Chef John’s 10 Best Recipes of 2025

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Chef John is back with his annual countdown of the year’s most delicious and popular dishes! In this video, see how to make fan favorites like Tiger Chicken, New Orleans Mac and Cheese, and the spicy Red Devil Cocktail Meatballs. These easy tutorials are the perfect way to upgrade your dinner rotation with tested and approved recipes.

Transcript

00:00:00Hello, this is Chef John from Foodwishes.com with a very special episode for you today.

00:00:07That's right, we're looking back at the best recipes of 2025.

00:00:12From unexpected viral hits to reinventing favorites,

00:00:15these are the dishes that lit up the internet and our appetites.

00:00:19So make yourself comfortable, don't be afraid to take a few notes,

00:00:23and as always, enjoy Awesome Blossom Onion Bites.

00:00:28That's right, trying to deep fry an onion blossom at home is not a great idea,

00:00:33nor is eating at the strip mall too often,

00:00:36which is why I'm going to show you how to make basically the same thing

00:00:38with a much easier, much less messy method.

00:00:42And yes, these are not just awesome, they are extra awesome.

00:00:46And to get started, we'll mix together our awesome blossom sauce,

00:00:50which starts with some sour cream, to which we will add a little bit of mayo,

00:00:53and then we are definitely going to want to include a nice big spoon of horseradish,

00:00:58which is one of the key ingredients to making this awesome.

00:01:02And then we'll finish up with a little bit of ketchup for its sweet tanginess and also a little bit of color.

00:01:08And then we'll take a spoon and give this a thorough mixing,

00:01:11at which point we have to give it a taste and adjust if necessary.

00:01:14And this tasted awesome, but I really wanted it to taste extra awesome.

00:01:19So I decided to add a few shakes of cayenne,

00:01:22and then I gave it another mix and another taste.

00:01:25And of course, you're going to have to do the same thing to yours.

00:01:28I mean, you are after all the Michael Scott of what this got.

00:01:31And that's it.

00:01:32Once that's tasting exactly how we want, we'll pop that in the fridge until we need it.

00:01:36And then we'll move on to the only actual prep we have to do, which is dicing one onion.

00:01:42And for that, we will find the top of an onion.

00:01:44All right, that's the root end, or the bottom.

00:01:47But what we want to do is cut about an inch off the top.

00:01:50And once we do, we'll cut this in half.

00:01:53Although cutting down on something rounded is not that safe.

00:01:56So let's turn that to the flat side.

00:01:58And then we'll cut directly through that root end.

00:02:01And once that's set, we'll go ahead and peel off the skin,

00:02:04which is usually very, very easy, unless I'm filming.

00:02:08And then it looks like the hardest thing I've ever done.

00:02:10And that layer underneath the skin did not want to separate.

00:02:13So I ended up pulling that off as well, which was probably a good thing.

00:02:18All right, if that layer doesn't want to separate from the skin,

00:02:20sometimes it means it's very tough and fibrous.

00:02:23And once we have our onions peeled and halved,

00:02:25we will take our knife and slice straight down.

00:02:28And of course, the closer we make these cuts to each other,

00:02:31the finer our dice is going to be.

00:02:33And whatever distance those slices were apart,

00:02:36we will make the same thickness cuts go in this way.

00:02:38And we'll do that until we get down near the root,

00:02:41at which point I stop,

00:02:43since I don't want to fuss around with that.

00:02:45And it is the harshest part of the onion.

00:02:48And after the initial dicing,

00:02:50if you want to give this another chop to make things a little smaller, go ahead.

00:02:53But this was pretty much looking exactly how I want it.

00:02:57And then what we'll do is transfer two cups of these diced onions into a mixing bowl,

00:03:01which is pretty much what you're going to get out of one standard yellow onion.

00:03:05And then once bowled, we'll sprinkle over a teaspoon and a half of kosher salt.

00:03:09And what our plan is here is to mix this salt in

00:03:13and then let it sit for about 15 minutes,

00:03:15during which time it's going to draw moisture out of the onion,

00:03:19which I think is going to improve the texture and flavor.

00:03:22So yes, this step is optional,

00:03:24but it's been my experience that vegetables you salt before you cook them

00:03:28always, almost every time, taste better.

00:03:30And it's kind of hard to see here,

00:03:33but after 15 minutes, once you unwrap these,

00:03:36you will notice the onions look very wet and kind of sweaty,

00:03:40which again is that salt drying out the moisture.

00:03:42So what we'll do is transfer those onions into a strainer,

00:03:45and we will rinse those very, very thoroughly under cold running water,

00:03:49which is going to remove all the excess salt.

00:03:52And then what we'll do is let that drain for a couple minutes

00:03:54before we transfer it into a dry bowl,

00:03:57and we will start introducing the rest of the ingredients

00:03:59beginning with a nice big pinch of salt,

00:04:02as well as some freshly ground black pepper,

00:04:05followed by a few shakes of cayenne.

00:04:07We will also do some garlic powder,

00:04:10which is not the same as garlic salt.

00:04:12Okay, if you use that, you probably don't need the pinch of salt.

00:04:15And then we'll finish up the dry ingredients

00:04:17with a little bit of cornmeal,

00:04:19followed by some all-purpose flour,

00:04:22and then last but not least, some baking powder,

00:04:26not baking soda, baking powder.

00:04:28And then what I'd like to do before we add the milk

00:04:31is give this a quick stir.

00:04:33And we could, if we want, probably add that in with everything else.

00:04:37But the first time I made this,

00:04:38I mixed up the onions with these dry ingredients first,

00:04:41and then added the milk.

00:04:43And it came out so perfectly,

00:04:44I don't want to change the method.

00:04:46So I'm going to stir all that together first,

00:04:48and then add the milk at this point.

00:04:50And then we'll continue stirring

00:04:52until we've formed a very thick batter.

00:04:55And like all batters,

00:04:56if yours seems really thin,

00:04:58add a little more flour.

00:05:00Or if it seems much more thicker than mine,

00:05:02you could add a little bit of milk.

00:05:04But one way or another,

00:05:05once we're finished, it should look like this.

00:05:08And then what we'll do is let that sit

00:05:09for about 5 or 10 minutes

00:05:10while we heat up some oil in a skillet,

00:05:13set over medium-high heat,

00:05:15and once our oil's hot,

00:05:16as in about 350 degrees,

00:05:19we can start transferring in

00:05:20rounded tablespoon portions of the batter,

00:05:23which for me is most easily done

00:05:24with one of these sorbet scoops.

00:05:26But just a couple spoons will do the exact same thing.

00:05:30All right, use one spoon to scoop,

00:05:31and one spoon to push it off.

00:05:34And I generally just go with a round shape,

00:05:36since that's the easiest.

00:05:38Although I guess round-ish

00:05:39would be a more accurate term.

00:05:41But anyway, since I'm using a small pan,

00:05:43I'm only going to be able to fit 6 in here.

00:05:46Which is fine,

00:05:47since these only take about 3 minutes per side.

00:05:49And we can keep the finished ones

00:05:51in a warm oven until we're done.

00:05:53And I didn't have much trouble

00:05:55with these sticking together.

00:05:56But once they're in the oil,

00:05:58after about 30 seconds or so,

00:06:00it is not a bad idea to check with a spatula

00:06:02to make sure that's not happening.

00:06:04And that's it.

00:06:05After frying for about 3 minutes,

00:06:07we'll go ahead and flip those over.

00:06:09Which I'm going to do with a spatula,

00:06:11and possibly the help of a fork.

00:06:13Okay, as long as you're not splashing oil on yourself,

00:06:16you're doing fine.

00:06:18And the spatula-only method

00:06:19was working for a little bit.

00:06:21But it is probably easier and safer

00:06:22if you use the fork too.

00:06:24And that's it.

00:06:25We'll give the other side

00:06:26about 3 minutes or so.

00:06:28Or until these are beautifully browned,

00:06:29and nice and crispy around the edges.

00:06:32And since I did want a little more browning

00:06:34on that first side,

00:06:35I decided to flip these over again.

00:06:37Which some people say

00:06:39you should never do when you fry.

00:06:40But you know what?

00:06:41They say a lot of things.

00:06:43And while these might absorb a little more oil,

00:06:45I always think they come out a little crispier

00:06:47if we do flip them again.

00:06:49Sort of kind of like a twice-cooked french fry.

00:06:52And that's it.

00:06:53Once our awesome blossom bites have fried

00:06:54for about 6 minutes total,

00:06:56we will carefully,

00:06:58and in my case a little bit awkwardly,

00:07:00remove those from the oil

00:07:01onto a paper towel-lined plate.

00:07:03Okay, I thought this strainer

00:07:05would slide right under,

00:07:06which it didn't,

00:07:07since I only have about

00:07:07a half inch of oil in the pan.

00:07:10But anyway, it was fine,

00:07:11and I eventually got them out.

00:07:13At which point I fried the rest

00:07:15for a grand total of 16 bites.

