In the world of cookbooks and food magazines, rule No. 1 is simple - chicken sells.
There seems to be an almost insatiable appetite for chicken. Between 1970 and 2004, chicken consumption in the United States, for example, more than doubled to nearly 27 kilograms per person a year, federal data show.
Which is why smart editors fill their pages with a steady stream of recipes for all manner of chicken dishes. Of course, that can create a bit of chicken recipe clutter. How to decide which recipes merit clipping?
The editors at Cook's Illustrated magazine aim to make that easier with their latest cookbook, "The Best Chicken Recipes" (America's Test Kitchen, 2008), a weighty collection of their top tips and recipes for buying, prepping and cooking chicken.
From most publishers, the title would be mostly meaningless - even wishful - marketing. But the folks behind Cook's Illustrated painstakingly test each recipe dozens of times during development
The recipes range from starters (such as Party Chicken Skewers) to chilies (White Chicken Chili) to slow, fast, light and leftovers (such as Moo Shu Chicken).
Here's a sample recipe to test for yourself. Red-cooked chicken is slowly simmered in a broth of dark soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, scallions and star anise. Delicious.
Red-Cooked Chicken
2 kg (4 lb) bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (split breasts cut in half, drumsticks and/or thighs), trimmed of excess fat
30 ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil, plus more as needed
6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 30 ml/2 tbsp)
30 ml (2 tbsp) minced or grated fresh ginger
5 ml (1 tsp) Sichuan peppercorns
3 whole star anise
125 ml ( 1/2 cup) dark soy sauce
75 ml (1/3 cup) low-sodium chicken broth
50 ml ( 1/4 cup) Chinese rice cooking wine or dry sherry
45 ml (3 tbsp) toasted sesame oil
45 ml (3 tbsp) light brown sugar
4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled
Pat chicken dry with paper towels.
In a large dutch oven over medium-high, heat oil until just smoking. Brown half of the chicken on both sides, 5 to 8 minutes per side, reducing heat if pan begins to scorch.
Transfer chicken to a plate, leaving fat in pot. Return pot to medium-high heat and repeat with remaining chicken. Transfer chicken to the plate.
Pour off all but 15 ml (1 tbsp) of fat from pot. (Add additional oil to equal 15 ml/1 tbsp, if needed.)
Add garlic, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns and star anise and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in soy sauce, chicken broth, rice wine, sesame oil and brown sugar, scraping up any browned bits.
Nestle hard-cooked eggs and chicken, along with any accumulated juices, into pot and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chicken is fully cooked and tender, about 20 minutes for breasts (70 to 73 C/160 to 165 F) or 1 hour for thighs and drumsticks (75 to 80 C/170 to 175 F), turning over chicken and eggs halfway through cooking to ensure even colouring from sauce. (If using both types of chicken, simmer thighs and drumsticks for 40 minutes before adding breasts.)
Transfer chicken and eggs to a serving dish, tent loosely with foil and let rest while finishing sauce.
Remove and discard star anise. Skim as much fat as possible off surface of sauce. Pour sauce over chicken and eggs and serve.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Source: Cooks Illustrated's "The Best Chicken Recipes" (America's Test Kitchen, 2008).
