, f

and drzzle wt olve o.

R Y N B N

G N B B G

Ths varaton has much more meat ad wth crnkly Savoy cabbage.

Follow recpe for Hearty Tscan Beasubsttutng 1 pouds sweet Italan casngs removed, for pancetta; meduSavoy cabbage, cut nto nch peces, for k

sprg fresh oreg ano for rosemay. Cook sol n step 2 breakng meat nto small pe

wooden spoon ntl t loses ts raw colo8 mnutes. Transfer sausage to paper towplate and place n refrgerator. P ocee was drected, strrng sausage and cabbage along wth tomatoes n step 3

CS IV Ogal est Ktche V c o o k s s t t e d c o m

o He art Tusca Bea Sew

o How do chop grees?


18/36

oasing ea 1 0 1A prope y cooed roat mp e an d at fy ng . I t a o a

arty Here' how to mae a geat roat every tme

w cookng methods can beat roastng for easethe process s argey unattended And when done rght,astng bud s rch , conce ntrated favor and ye ds a tender, jucy texture n eat But the unfortunate rea ty

that most roasts are dry, b ad, and overcooked And what works for one cut of eat doesn t necessar y

ork fo another Years of roastng counte ss cuts o f meat n th e test ktchen have taught us the best te ch

ues for producng s uperor resuts

THE RGHT CUT ND THE RGH METHODoosng a roast can b e a confusng endeavor, and

ce youve made a se ecton ts mp ortant to use the

ht roastng mehod Weve deveoped two catego

s of roastng that work best or derent knds and

ts of meat: fast and h gh and sow and ow H ere s aof our favorte cuts of beef, pork, and amb, aong

th the b est way to roast them

Hiough ower oven temperatures generay guaran

e more eveny cooked meat, sma, narrow roasts

e beef tenderon and rack of amb depend on a

atvey quck cookng t me to ens ure jucy, tenderat Roas these cuts at an oven temperature of

0 degrees

a vorite Cuts:EEF

enerline most tender cut of beef money can buy, b ut thevor s m d

p irlin Rasfavorfu and u cy

ough not as tender)a rb roast at a frac

n of the cost

AMB

a f Lambe extremenderness of

s mdtastngt commands a

h prce tag Ituay contansht or nne rbs, d epend ng on how the meat hasen butchered

ROASTING METHODSlo ad LHe at takes a ong tme to penetrate nto the center

of arge cuts of meat such as prme rb, eg of amb,

and rack of pork, akng the susceptbe to a thckou ter swath of gray, overcooked eat To prevent

ths prob em, roast arge cuts sowy at 250 degreesfor beef and 3 25 degr ees for pork

avorite Cuts:BE E F

Rib Rast,First CutThe st andard for

roast beef Ths cut s

extremey tender and

favorfu, abet on the

expensve sde

PORKneless laeRasThe m ost favoru

cut fro the o n , wth afar amo unt of fat that aows t

to reman juc y when roasted

Cener Rib RastThough not as ju cy

as a bade roast, ths

ean roast s favorfuand wdey avaabe

AMB

Leg f ambThs cut s not

as tender asthe rack, butt boasts fu e r

favor t may

be sod wththe bones nbut s o re comony found butterfed and boneess, akng preparaton easer

1 6

Roastin: Essential EquipmentAthough roastng requ res very few peces of

equpme nt, weve earned that these te ms are

essenta

INSTANRED HE MOMEER

An nstantread therm ometer s by far the be st way

to gauge when a roast s don e We prefer dgta toda-face mo des for ther spee d, accuracy, and ease

of readng

T E S T K I TC H E N W I N N E R :

THERMOWORKS ue

een $8

BE ST BUY:

CN PoAccue40 $ 79

ROASTING PAN

Sze and constructon are the most mpo rant factor

to consder when seectng a roastng pan Because

we oen sear meat before we roast t, we ke a

fameproof pan that can be used on the stovetopWe avod pans wth nonstck ns hes b ecause theycant hand e hgh oven tempe ratures The perfect

pan shou d accommodate a bg ho day turkey wthease, so I by I nches s our preferred sze

T E S T K I TC H E N W I N E R :

CAPHAON oneoy Rong Pn

$9999 (coe ong ck)

ROASTNG RACK

A rack eevates the roast above drppngs andgrease, p reventng the meats extero r from

becom ng fatty and so t aso a ows for rotaton

of the meat and arcrcuaton around

the roast, ensurng

even cook ng Weprefer a sturdy

handed V-shaped

rack that hodsa roast snugy n

pace and can be T E S T K I T C H E N W I N N E Reasy removed AL-C onckfrom the pan Rong Rck $49


19/36

Whe I It oe?Beef pork and ab roasts coe i n a variet of sapes and sizes tat can a ke t ca enging

to produce we-browned favou even cooked eat. Foow tese tips to ens ure success.A teroeter takes te guesswork out o

wen a roast is done. o nsur ha h ro

in e roas ns hero a an

an accue radin us robe de

roas and n sow daw i ou un i ou

cnr of h a (i nd icaed b ows

ure) Avoid bones and pa su rfaces. And t

tan one reading.

Seao a let taSprin ke te exterior of te roast wit sat (p referab kos e r) and

et it stand at roo te perature for at east an ou r. As te roast

sits te sat draws out its juices wic then c obin e wit te

sat before being reabsorbed into te eat. Te resut a roast

tat is favorfu bot inside and out.

Tie beoe cookigTing a roast forces it into a o re even sape ens uring that te

tin narrow ends wont overcook before te tick id de part is

done . Ting aso akes for a nicer presentation and easier s icing.

3. Sea beoe oatigBrowni ng eat produces new avor co poun ds tat are

essentia to te success of a roast. But basting te oven

teperature to accopi s tis can d r out the eat's exteri or and

does n't un ifor brown te entire roast. To guarantee a we

caraeized crust sear te roast in 2 tabespo ons of oi for two

to three inutes per side either in the roasting pan or a ski etbefore putting it into the oven.

hooe appopiate oatig ethoost recipes ca for cooking roasts in a od erate hot (350 to

400degree) oven but tis etod can ead to an overcooked exte

rior and uneven cooked interior. epe ndi ng on the eat's size and

sape we prefer to roast at teperatures as ig as 45 0 deg rees

or as ow as 250 degrees. (See "Coosing te Rigt Cut and te

Rigt etod e.)

Let eat etA roasts sh oud rest unde r a foi tent for I 0 to 20 in utes before

being carved. As te protein oecu es in te eat coo the wi reabsorb an accuuated juices and redistribute te troug

out te roast.

Outoor otig o the Gri The oven isn't our on option for roasting eat. For tender cuts tat don't

require sow cooking over ow eat suc as beef tenderoin te gri works just as

we . G i roasting reies on i ndirect eat between 300 and 400 degrees ( in co ntrast

to true griing wic occurs at teperatures in excess of 500 degrees). Coas are

banked on one side of te gri and eat roasts on te "coo sid e wit te id keptdown to trap eat and create an environent uc ike te oven. Wit a gas gri

te priar burner is kept on and te oters are turned o.

SECRET TO SCCESS Seao, let eat ta hou, a tie beoe gill- oatig(see steps I and 2 in "5 Steps to a Great Roast above). For ean cuts of pork

skip the sat and brine te eat before pacing it on te gri .