00:07:18And we'll go ahead and serve those up

00:07:19next to our awesome blossom sauce,

00:07:22which I'm going to garnish

00:07:23with another shake of cayenne.

00:07:25Because as I've already mentioned,

00:07:27we want these to be extra awesome,

00:07:29which I'm happy to report

00:07:30they were.

00:07:31But before we get to

00:07:33the extra awesome taste,

00:07:35let's listen to the

00:07:36extra awesome texture.

00:07:47Oh yes, we have a beautiful,

00:07:49tender, soft, moist inside,

00:07:51surrounded by a beautiful,

00:07:52crunchy outside,

00:07:53with the very outer edge

00:07:54of it being extra crispy.

00:07:56So texturally speaking,

00:07:58I think these are perfect.

00:08:00And then as far as the taste goes,

00:08:01imagine the best onion ring

00:08:03you've ever had,

00:08:04except a little bit better.

00:08:06And of course,

00:08:07this would be great

00:08:07with lots of different kinds of sauces.

00:08:09Right, I can think of about 12

00:08:11off the top of my head.

00:08:12But this one with that tangy sour cream,

00:08:15and that little bit of heat

00:08:16from the horseradish and the cayenne,

00:08:18I think is an absolutely perfect pairing.

00:08:20But whether you make and serve

00:08:22these as shown,

00:08:23or you come up with your own

00:08:24extra awesome version,

00:08:25I think this is a great way

00:08:27to capture the magic

00:08:28of a deep-fried onion blossom.

00:08:30And I really do hope

00:08:31you give this a try soon.

00:08:34Men-a-man!

00:08:35That's right,

00:08:36I'm going to show you

00:08:37my favorite version

00:08:38of what people refer to

00:08:39as Turkish scrambled eggs.

00:08:41Although if you do it like

00:08:42I like to do it,

00:08:43it's not going to be like

00:08:44any scrambled eggs

00:08:45you've ever had.

00:08:46But anyway,

00:08:47we'll get to all those options later,

00:08:49and there are a lot of them.

00:08:50But for now,

00:08:51let's just get started

00:08:52by looking at the main ingredients,

00:08:54which includes

00:08:54an array of fresh peppers,

00:08:56and today I'll be using

00:08:57some sweet red bell,

00:08:59as well as these gorgeous

00:09:00green Anaheim chilies,

00:09:02which are fairly mild,

00:09:03but sometimes do have

00:09:04a little bit of heat.

00:09:06And then last but not least,

00:09:07I have a few homegrown

00:09:08aji amarillo

00:09:09Peruvian chili peppers,

00:09:11which are kind of medium spicy.

00:09:13And then besides the peppers,

00:09:14we're going to need

00:09:15some crushed or chopped up tomato,

00:09:17which in turkey is usually

00:09:18a fresh tomato

00:09:19that they peel and seed

00:09:20and dice.

00:09:21But the fresh tomatoes

00:09:22at the market right now

00:09:23are not good.

00:09:24So I'm going to use

00:09:24these crushed San Marzano tomatoes,

00:09:26which are beautifully sweet.

00:09:28And then the last

00:09:29mandatory ingredient,

00:09:31of course,

00:09:31will be some whole eggs,

00:09:33followed by two optional ingredients,

00:09:35which are diced onion,

00:09:36as well as a little bit

00:09:37of grated cheese.

00:09:39And apparently the onion's

00:09:40not used for the breakfast version,

00:09:42but only if this is used

00:09:43as a main course.

00:09:45And then not everybody does,

00:09:46but I'll be adding

00:09:47a little bit of grated

00:09:48Monterey Jack to mine,

00:09:49but any mild melty cheese

00:09:51will work.

00:09:52And to get this started,

00:09:54we will melt some butter

00:09:54in some olive oil

00:09:55over medium-high heat.

00:09:57And there's quite a debate

00:09:58on whether you should do this

00:09:59in olive oil or butter,

00:10:01which is why I use both,

00:10:03since both sides

00:10:03make great arguments.

00:10:05And once our butter's melted,

00:10:06let's go ahead

00:10:07and toss in our peppers,

00:10:08which we've diced fairly small,

00:10:10along with our onion

00:10:11if we're using it.

00:10:12And we'll also go ahead

00:10:14and toss in

00:10:14a nice big pinch of salt.

00:10:16And what we'll do

00:10:17is cook this stirring

00:10:17for a few minutes

00:10:18until those onions and peppers

00:10:20start to soften up

00:10:21and maybe just start

00:10:22to brown around the edges.

00:10:24And yes,

00:10:25that is a freakishly

00:10:26small wooden spoon,

00:10:27which is never not fun to use,

00:10:29unless your fingers

00:10:30are too close to the action

00:10:31and you get burned.

00:10:32So I will be switching

00:10:33to a bigger one

00:10:34in a second.

00:10:36But anyway,

00:10:36like I said,

00:10:37we'll saute those

00:10:38until they soften up

00:10:39and start to take on

00:10:40a little bit of color,

00:10:42at which point we'll stop

00:10:42and toss in a little bit

00:10:43of dried oregano,

00:10:45right, just a touch.

00:10:47And then we'll follow that

00:10:48with some Leppo chili

00:10:49or the chili flake

00:10:50of your choice.

00:10:52And then I also like to do

00:10:53a pinch of freshly ground

00:10:54black pepper,

00:10:55at which point we can

00:10:56transfer in our tomato product

00:10:58and we'll go ahead

00:10:59and stir everything together.

00:11:01And I should mention

00:11:02at this point,

00:11:03if you do have access

00:11:04to nice fresh

00:11:04vine-ripened tomatoes,

00:11:06by all means,

00:11:07go ahead and grate those

00:11:08and use that

00:11:09or like I said,

00:11:10you can peel it,

00:11:11seed it,

00:11:11and dice it.

00:11:13But in general,

00:11:14many months of the year,

00:11:15a nice diced or crushed

00:11:16San Marzano

00:11:17is going to be

00:11:17your best bet.

00:11:19And then what we'll do

00:11:20after everything's

00:11:20been nicely combined

00:11:21and the mixtures

00:11:22come up to a simmer

00:11:23is we'll reduce

00:11:24our heat to low

00:11:25and we'll cover this

00:11:27and we'll let it simmer

00:11:28just like that

00:11:29for about 10 minutes

00:11:30or until our veggies

00:11:31are nice and soft

00:11:32and all the flavors

00:11:33have had time to mingle.

00:11:35So that's exactly

00:11:36what I did

00:11:37and about 10 minutes later,

00:11:38the mixture looked

00:11:39like this

00:11:39and then what we'll do

00:11:41after we give that a stir

00:11:42is scatter over

00:11:44and then stir in

00:11:45about half our grated cheese

00:11:47and as I mentioned,

00:11:48I'm using Jack

00:11:49because it has a little

00:11:50more flavor than mozzarella,

00:11:52which is what a lot

00:11:53of people use

00:11:53that can't get

00:11:54the authentic Turkish cheese,

00:11:56which apparently

00:11:56is similar to mozzarella.

00:11:57but anyway,

00:11:59use what you want.

00:12:00I mean,

00:12:00you are after all

00:12:01Suleiman the Magnificent

00:12:02of what would be sufficient.

00:12:05But no matter

00:12:05what you use,

00:12:06once the cheese disappears,

00:12:08we will transfer

00:12:09in our whole eggs

00:12:10and then we'll take our spoon

00:12:12and we'll bust those eggs

00:12:13right in the yolks

00:12:14and we'll go ahead

00:12:15and stir those in

00:12:16for as long as we want,

00:12:18which can be just like

00:12:18a few seconds

00:12:19so the eggs

00:12:20are barely mixed in

00:12:21and the eggs

00:12:22stay in large

00:12:23identifiable pieces

00:12:24or like I'm going to do it,

00:12:26stir it in

00:12:27for a couple minutes

00:12:27so we can achieve

00:12:29full integration,

00:12:30which is basically

00:12:31going to form

00:12:31a new, luxurious,

00:12:32very delicious substance.

00:12:34So to summarize,

00:12:35my goal here

00:12:36is to make scrambled eggs

00:12:37that are nothing

00:12:38like scrambled eggs.

00:12:40But no matter

00:12:40how long

00:12:41and how thoroughly

00:12:42you decide

00:12:42to mix your eggs in,

00:12:44once you're done,

00:12:44we will cover this

00:12:45and we'll let it cook

00:12:46on low for a couple minutes

00:12:48or until the mixture

00:12:49is just barely set.

00:12:51And what I mean by that,

00:12:52if we uncover it

00:12:53and we give the pan

00:12:54the old shake-a-shake-a,

00:12:57everything should

00:12:57sort of move together

00:12:58in one mass.

00:13:00And keep in mind,

00:13:01it's going to continue

00:13:02to firm up

00:13:03as we apply

00:13:03the finishing touches

00:13:04and by the time

00:13:06we serve it,

00:13:06it's going to be perfect.

