Americas Test Kitchen - Chicken 20 Ways

This ebook has been tested, written, and edited by the folks at Americas Test Kitchen. Located in Bostons Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, it features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space, including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cooks Illustrated magazine and Cooks Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.

We start the process of testing a recipe with a complete lack of preconceptions, which means that we accept no claim, no technique, and no recipe at face value. We simply assemble as many variations as possible, test a half-dozen of the most promising, and taste the results blind. We then construct our own recipe and continue to test it, varying ingredients, techniques, and cooking times until we reach a consensus. As we like to say in the test kitchen, We make the mistakes so you dont have to. The result, we hope, is the best version of a particular recipe, but we realize that only you can be the final judge of our success (or failure). We use the same rigorous approach when we test equipment and taste ingredients.

All of this would not be possible without a belief that good cooking, much like good music, is based on a foundation of objective technique. Some people like spicy foods and others dont, but there is a right way to saut, there is a best way to cook a pot roast, and there are measurable scientific principles involved in producing perfectly beaten, stable egg whites. Our ultimate goal is to investigate the fundamental principles of cooking to give you the techniques, tools, and ingredients you need to become a better cook. It is as simple as that.

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However you choose to visit us, we welcome you into our kitchen, where you can stand by our side as we test our way to the best recipes in America.

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Photography: Carl Tremblay

One-Hour Broiled Chicken and Pan Sauce

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

The key to getting a whole chicken on the table in about an hour was broiling, not roasting. Butterflying the chicken helped it cook evenly and quickly, and piercing the skin helped the fat render. To ensure perfectly cooked white meat and dark meat, we used a preheated skillet to jump-start the cooking of the leg quarters, and we started that skillet under a cold broiler to slow down the cooking of the breasts. We built an easy, flavorful sauce with the drippings.