U e woo cuk o chip to ehace ok y laoWie caroa w i part soe favor to te eat wood c unks or ci ps are necessar to acieve true sokiness (especia wit a gas gri). Pace soaked drained

cunks direct on charcoa wrap wood cips in a foi packet poked wit oes (orpace in a foi tra for a gas gri) . To keep te fire burni ng as o ng as poss ibe we aso

prefer to use briees rater tan ardwood carcoa

Th id a s in ee urs for oia

ju c nss ar isd b ow If food saf is o

conce cook a a uni w don N oe

shoud co o a o I 0 drs b

dsd fna ur as e inea

wi conin u o ris as a rs

M R A U R

f 25 30 40b 1 25 30 40 * * I

ot recoended

3. ak coal o oe i e o gillan recipes recoend

bankin g coas on bot sides

of te gri . We find te

edges of arge roasts can

burn wit tis etod. We

prefer to transfer a coas to

one side of te gri eaving

af of te gri free of coasso eat can cook witout

danger of burning. To ensureeven cooking it is a good

ide a to rotate te eat af

wa trough cooking.

U e et to egulate heatTo ep reguate eat adj ust vents on bot te id and gri botto. We

cose vents partia to keep te coas fro burning up too fast and togri retain eat.

R H P R

7


20/36

icn aiocca on RightAdatat io ns of th is Ita ian c as i c sothe it in bead i ng , stff ing , and c hee se . Wewanted a d i s h that wo l d g ive the ch icen , posc itto , and sage the i pope d e

I can never nd enough quc k and easy chckendshes for my weeknght repertore So whenI came acoss a new chcken spn on an odItaan casscvea satmboccaI wasmedatey ntrged The tradtona verson hasg been a standrd menu t em n the tattors ofy as we as taan restaurants n this countrde by sautng vea cutets th proscutto and

e ths smpe yet eegant dsh pomses teay

ump n you outh wth ts dstnctve bend

avorsut as happens a too oen hen cooks stat to

de wth a pefecty good thing most chckentatons I found took the dsh too fa om ts

s wappng the cutet around stung or addng

ecessa beadng or cheese Others dded th

proortons owng a thck sab of proscuttohare equa bng wth the chcken and knock the

nce of avors out of whack Pefecting chckenmbocca then woud be a mtte ofavodng theptaton to ovecompcate he dsh w exrane

ngredents and gurng out how to gve each

e three key eementschcken proscutto and

3 B Y A V I P A Z M I N O

ts due Fed sage eaves make an eegat (but optona) ganish

u Powugh we genery prefer to make our on cutets

nsue that peces are of unfom se and shape I

ded to fogo butcherng and buy commecay

paed cutets to kee the process as steamned

ossbe I opted fr mass-produced supermaketets and trmmed te edges to remove any thn

ered ecesost of the smpe chcken sambocca recpesme acoss foowed the adtona pracce ofadng a toothpck trough the proscutto and

a whoe sage ef to ttach them to the cutet then

dedging the entre package n ou before sautng

t on both sdes I found ths med to be prob

ematc Fou got trapped n te sma gaps where

the ham bunched up aound te toohpck eavngstcky uncooked spots I wondeed f I coud sp

the oung and sat he chcken and poscttowithout any coting Ths woked e fo the hawhich csped ncey without hep fom h ou

The chcken on the othe hand browned unevey

I P T s T I N G Satimbocca Go ne Wrong

we discoveed, many satmbocca ecies add exaneous eeme nts when swtch ng fom vea to ch cken, uini ng the

cty of te ds

C H O C O O F L g h wh x g, h h, h h h v.

B R E A D E D A N D B A N Dg q h h v

.

C H E E S Y A N D G R E A S Yh hh h ub v

g w.

C KS LLUSTRATED

8

and tended to sck to the pan Surprsn

f uring ony the cuetbefore attachthe hampoved to be the souon

by stng the cutet proscutto-sde do

rst I was abe to keep the our deproscutto o my

alaig : r ag a HWth my oug meod under contr

was tme to tun my attenton to pro

tons Whe we ked hghe nd proscfor the rch avor t added to the ov

dsh (see "Can ny Proscutto Be Wo$60 per Pound? on page 1 ) f the as too thck the taste

Documents

Cook's Illustrated 091