00:13:08So what we'll do

00:13:09is turn off the heat

00:13:10and sprinkle over

00:13:11the rest of the cheese.

00:13:13And yes,

00:13:13since I know

00:13:13you're wondering,

00:13:14I have tried this

00:13:15with feta

00:13:15and it's very good.

00:13:18And then after

00:13:18that's applied,

00:13:19I'm going to do

00:13:20another drizzle

00:13:20of olive oil.

00:13:21Since it looks good,

00:13:23it tastes good,

00:13:24and you really cannot

00:13:25use enough olive oil

00:13:25in your cooking.

00:13:27And I mean that literally.

00:13:28Eat as much as you can.

00:13:30And that's it.

00:13:31We'll almost finish up

00:13:32with a nice sprinkling

00:13:33of Turkish

00:13:33or Syrian chili flakes.

00:13:35Or if times are tough,

00:13:36you can just do

00:13:37a little cayenne

00:13:38over the top.

00:13:39And that's it.

00:13:40We'll go ahead

00:13:40and serve that up

00:13:41next to a nice

00:13:42hunk of bread.

00:13:43And because I had

00:13:44some cilantro

00:13:45that just sprouted

00:13:46in the garden,

00:13:47I went ahead

00:13:47and scattered

00:13:48some young tender leaves

00:13:49over the top.

00:13:50And that's it.

00:13:51my version

00:13:52of Turkish

00:13:52scrambled eggs

00:13:53was ready to enjoy.

00:13:55And by now,

00:13:56as promised,

00:13:57the eggs in the sauce

00:13:58have firmed up perfectly.

00:14:00But since we did

00:14:00stir them in so well,

00:14:02we really don't get

00:14:03chunks of scrambled eggs

00:14:04sitting in sauce.

00:14:05Right?

00:14:05Like I said,

00:14:06the sauce,

00:14:07the cheese,

00:14:07and the eggs

00:14:08have sort of merged

00:14:08together to form

00:14:10almost like a thick dip

00:14:11or spread,

00:14:12which is just absolutely

00:14:14unbelievable on a nice

00:14:15piece of baguette.

00:14:16And of course,

00:14:17in real life,

00:14:18you'll spoon this

00:14:18into some warm bowls

00:14:19and serve the bread

00:14:20alongside.

00:14:21But for the purpose

00:14:22of this video,

00:14:23I'm just going to eat

00:14:24right out of this dish

00:14:25like a savage.

00:14:27And yes,

00:14:27I've definitely done

00:14:28the version where you

00:14:28just barely stir in the eggs

00:14:30and you end up

00:14:31with much larger pieces

00:14:32swimming in the sauce,

00:14:33which is also delicious

00:14:34and totally fine to do.

00:14:36But if I do want

00:14:37the eggs mostly intact,

00:14:39then I'm probably

00:14:39going to go with

00:14:40something closer

00:14:41to a shakshuka,

00:14:42where we just crack

00:14:43the eggs on top

00:14:43and don't scramble them.

00:14:45But if I'm going to mix

00:14:46eggs into a pepper

00:14:47and tomato sauce,

00:14:48I'm really,

00:14:49really going to mix

00:14:50my eggs into the sauce

00:14:51since I think

00:14:52the final result

00:14:53is much more luxurious.

00:14:56But again,

00:14:56this is just

00:14:57personal preference

00:14:58and you should definitely

00:14:59try different versions

00:15:00of this until you decide

00:15:02on your own

00:15:02personal ideal texture.

00:15:04And along the same lines,

00:15:06you can definitely

00:15:06add more eggs to this,

00:15:08which would also give you

00:15:09something closer

00:15:10to a more typical

00:15:11scrambled egg dish.

00:15:12But as you might know,

00:15:13I generally like things saucy.

00:15:16And for me,

00:15:16and more importantly,

00:15:17my wife Michelle,

00:15:19this ratio

00:15:19is what we consider perfection.

00:15:22Oh, and I know

00:15:23it's a bit off-brand,

00:15:24but we did a vegetarian

00:15:25version here.

00:15:27Quite often,

00:15:27a Turkish sausage

00:15:28is used in menemen,

00:15:30which is sort of similar

00:15:31to a beef salami.

00:15:32And while I'm always

00:15:33up for some meat,

00:15:34this meatless version

00:15:35is still very,

00:15:36very satisfying

00:15:36and really didn't

00:15:38lack for anything.

00:15:39Just please,

00:15:40make sure you have

00:15:41enough bread.

00:15:42But whether you add

00:15:43meat or not,

00:15:44this is one of my

00:15:45favorite egg dishes

00:15:46of all time.

00:15:47And I really do hope

00:15:48you give it a try soon.

00:15:50Mississippi Chicken Chili!

00:15:53That's right,

00:15:54we're making chicken,

00:15:55like they make

00:15:55beef pot roast

00:15:56in Mississippi.

00:15:57And then we'll use that

00:15:58to make an amazing chili,

00:16:00just like they don't

00:16:01make it in Texas,

00:16:02since we're adding beans.

00:16:04And this really did

00:16:05come out amazingly well

00:16:06and could not be

00:16:07any easier.

00:16:09And to get started,

00:16:10we will dust off

00:16:11our slow cooker

00:16:12and we will transfer

00:16:13in some boneless,

00:16:14skinless chicken thighs.

00:16:16And while you theoretically

00:16:17could use breasts

00:16:17for this,

00:16:18you really,

00:16:19really shouldn't.

00:16:20All right,

00:16:20the flavor and texture

00:16:21is going to be so much

00:16:22better if you go

00:16:23with the thigh.

00:16:24And once that's

00:16:25been transferred in,

00:16:26we will sprinkle over

00:16:27the two ingredients

00:16:28that make Mississippi

00:16:29pot roast so famously

00:16:30delicious,

00:16:32which would be

00:16:32one packet of

00:16:33au jus gravy mix,

00:16:34followed by one package

00:16:36of powdered ranch

00:16:37dressing mix.

00:16:38And by the way,

00:16:39pro tip,

00:16:40do not read the

00:16:40ingredient list

00:16:41on either package.

00:16:43Okay,

00:16:43this is like similar

00:16:44advice to telling

00:16:45people who love sausage,

00:16:46do not visit

00:16:47a sausage factory.

00:16:49So we'll just sprinkle

00:16:50that over in

00:16:50ignorant bliss.

00:16:52And then because

00:16:53we're turning this

00:16:53into a chili,

00:16:54we'll also sprinkle

00:16:55over a nice big

00:16:56rounded tablespoon

00:16:56of chili powder,

00:16:58as well as a couple

00:16:59of cans of white

00:16:59kidney beans,

00:17:01also known as

00:17:01cannellini beans.

00:17:03And while white beans

00:17:04are a classic choice

00:17:05with chicken chili,

00:17:06of course you can use

00:17:07any other bean you want.

00:17:09I mean,

00:17:09you are after all

00:17:10the Dwight Schrute

00:17:10of exactly which

00:17:12musical fruit.

00:17:13But no matter

00:17:14what you use,

00:17:15we will drizzle the top

00:17:16with about a half a cup

00:17:17of our pepperoncini

00:17:18pepper brine,

00:17:20which comes free

00:17:20with the peppers.

00:17:22And then we'll follow

00:17:22that with a can

00:17:23of fire roasted

00:17:24diced tomatoes.

00:17:25Again,

00:17:26since we're doing

00:17:26a chili,

00:17:27okay,

00:17:28if you're doing

00:17:28classic Mississippi

00:17:29chicken,

00:17:30the tomatoes,

00:17:31beans,

00:17:31and chili powder

00:17:31would be left out.

00:17:33And then to finish

00:17:34this up,

00:17:35we'll transfer over

00:17:36our pepperoncini peppers,

00:17:37which are usually

00:17:38whole in the pot roast

00:17:39recipe.

00:17:40But for this chicken

00:17:41chili version,

00:17:42I thought the slice

00:17:43would be better.

00:17:44And then last

00:17:45but not least,

00:17:46we'll cut up

00:17:46an entire stick

00:17:47of unsalted butter.

00:17:49And we'll distribute

00:17:50that evenly over the top.

00:17:52And believe it or not,

00:17:53that's it.

00:17:54We'll go ahead

00:17:55and place on the lid

00:17:56and make sure

00:17:57it's tightly sealed.

00:17:58And then you can do

00:17:59this on the low setting

00:18:00for a long time.

00:18:02But I prefer to go

00:18:03on the high mode

00:18:03for about three

00:18:04to four hours,

00:18:05which gets us

00:18:06to the same place

00:18:07only much quicker.

00:18:09And that place

00:18:09we want to get to

00:18:10is where the chicken

00:18:11is very tender

00:18:12and just about

00:18:13ready to fall apart.

00:18:15So we'll go ahead

00:18:16and test that

00:18:16with a fork.

