Innholdsfortegnelse for August/September 2023 i Cook's Country

Our recipe is inspired by John Fleer’s. In testing and refining multiple variables to make it failproof for the home cook, we came up with these key points. USE A CONCENTRATED TEA BRINE A potent brine will impart the deepest sweet-tea flavor. USE ONLY BONE-IN THIGHS Richer dark meat is less prone to drying out or overcooking; Fleer uses leg quarters, but we go with thighs to fit more in the pan at once. FRY AT 325 DEGREES We usually fry chicken at 350 degrees, but the sugar in the brine causes the chicken to brown faster, and 350 was too hot. A relatively low temperature of 325 degrees was just right. FINISH IN THE OVEN Even with the lower oil temperature, the chicken’s crust gets too dark in the…

TRI-TIP PREPARED in the style of Santa Maria barbecue (see “The American Table”) is an icon of regional California cuisine, but there’s no law that says tri-tip can’t be prepared in other ways too. Knowing a little more about this often overlooked cut of beef can help you decide how best to prepare it. Tri-tip is a relatively lean, triangular cut of meat from the tip of the sirloin, which has two distinct sections with muscle fibers running in two different directions. It can be labeled tri‑tip, tri-tip steak, or tri-tip roast, among other names that include Santa Maria steak, California cut, triangle roast, or Newport steak. Salting this lean but flavorful cut in advance not only seasons it all the way through but also aids in tenderizing the meat…

PEACH FRITTERS HAVE long been a favorite treat sold at markets, fairs, and roadside stands in Pennsylvania’s Amish country and in the peach-growing regions of the American South (among other locales). They combine two of summer’s greatest pleasures—fried food and sweet fruit—into one perfectly crisp yet fluffy handheld snack. I set out to create a version that was easy enough to make on a lazy summer day. Fritters, by definition, are pieces of fruit, meat, or vegetables coated in batter and fried (unlike doughnuts, where the batter is fried and then either stuffed or coated). I wanted the fritters to highlight the bright, sweet taste of peaches; too often, fruit flavors become muted after deep frying. To enhance the sweet-tart flavors of the peaches, I cut the fruit into large…

ORIGINATING IN NAPLES, Italy, spaghetti aglio e olio (spaghetti with garlic and olive oil) is a widely popular yet humble dish. And it’s a great recipe to make for two—it’s simple yet elegant, and it’s sure to impress with its toasted garlic flavor, mild heat, and surprisingly creamy texture. As a bonus, it comes together quickly, and making it won’t dirty every pot, pan, and bowl in your kitchen, so you can spend more time enjoying your meal and less time cooking and cleaning up. Rather than relying on cheese, cream, or butter to create an unctuous sauce, this recipe sticks with the traditional method of using some of the pasta’s own starches (released into the cooking water) emulsified with garlicky olive oil to give the sauce richness and body.…

MINT SIMPLE SYRUP Serves 6 to 8 (Makes about ¾ cup) Total Time: 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes cooling Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, served their iced tea with a small pitcher of mint simple syrup so that patrons could sweeten their tea to their own tastes. The restaurant unfortunately closed in 2021, but they still inspired us to make our own mint simple syrup. You can use it to flavor and sweeten iced tea, lemonade, and cocktails. ¾ cup sugar¾ cup water6 sprigs fresh mint Combine sugar and water in small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Off heat, add mint. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Discard mint. (Syrup can be refrigerated for up to 1…

WHY YOU SHOULD TOAST AND GRIND SPICES Toasting and grinding your own whole spices releases their oils, which emboldens their flavors and heightens their impact. The result is a robust freshness that’s often lacking in preground spices, especially those that have been lurking in the back of your spice cabinet for a long while. Besides amping up the flavor of spices, grinding your own can also add texture, since you can determine how coarse or fine the finished product will be. We turn to this technique in two recipes in this issue. In our Grilled Tri-Tip with Cilantro-Lime Sauce (page 15), we coarsely grind whole peppercorns and coriander seeds to create a sub-stantial, flavorful crust on the beef (toasting isn’t necessary, since these spices are destined for the grill). Toasting and…

A CLASSIC New Orleans side dish, Brabant potatoes are popular and for good reason. Also known as New Orleans fries or Louisiana fries, these well-seasoned, butter‑fried potato cubes are rich and creamy on the inside, crispy and toasty on the outside, and fragrant from a finishing touch of fresh garlic and herbs. They are equally at home alongside an impressive roast (such as the Chicken Clemenceau they’re served with at the New Orleans mainstay Galatoire’s Restaurant) as they are on a brunch plate. Brabant potatoes appear in early cookbooks on Creole cooking that illuminate the dish’s roots in classic French cuisine. The Picayune Creole Cook Book (1901) includes a recipe for Brabant Potatoes (Pommes de Terre Brabant) that employs the technique used to prepare traditional French Parmentier potatoes: skillet-frying parboiled cubed…

THE POPULAR Mexican dish esquites—roasted corn kernels tossed with mayonnaise, cheese, chile, and lime—is a dynamic mix of sweet, creamy, bright, and spicy. This recipe takes those flavors and translates them into a hot, creamy, cheesy dip fit for a party. And making it is as easy as browning corn in a skillet and stirring in the rest of the ingredients. Start by cutting the kernels off cobs of sweet summer corn and roasting them in a ripping-hot cast-iron skillet in two batches to avoid overcrowding; cooking in smaller batches ensures that the corn kernels begin to char (they would steam without space to let their moisture evaporate), resulting in deeper flavor. When the second batch of corn is almost done, add scallions and garlic to the skillet to bloom…