00:18:18And once our chicken's

00:18:19done,

00:18:19we can grab

00:18:20a couple forks

00:18:21and we could shred

00:18:21this right in the crock.

00:18:23But I'm actually

00:18:24going to fish this

00:18:24out with some tongs

00:18:25since I want to do

00:18:26a more user-friendly version.

00:18:28Okay,

00:18:29if you shred

00:18:29these whole thighs,

00:18:30you're going to get

00:18:31pieces of chicken

00:18:31longer than your spoon,

00:18:33which could potentially

00:18:34cause some chin burns.

00:18:36So what I'm going to do

00:18:36once it's in a bowl

00:18:37is take a pair of scissors

00:18:39and I'm actually

00:18:40going to scissor the chicken

00:18:41into like one

00:18:42or two inch pieces.

00:18:44Oh yeah,

00:18:44I got this idea

00:18:45from watching

00:18:45an old South Park rerun

00:18:46a few weeks ago.

00:18:48And by doing this

00:18:49in the bowl

00:18:49with scissors,

00:18:50we're not going

00:18:51to mess up

00:18:51a cutting board

00:18:52trying to do it

00:18:53with a knife

00:18:53while the juices

00:18:54are running all over.

00:18:56So personally,

00:18:57I find this method

00:18:58much easier.

00:18:59And that's it.

00:19:00We'll transfer

00:19:00our chicken back in

00:19:01and stir everything together.

00:19:04And at this point,

00:19:05we can just turn it off

00:19:06or just switch it

00:19:07to the warm mode.

00:19:08But before we serve it,

00:19:10we have to give it

00:19:11a taste for seasoning

00:19:11and add some more salt

00:19:13or some more spice

00:19:14or whatever we think

00:19:15it needs.

00:19:16But I thought mine

00:19:17was perfectly seasoned.

00:19:18And once it is,

00:19:20we can grab a ladle

00:19:21and serve up,

00:19:22which we could do

00:19:23in a cup or a bowl,

00:19:24as is,

00:19:25just plain chili.

00:19:27But since I was testing

00:19:28a new recipe

00:19:29for something called

00:19:30swamp rice,

00:19:31I decided to pair

00:19:32it with that.

00:19:34So I ladled some up

00:19:35and then I garnished

00:19:37with a pinch

00:19:37of pepperoncini

00:19:38as well as a little

00:19:40squirt of hot sauce,

00:19:42followed by a final touch

00:19:43of some freshly chopped

00:19:44green onions.

00:19:45And that's it,

00:19:47what I'm calling

00:19:47Mississippi Chicken Chili

00:19:48was ready to enjoy.

00:19:51And that, my friends,

00:19:52really was an incredibly

00:19:53delicious chili.

00:19:55And like the Mississippi

00:19:56pot roast,

00:19:57features a very intense

00:19:58level of savoriness.

00:20:00But don't worry,

00:20:01the chicken does not

00:20:02taste like beef.

00:20:03The flavors from

00:20:04the au jus mix

00:20:05just made the chicken

00:20:06taste like really,

00:20:07really good roasted chicken.

00:20:09And yes,

00:20:10that swamp rice

00:20:10was perfect with this,

00:20:12which is no surprise.

00:20:13Plus, since the rice

00:20:15is made with jalapeno

00:20:16and herbs

00:20:17and spinach

00:20:18and green onions,

00:20:20I think it worked

00:20:21even better than

00:20:21plain rice would have.

00:20:23But no matter what

00:20:24you serve this

00:20:24chili honor with,

00:20:26the method could not

00:20:27be easier

00:20:28or the results

00:20:29more delicious,

00:20:30which is why

00:20:31I really do hope

00:20:32you give this a try

00:20:33soon.

00:20:34One pan stuffed

00:20:35pepper casserole.

00:20:37That's right,

00:20:38we're going to make

00:20:38it in one pan

00:20:39and bake it

00:20:40in one pan.

00:20:41And if you're a fan

00:20:42of beef and rice

00:20:43stuffed peppers,

00:20:44you're going to love

00:20:45this easier,

00:20:46less fussy version

00:20:47since this casserole

00:20:48delivery system

00:20:49delivers the same

00:20:50taste and texture

00:20:51with no actual

00:20:52stuffing involved.

00:20:54And to get started,

00:20:55we'll go ahead

00:20:56and cut up

00:20:56our bell peppers.

00:20:58And by far,

00:20:58the easiest method

00:20:59to do that

00:21:00is to cut both ends

00:21:01off the pepper

00:21:02like this,

00:21:03about a half inch

00:21:04or so from the end.

00:21:05And we'll go ahead

00:21:06and set those two

00:21:06pieces aside for now.

00:21:09And once that's done,

00:21:10we will cut straight

00:21:11down and then

00:21:12we'll turn it

00:21:12on its side.

00:21:14And we'll simply

00:21:14cut through all

00:21:15the membranes

00:21:15that hold the pepper

00:21:16together while we

00:21:17unroll it,

00:21:19which is going to

00:21:19give us a long,

00:21:20beautiful seed-free

00:21:21strip.

00:21:22And then what we'll

00:21:23do is cut that in

00:21:24half and trim out

00:21:25any excess membrane

00:21:26if we want,

00:21:27which is optional

00:21:28and not really

00:21:28necessary.

00:21:29And then what we'll

00:21:30do is cut these

00:21:30pieces into smaller

00:21:31strips.

00:21:32And then all we

00:21:33need to do is

00:21:34turn those strips

00:21:34and slice across

00:21:36into about one

00:21:37inch pieces.

00:21:38And I was just

00:21:39about to say

00:21:39this is the easiest

00:21:40way for a beginner

00:21:41to cut a pepper,

00:21:42which it is,

00:21:43but it's also the

00:21:44best way for a

00:21:45professional chef

00:21:45to cut a pepper.

00:21:47And of course,

00:21:47the more strips

00:21:48you cut at once,

00:21:48the faster this goes.

00:21:50But this is only

00:21:51going to take a few

00:21:51minutes,

00:21:52so if you just

00:21:53want to do two

00:21:53or three at a time,

00:21:54that's fine.

00:21:56And once that's

00:21:56done,

00:21:56we'll take the end

00:21:57pieces and cut those

00:21:58into a similar size.

00:22:00And if there's a

00:22:01tiny black speck

00:22:02on the end of the

00:22:02pepper where the

00:22:03flour used to attach,

00:22:05we could trim that

00:22:06off if it bothers us.

00:22:07Which apparently

00:22:08it did me.

00:22:10Oh, and I should

00:22:11mention I do love

00:22:11to use a serrated

00:22:12knife for peppers

00:22:13since the skins

00:22:14are really tough

00:22:15and most folks

00:22:16dull kitchen knives

00:22:17are going to

00:22:17struggle with that.

00:22:19But no matter

00:22:20what you use,

00:22:21we'll cut up

00:22:21three or four

00:22:22bell peppers

00:22:22depending on the

00:22:23size.

00:22:24And then we'll

00:22:25head to the stove

00:22:25where we're going

00:22:26to add a pound

00:22:27of ground beef

00:22:27to a skillet

00:22:28in which we put

00:22:29a little bit

00:22:30of olive oil

00:22:30and we'll

00:22:31toss in a nice

00:22:32big pinch

00:22:32of salt

00:22:33and over

00:22:34high heat

00:22:35we will start

00:22:35breaking this

00:22:36meat up

00:22:36since the first

00:22:37step is to

00:22:38brown this

00:22:38with some

00:22:39onions.

00:22:40But I find

00:22:40it much easier

00:22:41to break the

00:22:41meat up a little

00:22:42bit first

00:22:42before we add

00:22:43the onions in.

00:22:44Otherwise,

00:22:45as I've learned

00:22:45the hard way,

00:22:46they tend to

00:22:47fly out of the

00:22:47pan.

00:22:49So I like to

00:22:50work the meat

00:22:50over with a

00:22:51spatula a little

00:22:51bit before

00:22:52adding those

00:22:53in.

00:22:54And then what

00:22:54we'll do is

00:22:55continue to cook

00:22:55this while

00:22:57crumbling the

00:22:57meat into

00:22:57smaller pieces.

00:22:58And we will

00:22:59do that for

00:23:00about five

00:23:00or six minutes

00:23:01or however

00:23:02long it takes

00:23:03to get some

00:23:03nice color

00:23:04on the meat.

00:23:05Alright,

00:23:06this step is

00:23:06called browning.

00:23:07Not graying.

00:23:08Not tanning.

00:23:09It's called

00:23:10browning.

00:23:11So please

00:23:11take your time

00:23:12and make sure

00:23:13you get a little

00:23:13bit of color

00:23:14on the meat.

00:23:15Which always

00:23:15every time

00:23:16makes it taste

00:23:16better.

00:23:18And once we're

00:23:18happy with that,

00:23:19we will stop

00:23:20and toss in

00:23:20some butter

00:23:21as well as

00:23:22a fair amount

00:23:22of crushed

00:23:23garlic.

00:23:24And we'll

00:23:24reduce our heat

00:23:25to medium high.

00:23:26And we will

00:23:27cook this

00:23:27stirring for about

00:23:28a minute or

00:23:29until that

00:23:30butter melts

00:23:30in.

00:23:31And once that

00:23:32happens,

00:23:32we'll go ahead

00:23:33and season

00:23:33this up with

00:23:34some freshly

00:23:35ground black

00:23:36pepper, a

00:23:37little bit of

00:23:37smoked paprika,

00:23:39although regular

00:23:40is fine.

00:23:41And we'll also

00:23:41do a little bit

00:23:42of garlic powder

00:23:43plus a few

00:23:44shakes of cayenne

00:23:45because why

00:23:45not?

00:23:47And what we'll

00:23:47do is stir

00:23:48those in and

00:23:49cook this for

00:23:49about a minute

00:23:50just to kind

00:23:51of wake them

00:23:52up and infuse

00:23:53them into that

00:23:53oil and beef

00:23:54fat.

00:23:54And once

00:23:56that's been

00:23:56accomplished,

00:23:57we can add

00:23:57our bell

00:23:58peppers to

00:23:58the pan and

00:24:00we'll go ahead

00:24:00and stir

00:24:00those in and

00:24:02then we'll

00:24:02cook this for

00:24:02about two

00:24:03or three

00:24:03minutes,

00:24:04basically just

00:24:05until those

00:24:05peppers are

00:24:06heated through.

00:24:07Okay, we

00:24:08don't really

00:24:08need them to

00:24:09soften since

00:24:10this whole

00:24:10thing is going

00:24:11to get baked

00:24:11in the oven,

00:24:12but I do

00:24:12like to cook

00:24:13them for a

00:24:13couple minutes

00:24:14just to take

00:24:15off the raw

00:24:15edge, at

00:24:17which point I

00:24:17like to transfer

00:24:18in my rice

00:24:18and give that

00:24:20a quick stir

00:24:20for about a

00:24:21minute.

00:24:21Since I think

00:24:22if we coat the

00:24:23rice with the

00:24:23fat in the

00:24:24pan, the

00:24:25texture of

00:24:25our final

00:24:25product is a

00:24:26little nicer

00:24:27and a little

00:24:28more pilaf-like

00:24:29where the

00:24:30rice gets

00:24:30beautifully

00:24:30tender yet

00:24:31still holds

00:24:32its shape.

00:24:33So like I

00:24:34said, that

00:24:34step is

00:24:35optional, but

00:24:36personally I

00:24:36do think it's

00:24:37worth the

00:24:37extra minute.

00:24:38And that's

00:24:39it, we'll go

00:24:39ahead and add

00:24:40in the rest

00:24:40of our salt

00:24:41along with a

00:24:42splash of

00:24:43Worcestershire

00:24:43sauce, followed

00:24:45by a couple

00:24:45cups of

00:24:46tomato sauce or

00:24:47pretty much any

00:24:48tomato product.

00:24:49And then we'll

00:24:50finish up with

00:24:50our beef broth,

00:24:52which could also

00:24:52be chicken

00:24:53broth.

00:24:54They both will

00:24:54actually work

00:24:55fine in this.

00:24:56And what we'll

00:24:57do is stir all

00:24:57that together and

00:24:58we'll raise our

00:24:59heat to high,

00:25:00since we want to

00:25:01bring this up to

00:25:01a simmer before

00:25:02we cover it and

00:25:03pop it in the

00:25:03oven.

00:25:05And by the way,

00:25:05if you don't have

00:25:06a pan like this,

00:25:07they can go

00:25:07straight in the

00:25:08oven from the

00:25:08stove.

00:25:09Just simply do

00:25:10this in a

00:25:10regular skillet and

00:25:12then transfer

00:25:12everything into a

00:25:13casserole dish.

00:25:14And the final

00:25:15product will be

00:25:15the same, but

00:25:17with a slightly

00:25:17different name.

00:25:19But anyway,

00:25:20once our pan's

00:25:20bubbling, we'll

00:25:21go ahead and

00:25:22turn off the

00:25:22heat and we'll

00:25:23go ahead and

00:25:24transfer over our

00:25:24cheese, but not

00:25:26all of it.

00:25:27We're going to

00:25:27save some for

00:25:28the top, which

00:25:29as you'll see,

00:25:30will stay on the

00:25:30top.

00:25:31But with this

00:25:32portion of the

00:25:32cheese, we're

00:25:33going to take a

00:25:33spoon and kind of

00:25:34poke and stir that

00:25:35in.

00:25:36And by the way,

00:25:37I'm using a nice

00:25:37white cheddar for

00:25:38this.

00:25:39But if you wanted,

00:25:40you could use

00:25:40half cheddar and

00:25:42then half something

00:25:42more mild like a

00:25:43Monterey Jack or a

00:25:44mozzarella.

00:25:46Right?

00:25:46As usual, the exact

00:25:47cheeses are up to

00:25:48you.

00:25:49I mean, you are

00:25:49after all the

00:25:50Chef John Stan of

00:25:52making stuffed

00:25:52pepper casserole in

00:25:53one pan.

00:25:55And that's it.

00:25:55Once that's been

00:25:56poked and stirred in,

00:25:57we'll go ahead and

00:25:58cover that tightly and

00:26:00we will transfer that

00:26:00into the upper

00:26:01center of a 375

00:26:03degree oven for

00:26:04about 45 minutes.

00:26:06At which point we'll

00:26:07pull it out, uncover

00:26:09it, and do two

00:26:10things.

00:26:11Well, maybe two

00:26:12things.

00:26:13Right?

00:26:13That depends on the

00:26:14first thing, which is

00:26:15to take a spoon and

00:26:16test the doneness of

00:26:17the rice, which

00:26:19should be just

00:26:19tender by now.

00:26:21And if it is, and

00:26:22mine was, we can

00:26:24apply the rest of

00:26:24our cheese over the

00:26:25top.

00:26:26But if your rice is

00:26:27not quite cooked yet,

00:26:29you can just cover it

00:26:29back up and pop it

00:26:31in the oven until it

00:26:32is.

00:26:33But anyway, once the

00:26:34rice is tender and

00:26:35this has been topped

00:26:36with cheese, we will

00:26:37pop this under the

00:26:38broiler uncovered for

00:26:39a couple minutes just

00:26:40to melt the cheese and

00:26:42maybe have it get a

00:26:43little bit golden

00:26:43brown, which you can

00:26:45also do in a hot

00:26:46oven, like 475 for

00:26:47about five or ten

00:26:48minutes.

00:26:49At which point, if

00:26:50everything goes

00:26:50according to plan, it

00:26:52should look like this.

00:26:54Oh yeah, that is

00:26:55beautiful and way, way

00:26:56too hot to eat.

00:26:58So I think we should

00:26:58let this sit for at

00:26:59least ten minutes

00:27:00before we serve up.

00:27:02But hang on, I

00:27:03forgot a very, very

00:27:04important thing.

00:27:05Anytime we take a

00:27:06pan out of the oven

00:27:07that has a handle or

00:27:08handles, we always

00:27:09place towels over

00:27:10those.

00:27:11Because if you don't,

00:27:12someone will grab

00:27:12them and they will

00:27:13burn themselves and

00:27:14it will be your

00:27:15fault.

00:27:16So please play it

00:27:17safe.

00:27:18And that's it, I

00:27:18went ahead and let

00:27:19mine rest and

00:27:20removed the towels

00:27:21since I'm the only

00:27:22one in the kitchen.

00:27:24And then I finish

00:27:24this up with some

00:27:25freshly chopped

00:27:26Italian parsley.

00:27:28And after taking

00:27:28way too many

00:27:29contractually obligated

00:27:30pictures, I grabbed

00:27:31a spoon and served

00:27:32some up.

00:27:34And some of these

00:27:34recipes I do are a

00:27:35little bit challenging

00:27:36to describe the

00:27:37taste and texture.

00:27:38But this one is

00:27:39not.

00:27:40Right, that my

00:27:41friends tastes

00:27:41exactly like a

00:27:43beef and rice

00:27:43stuffed pepper.

00:27:45Except because we

00:27:46have more surface

00:27:46area with this, it

00:27:48might actually even

00:27:48be a little bit

00:27:49better and more

00:27:50flavorful.

00:27:51Which reminds me,

00:27:53this is more of an

00:27:54idea than a specific

00:27:55recipe.

00:27:56So whatever you

00:27:56usually put in your

00:27:57stuffed peppers will

00:27:58work with this

00:27:58technique.

00:28:00Oh, and do not let

00:28:01this little sample

00:28:01plate fool you.

00:28:03I'm usually enjoying

00:28:03a slightly larger

00:28:04portion next to a

00:28:06nice big green

00:28:07salad since this is a

00:28:08fairly rich dish.

00:28:10So I think enjoying

00:28:11it next to some

00:28:11crunchy greens is a

00:28:12great idea.