SOUTHERN-STYLE collard greens are simmered on the stovetop for hours—typically with a salty, smoky meat such as ham hock, bacon, or smoked turkey necks—until the greens become meltingly tender and silky. The cooked collards themselves are undeniably delicious, but many think the pot liquor (or pot lik-ker), the nutritious, sublime broth created by simmering the greens, is the best part. A crucial ingredient for this style of collards (and their liquid gold) is time, as it can take hours for the greens to become tender and the pork to release its flavor. But for a version that comes together quickly, you can draw out those delicious flavors in an Instant Pot. To do so, sauté chopped onion in melted butter in the Instant Pot (using the sauté function). Then add…

WHILE THE ORIGINS of specific dishes are usually at least a little murky, every recipe for sweet tea–brined fried chicken owes a debt to Chef John Fleer, who is said to have created the dish while he was at Blackberry Farm, the famed resort in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Our recipe, which is inspired by Fleer’s, is no exception. We reached out to Chef Fleer—whom Garden & Gun called “arguably the most influential yet wildly under celebrated Southern chef of his generation”—to learn more about the origins of the recipe, its crucial elements, and why we ought to keep making that most American of foods (fried chicken) at home. SWEET TEA–BRINED FRIED CHICKEN THIGHS Serves 4 Total Time: 1½ hours, plus 12½ hours brining and chilling Use a…

THE BEST KIND of summer cooking requires hardly any cooking at all to highlight the fresh flavors of peak-season produce. Here, we set out to dress wedges of juicy summer tomatoes with a potent dressing that enhances—but doesn’t cover up—their sweet‑tart allure. This lively salad combines juicy tomatoes with a warm dressing inspired by a combination of flavors commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisines: citrusy-floral lemongrass and lime, pungent ginger and garlic, umami-rich fish sauce, and fresh chile and herbs. To bring out the fruit’s natural flavors, start by lightly salting large chunks of ripe tomatoes and allowing their juices to accumulate in a bowl. For the warm dressing, gently soften a trio of lemongrass, ginger, and garlic on the stove and then swirl in some fish sauce, lime zest…

BAY SCALLOP AND CORN CHOWDER DINNER TONIGHT / SERVES 4 / 50 MINUTES TOFU KATSU DINNER TONIGHT / SERVES 4 / 45 MINUTES BUFFALO CHICKEN MAC AND CHEESE DINNER TONIGHT / SERVES 4 / 50 MINUTES GRILLED CHICKEN AND CABBAGE WITH LEMONY BROWNED BUTTER DRESSING DINNER TONIGHT / SERVES 4 / 1 HOUR Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese Sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese before serving, if desired. 12 ounces precooked frozen breaded chicken tenders6 tablespoons Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce, divided2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted1 tablespoon ranch seasoning mix, divided1¾ cups water1 cup whole milk8 ounces (2 cups) elbow macaroni6 ounces American cheese, chopped (1½ cups)6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1½ cups)2 scallions, sliced thin 1. Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler and heat oven to…

GOING OUT TO a Sichuan restaurant was always a special affair for my family when I was a child. Seated at an enormous round table, we would enjoy a seemingly endless array of food adorned with bright chiles, mouth-tingling sauces, and fiery broth. I always favored one dish in particular: twice-cooked pork. Its tender pieces of meat, complex crimson sauce, and inherent savoriness captivated me. Observing that I always ordered the same thing, my dad became determined to re-create the dish at home. For months, I watched him experiment in the kitchen with an array of chili pastes lined up on the counter. After many taste tests (in which I eagerly participated), I concluded that not only was my dad the best chef in the world, but that now, finally,…

COOKING CHICKEN parts in a skillet is a nice alternative to roasting a whole chicken. It shortens the cooking time and allows you to make a side dish—that isn’t just roasted vegetables—right in the same pan. But it does take a little upfront work if you opt to butcher a whole chicken into parts (you can also buy prebutchered parts). Our Cooking Class walks you through these steps and makes this process easy and efficient. With 10 chicken parts (two halved split breasts, two drum-sticks, two thighs, and two wings) at the ready, simply season all the chicken and place the pieces skin side down in a cold skillet with a little extra-virgin olive oil. The oil helps evenly distribute the heat in the skillet and the cold start renders…

SOFT-SIDED COOLERS are ideal for keeping food and drinks cold when you don’t want to lug a heavy hard-sided cooler. They’ve recently gotten more technical, promising better performance and longer cooling times. Do they deliver? To find out, we tested 16-to 20-liter coolers in a broad range of designs. We found that the coolers were shaped either like boxes or totes. We preferred the box-shaped models as they were easier to load and held more. The soft coolers were indeed lighter than their hard-sided counterparts; the heaviest weighed just 6.5 pounds. The heft of hard-sided coolers does have an upside: better insulation. Our winner from Yeti kept ice frozen for seven days. Our soft-sided winner, the Engel HD20 22qt Heavy-Duty Soft Sided Cooler Tote Bag, kept ice frozen for three full…