00:28:14But no matter how

00:28:14you serve it, if

00:28:16you're a fan of

00:28:16stuffed bell peppers

00:28:17and you're a fan of

00:28:18just making things

00:28:19with one pan, I

00:28:21really do hope you

00:28:22give this a try

00:28:22soon.

00:28:24Red devil cocktail

00:28:25meatballs.

00:28:27That's right, they

00:28:28say the devil's in

00:28:29the details.

00:28:30Which is why I've

00:28:31eliminated most of

00:28:32the details here to

00:28:33make these less

00:28:34devilish to do and

00:28:35even more devilishly

00:28:36delicious to eat.

00:28:38And whether you're

00:28:39doing a football

00:28:39tailgate or a

00:28:40Halloween party,

00:28:42these will be

00:28:42absolutely perfect.

00:28:44And to get started,

00:28:45we will add some

00:28:46ground beef and

00:28:47some ground pork to

00:28:48a mixing bowl.

00:28:49And while you can

00:28:50use one or the

00:28:51other, I think a

00:28:52combo works best.

00:28:53And since we are

00:28:54using two different

00:28:55kind of meats,

00:28:56what I like to do

00:28:56is take a fork and

00:28:58blend these two

00:28:59meats together before

00:28:59we add the rest of

00:29:00the ingredients, just

00:29:02to hopefully avoid

00:29:02over-mixing later.

00:29:04And once our two

00:29:05meats have become

00:29:06one, we will toss

00:29:07in the rest of the

00:29:08ingredients, which

00:29:09will include one

00:29:10large egg, a small

00:29:12but important splash

00:29:13of milk, and then

00:29:15we'll also need some

00:29:15salt, of course, as

00:29:17well as some freshly

00:29:18ground black pepper,

00:29:20followed by some

00:29:21garlic powder, as

00:29:23well as some onion

00:29:23powder.

00:29:25And then obviously,

00:29:26if the recipe has the

00:29:27word devil in the

00:29:27name, we're going to

00:29:28have to also add a

00:29:29little bit of cayenne.

00:29:31And that's it.

00:29:31We'll finish up with

00:29:32our breadcrumbs.

00:29:33And then we'll take

00:29:34our fork again, and

00:29:36we will mix and stir

00:29:37this until everything

00:29:37is evenly combined.

00:29:39And while it does

00:29:40take a little bit

00:29:40longer, I really like

00:29:42using a fork for this.

00:29:43But if you want, you

00:29:44can use a big spoon or

00:29:45a spatula, or even

00:29:46your hand.

00:29:47I mean, you are,

00:29:48after all, the

00:29:49lucifer, of which tool

00:29:50you'd prefer.

00:29:52But I really do think

00:29:53the fork is the best

00:29:54choice, or even a

00:29:55small pitchfork if you

00:29:56have it.

00:29:57And then once that's

00:29:58mixed, what we'll do

00:29:59is pat it down and

00:30:00cover it in plastic.

00:30:02And if possible, pop it

00:30:03into the fridge for

00:30:04about 30 minutes to

00:30:05chill before we shape

00:30:06it.

00:30:07Right, this step is

00:30:07optional, but cold

00:30:09meat is always easier to

00:30:10work with than warm

00:30:11meat.

00:30:12Right, ask anybody that

00:30:13makes meatballs in hell.

00:30:14But whether you chill

00:30:15your meat or not, what

00:30:17we'll do is start

00:30:17scooping portions onto a

00:30:18lightly greased foil-

00:30:19lined baking sheet.

00:30:21And as usual, I'm going

00:30:22to wet my fingers so the

00:30:23meat doesn't stick as I

00:30:24work with it.

00:30:25And you can just scoop

00:30:26out portions with a

00:30:27tablespoon.

00:30:28But I really love

00:30:29using these little

00:30:29sorbet scoopers, since

00:30:31it's easier to get the

00:30:32exact same amount in

00:30:33each portion.

00:30:34But no matter what you

00:30:35use, we'll portion that

00:30:37onto our pan.

00:30:38And if you're making

00:30:39them the same size I am,

00:30:40you're going to get

00:30:41about 30 to 32, which is

00:30:43roughly eight portions of

00:30:45three meatballs each.

00:30:47And then what we'll do

00:30:48once that's been

00:30:48accomplished is wet our

00:30:50hands, and we'll go

00:30:52ahead and roll these

00:30:52into balls, if that is

00:30:54you want balls.

00:30:56Or if you're feeling lazy,

00:30:58or you're pressed for

00:30:58time, you can brown

00:31:00in saucies as is.

00:31:02And they'll still look

00:31:03fine and taste the

00:31:04same.

00:31:05But I do think they

00:31:05look nicer if you

00:31:06roll them.

00:31:07So hopefully you spend

00:31:08a couple extra minutes

00:31:09and do just that.

00:31:11Oh, and do not forget

00:31:12to wet your hands first,

00:31:13since if you only learn

00:31:14one thing on this

00:31:15channel, it should be

00:31:17the damp hands make

00:31:18smooth balls.

00:31:19And once those smooth

00:31:20balls have been formed,

00:31:22and equally spaced,

00:31:23they are ready to

00:31:24transfer into the center

00:31:25of a nice hot

00:31:26475 degree oven for

00:31:28about 10 to 12

00:31:29minutes, or until the

00:31:31bottoms are sizzling

00:31:32and they browned up

00:31:33nicely, and they

00:31:34hopefully look like

00:31:35this.

00:31:37And by the way, you

00:31:37can do this step ahead

00:31:38of time, like I did

00:31:39here, and actually make

00:31:41the meatballs the day

00:31:42before, and then just

00:31:43heat them up in the

00:31:44sauce when you're ready

00:31:45to serve.

00:31:46And for the sauce,

00:31:48we'll need some

00:31:48Korean chili paste,

00:31:50which goes by the

00:31:51name Goshu Jong, or

00:31:52as a food-wisher would

00:31:53pronounce it, Goshu

00:31:55John, and then to

00:31:56that we will add

00:31:57some seasoned rice

00:31:58vinegar, as well as

00:31:59a little touch of

00:32:00soy sauce.

00:32:02I'm also going to do

00:32:03a nice squeeze of

00:32:03shirazza, since my

00:32:05Korean chili paste

00:32:06wasn't that spicy,

00:32:07and I do want this

00:32:08to have a kick.

00:32:10And then to balance

00:32:11out all that salty,

00:32:12sweet tanginess, we'll

00:32:13pour in some maple

00:32:14syrup, which I much

00:32:16prefer over honey in

00:32:17this, which most

00:32:17people use for chili

00:32:18glazes, and that's

00:32:20it, we'll finish up

00:32:21with a small splash of

00:32:22water, at which point

00:32:23we can head to the

00:32:24stove, where we will

00:32:26bring this up to a

00:32:26simmer on medium-high

00:32:27heat.

00:32:28And once it starts to

00:32:30bubble, we'll give it

00:32:31a stir, and we'll

00:32:32reduce our heat to

00:32:33medium, and we'll let

00:32:35this cook for about a

00:32:36minute or two, or

00:32:37until it thickens up

00:32:38slightly.

00:32:39And like all sauces

00:32:41and glazes, you're

00:32:42going to have to decide

00:32:43how thick this gets.

00:32:45Alright, I do want

00:32:45mine relatively thick,

00:32:47but I want to retain a

00:32:48little bit of the

00:32:48sauciness.

00:32:49And once we're

00:32:50eventually happy with

00:32:51how that looks, we

00:32:52will transfer our

00:32:53meatballs in, and we

00:32:55will stir those until

00:32:56they're evenly coated.

00:32:57And then the only

00:32:58things that have to

00:32:59happen before we

00:33:00conserve this is that

00:33:01our meatballs get

00:33:02heated through, as

00:33:04well as our sauce

00:33:04continues to reduce

00:33:05down a little bit to

00:33:07whatever we would

00:33:08consider the perfect

00:33:09glaze.

00:33:10Oh, and if that

00:33:11happens before your

00:33:11meatballs are heated

00:33:12through, just simply

00:33:13add a splash of water

00:33:15so your pan doesn't

00:33:15dry out.

00:33:17And on the other

00:33:18hand, if your

00:33:18meatballs are hot, and

00:33:20your glaze is a little

00:33:21too thin, just turn

00:33:22up the heat and

00:33:23reduce it a little

00:33:24faster.

00:33:25And once we do

00:33:26decide these are

00:33:26ready to serve, I

00:33:28like to give the

00:33:28pan the old shake-a-shake-a

00:33:31just to kind of

00:33:32settle and even out

00:33:33the balls, at which

00:33:34point we could serve

00:33:35these just like this.

00:33:37But I'm actually

00:33:37going to take a wet

00:33:38paper towel and just

00:33:39clean up the sides of

00:33:40the pan a little bit.

00:33:42Alright, if you don't

00:33:42mind washing one

00:33:43extra thing, you

00:33:44could just transfer

00:33:45these into a clean

00:33:46serving pan or dish.

00:33:47But a quick wipe

00:33:49works for me.

00:33:50And that's it, these

00:33:51are ready to serve

00:33:52up.

00:33:52Next is some

00:33:53toothpicks, which I

00:33:54placed in a holder

00:33:55made out of actual

00:33:56human bone.

00:33:58For at least that's

00:33:58what the guy selling

00:33:59the shrunken heads

00:34:00told me.

00:34:01And then for a

00:34:02little bit of a

00:34:02garnish, I'm going

00:34:03to sprinkle these

00:34:04with both white and

00:34:04black sesame seeds.

00:34:06Since if the red

00:34:07meatballs represent the

00:34:08fires of hell, then

00:34:09the light sesame seeds

00:34:10will be the sparks,

00:34:11and the black sesame

00:34:12seeds will be the ash.

00:34:14And that's it,

00:34:15what we're calling

00:34:16Red Devil Cocktail

00:34:17Meatballs are ready

00:34:18to enjoy.

00:34:19So let me grab a

00:34:20toothpick and impale

00:34:22one of these, so I

00:34:23can enjoy the

00:34:24official taste.

00:34:26And that, my friends,

00:34:27ticks every box on

00:34:28the Cocktail Meatball

00:34:29Checklist.

00:34:31Right, the meatballs

00:34:31themselves are very

00:34:32savory, which is

00:34:34really what you need

00:34:34if something's going

00:34:35to be enveloped in

00:34:36this sticky, sweet,

00:34:37tangy, spicy sauce.

00:34:39And I don't think

00:34:40I've ever had something

00:34:41made with Korean

00:34:41chili paste that I

00:34:43didn't absolutely love.

00:34:44And this was no

00:34:45exception.

00:34:47And while the flavor

00:34:47profile is obviously

00:34:48a little bit different

00:34:49from your classic

00:34:50grape jelly chili

00:34:51sauce version,

00:34:52this is going to

00:34:53tickle you in all

00:34:54the same places.

00:34:55And like I said

00:34:56in the intro,

00:34:57whether you make

00:34:57this for a football

00:34:58tailgate party,

00:34:59or a Halloween

00:35:00themed party,

00:35:02or a Halloween

00:35:02themed football

00:35:03tailgate party,

00:35:04these very, very

00:35:05easy to make

00:35:06cocktail meatballs

00:35:07really would be

00:35:08a hell of a good

00:35:09choice.

00:35:10Which is why I

00:35:11really do hope

00:35:12you give these

00:35:12a try soon.

00:35:14New and improved

00:35:15baked feta pasta.

00:35:18That's right.

00:35:19There is no mystery

00:35:20why this easy

00:35:20delicious recipe

00:35:21went viral.

00:35:23And while I

00:35:23thought it was

00:35:23great, I also

00:35:24thought there was

00:35:25a couple ways

00:35:26to improve it.

00:35:27And by the way,

00:35:28you'll probably

00:35:28never guess where

00:35:29this recipe was

00:35:29invented.

00:35:30And I'll share

00:35:31that later.

00:35:32But for now,

00:35:33I'll give you

00:35:33one clue.

00:35:34I will tell you

00:35:35before we finish.

00:35:37So with that,

00:35:38let's go ahead

00:35:38and get started

00:35:39by drizzling a

00:35:40whole bunch of

00:35:40olive oil into

00:35:41our baking pan,

00:35:42which could also

00:35:43be a glass

00:35:43baking dish.

00:35:45And then to the

00:35:46oil, I'm going

00:35:46to add a whole

00:35:47bunch of finely

00:35:47minced garlic.

00:35:49And then we'll

00:35:49take a spoon

00:35:50and give that a

00:35:50mix.

00:35:52And this step

00:35:52here is one of

00:35:53the new

00:35:53improvements,

00:35:54since most

00:35:55people toss it

00:35:55in once the

00:35:56feta is cooked.

00:35:57But I think the

00:35:58results are much

00:35:58better if that's

00:35:59infused into the

00:36:00oil while this

00:36:01bakes.

00:36:02And once that's

00:36:03set, we'll add

00:36:04two pints of

00:36:05cherry tomatoes,

00:36:06just like in the

00:36:06original recipe.

00:36:08And I went with

00:36:09half Cherokee

00:36:09purples and

00:36:11half red grape

00:36:11tomatoes.

00:36:13But any color,

00:36:14any style will

00:36:14work, as long

00:36:15as they're nice

00:36:16and sweet.

00:36:17And that's it,

00:36:18we'll give that a

00:36:18quick toss with

00:36:19our spatula,

00:36:20until they're

00:36:20nicely coated in

00:36:21that garlicky oil.

00:36:23At which point

00:36:24we'll season this

00:36:24very simply with

00:36:25some kosher salt,

00:36:27as well as some

00:36:28freshly ground

00:36:28black pepper.

00:36:30And we do not

00:36:31need a lot of

00:36:31salt here, since

00:36:32feta is a fairly

00:36:33salty cheese.

00:36:34But I generally

00:36:35find we need at

00:36:36least one big

00:36:36extra pinch.

00:36:37And speaking of

00:36:39feta, once we've

00:36:40given that a quick

00:36:41stir, we'll make

00:36:41a space in the

00:36:42center, and we'll

00:36:43transfer in a couple

00:36:44pieces of the

00:36:45milkiest, creamiest

00:36:46feta we can find.

00:36:48Okay, I love the

00:36:49dense, firm, salty

00:36:49version for some

00:36:50things, but for this

00:36:52something creamier and

00:36:53mild is best.

00:36:54And instead of

00:36:55using 8 ounces, I'm

00:36:56actually going to

00:36:57use 10, and I find

00:36:58that a couple extra

00:36:59ounces makes a big

00:37:00difference in the

00:37:00final sauce.

00:37:02So I think that's

00:37:02another improvement,

00:37:04as is this next

00:37:05secret ingredient,

00:37:05which would be to

00:37:07drizzle our cheese

00:37:08with some balsamic

00:37:09vinegar, which is

00:37:10going to add another

00:37:11very interesting

00:37:11sweet and sour

00:37:12element, which I

00:37:13think really elevates

00:37:14the flavor of the

00:37:15tomatoes.

00:37:17And then I'm going

00:37:17to finish up with a

00:37:18nice pinch of dry

00:37:19oregano, as well as

00:37:21some red chili flakes

00:37:22for a little heat.

00:37:23And of course, those

00:37:24things are optional,

00:37:25and you get to add

00:37:26whatever you want.

00:37:28I mean, you are,

00:37:28after all, the

00:37:29great agarbo of

00:37:30your feta's cargo.

00:37:32But unlike her, I do

00:37:33not think this cheese

00:37:34wants to be left

00:37:35alone.

00:37:36But anyway, whether

00:37:37you add that or not,

00:37:38we'll finish up with a

00:37:39nice big drizzle of

00:37:40olive oil over the

00:37:41top.

00:37:42And that's it.

00:37:43Our feta and friends

00:37:44are now ready to

00:37:45transfer into the

00:37:46center of a 450

00:37:48degree oven for

00:37:49about 30 to 35

00:37:50minutes, or until

00:37:52our tomatoes are

00:37:52roasted very soft

00:37:53and our cheese is

00:37:54browned.

00:37:55And it looks like

00:37:56this.

00:37:58Oh yeah, that is

00:37:59gorgeous.

00:38:00And it's ready to

00:38:00stir into a sauce

00:38:01and then toss with

00:38:02our pasta, which we

00:38:04need to cook when

00:38:05this is about seven

00:38:05or eight minutes

00:38:06away from being

00:38:07done.

00:38:08And my favorite

00:38:08shape for this is

00:38:10something called

00:38:10cavatappi, which is

00:38:12basically a cavatelli

00:38:13that's hollow, but

00:38:15literally any shape

00:38:15pasta will work.

00:38:17And we will cook that

00:38:18in salted water

00:38:19according to the

00:38:20directions.

00:38:21But very important,

00:38:23when it's almost

00:38:24done, let's lay it

00:38:25out about a half a cup

00:38:26of the pasta water,

00:38:27since we will use

00:38:28that to adjust the

00:38:29texture of our sauce

00:38:30later.

00:38:30And again, we want

00:38:32to make sure we

00:38:32time the cooking of

00:38:33the pasta, for right

00:38:34before our baked

00:38:35feta comes out of

00:38:36the oven.

00:38:37That way our pasta

00:38:38will be freshly

00:38:38drained and nice

00:38:40and hot when we

00:38:40stir it in.

00:38:42And while our pasta

00:38:42is draining for a

00:38:43minute, we will

00:38:44grab a fork and we

00:38:46will smash and stir

00:38:46this into a sauce.

00:38:48And normally I

00:38:49really dislike tomato

00:38:50skins in my tomato

00:38:51sauce, but I'm happy

00:38:52to report for

00:38:53whatever reason,

00:38:54they're almost

00:38:55imperceivable in

00:38:56this.

00:38:56And even though

00:38:57visually you can

00:38:58still see a few

00:38:58here and there,

00:38:59texturally speaking,

00:39:01they pretty much

00:39:01disappear.

00:39:03And then what we'll

00:39:03do once our sauce

00:39:04looks like this is

00:39:06toss in a whole

00:39:06bunch of freshly

00:39:07sliced basil, as

00:39:09well as two or

00:39:09three tablespoons of

00:39:10our reserved pasta

00:39:11water, followed by

00:39:13our still very, very

00:39:15hot macaroni.

00:39:16And then we'll take

00:39:17a spatula or a

00:39:18spoon, or in my

00:39:19case, a spoonula,

00:39:20and we'll mix

00:39:21everything together

00:39:22until those pieces

00:39:23of pasta are evenly

00:39:24coated and looking

00:39:25beautiful.

00:39:27And depending on

00:39:27the texture, you

00:39:28may want to add

00:39:29another splash or

00:39:29two of the pasta

00:39:30water, which I

00:39:31definitely did

00:39:32here.

00:39:33And by adjusting

00:39:34with that, we're

00:39:35going to keep

00:39:36everything nice and

00:39:36saucy.

00:39:37Okay, so be sure

00:39:38to stir some of

00:39:39that in as you

00:39:40see fit.

00:39:41And keep in mind,

00:39:42after we're done

00:39:43stirring this, as

00:39:44we go to serve it

00:39:45up, it's going to

00:39:46continue to absorb

00:39:46the moisture.

00:39:48So it's actually

00:39:48totally fine, if at

00:39:50this point it seems

00:39:50a little bit saucy.

00:39:52But anyway, mine was

00:39:53feeling and looking

00:39:54perfect.

00:39:55And once it is,

00:39:55we'll grab a fork

00:39:56and give this a

00:39:57taste, and add a

00:39:58little more salt if

00:39:59we need.

00:40:00But mine was

00:40:01tasting exactly how

00:40:02I wanted.

00:40:03And by that I mean

00:40:04it was incredibly

00:40:05delicious, with a

00:40:06perfect balance

00:40:07between the sweet

00:40:08and the tangy, as

00:40:09well as that

00:40:10beautifully briny

00:40:11saltiness that the

00:40:12feta adds.

00:40:14So I could not have

00:40:14been happier with how

00:40:15that came out.

00:40:16And I went ahead and

00:40:17cleaned off the pan and

00:40:18sprinkled over a little

00:40:19more basil, since I

00:40:21had to take some

00:40:21contractually obligated

00:40:22pictures, after which I

00:40:24served up a nice big

00:40:25portion in a bowl.

00:40:26And that, my friends,

00:40:27is every bit as tasty

00:40:28and easy as the

00:40:29original version.

00:40:30Except what I

00:40:31consider those slight

00:40:32improvements that I

00:40:33pointed out, where I

00:40:35cooking the garlic in

00:40:36the oil under the

00:40:36tomatoes, and using

00:40:38more cheese, and

00:40:39topping it with that

00:40:40drizzle of balsamic

00:40:41vinegar, and then

00:40:43cooking it for a

00:40:43shorter time in a

00:40:44hotter oven than most

00:40:45recipes call for.

00:40:47Oh, and before we

00:40:48finish, I should finish

00:40:49by telling you, the

00:40:51person that invented

00:40:51this was finished, or

00:40:53so I've been told, by

00:40:54the finish.

00:40:56And that's it, now I

00:40:57can finish, by saying

00:40:58I really do hope you

00:40:59give this a try soon.

00:41:01Bang Bang Chicken

00:41:02Nuggets!

00:41:04That's right, I'm

00:41:05going to show you my

00:41:05take on Bang Bang

00:41:06Chicken, which

00:41:08actually might be

00:41:08closer to Boom Boom

00:41:09Chicken.

00:41:10Right, this is kind of

00:41:11both.

00:41:12So what I'm trying to

00:41:13say is, I'd really

00:41:14love it if you called

00:41:15this Bang Bang Boom

00:41:16Boom Chicken.

00:41:17Oh yeah, people are

00:41:18going to enjoy saying

00:41:19that, but not as much

00:41:21as they're going to

00:41:21enjoy eating this.

00:41:22And to get started,

00:41:23we'll go ahead and cut

00:41:24up some chicken for

00:41:25our nuggets.

00:41:26And for this, I use

00:41:27both boneless skinless

00:41:28chicken breast and

00:41:30boneless skinless chicken

00:41:31thighs.

00:41:32But this will work with

00:41:33all one or the other.

00:41:35And all we need to do

00:41:36to prep this is cut it

00:41:37into like one, one and

00:41:38a half inch strips.

00:41:40And then we'll simply

00:41:40slice across that every

00:41:41inch or so to create

00:41:43some hopefully fairly

00:41:44uniform pieces.

00:41:45And yes, as you can see

00:41:46from the dramatic

00:41:47shadows, I did this

00:41:49early in the morning,

00:41:49which is not common

00:41:51for me.

00:41:52Right, I'm normally

00:41:53not up and working

00:41:53until the crack of

00:41:54noon.

00:41:55But anyway, once we

00:41:56have our chicken cut up,

00:41:57we will transfer that

00:41:58into a food processor

00:41:59along with the rest

00:42:01of our nugget ingredients,

00:42:02which will include

00:42:03some bread crumb,

00:42:05some salt, of course.

00:42:07We'll also do some

00:42:08freshly ground black

00:42:09pepper, a little bit

00:42:11of paprika, which could

00:42:12be regular or smoked.

00:42:14And then I think we

00:42:15definitely want a little

00:42:16bit of cayenne because

00:42:18bang, bang.

00:42:19And then we'll finish up

00:42:20with some garlic powder

00:42:21as well as a little

00:42:23drizzle of oil just for

00:42:24a little extra richness

00:42:25and to help keep our

00:42:27nuggets moist and tender.

00:42:29And that's it.

00:42:29We'll pop on the lid and

00:42:31pulse this on and off

00:42:32until our chickens

00:42:33ground as finely as we

00:42:34want, which for me is

00:42:36not going to be super

00:42:37fine.

00:42:38Okay, if you want these

00:42:39closer to a fast food

00:42:40nugget, which is basically

00:42:42a piece of fried chicken

00:42:43love, you'll probably

00:42:44want to grind this a

00:42:45little smoother.

00:42:46But personally, this is

00:42:47what I'm after.

00:42:49Okay, a pretty small

00:42:50grind, but it's

00:42:51definitely not pureed.

00:42:52And that's it.

00:42:53Once our nugget base

00:42:54has been blitzed, we

00:42:56can go ahead and scoop

00:42:56equal size portions

00:42:57onto a sheet pan.

00:42:59And I'm thinking a

00:43:00couple tablespoons is

00:43:01just about the perfect

00:43:01size.

00:43:03Although obviously

00:43:04that's something you

00:43:04can adjust, depending

00:43:06whether you want little

00:43:07adorable nuggets or even

00:43:08bigger, more bodacious

00:43:09nuggets.

00:43:11And other than the

00:43:11frying time, the

00:43:12procedure will be

00:43:13exactly the same.

00:43:15So you go ahead and

00:43:16make the call.

00:43:17I mean, you are after

00:43:18all the pistol Pete of

00:43:20portioning your ground

00:43:21meat.

00:43:22And speaking of balls,

00:43:23instead of forming

00:43:24nuggets, which is what

00:43:25we're going to do next,

00:43:27you could actually serve

00:43:27these as fried meatballs,

00:43:29which I think would also

00:43:30be very well received.

00:43:32But anyway, once

00:43:33portioned, we will wrap

00:43:34those up and pop them

00:43:35in the fridge so they're

00:43:37nicely chilled and easier

00:43:38to work with when we coat

00:43:39them with our starch,

00:43:40which is going to be

00:43:42nothing more than some

00:43:42cornstarch, mixed

00:43:44together with some

00:43:45self-rising flour, or

00:43:47just regular flour with

00:43:48a little bit of baking

00:43:49powder in there.

00:43:50And if you go that route,

00:43:51we'll explain that in the

00:43:52written recipe.

00:43:54In any event, we'll mix

00:43:55that very thoroughly in a

00:43:56bag, and we will pull out

00:43:58our soon-to-be nuggets.

00:44:00And what we'll do is

00:44:00quickly form these in the

00:44:01balls by first wetting our

00:44:03fingers a little bit so the

00:44:04meat doesn't stick.

00:44:06Oh yeah, as you well

00:44:07know, damp hands make

00:44:08smooth balls.

00:44:10And what we'll do is toss

00:44:11five or six in at a time,

00:44:13and then we'll shake them

00:44:14and toss them around until

00:44:15they're well coated,

00:44:16before shaking off the

00:44:17excess and returning them

00:44:19back to the pan.

00:44:21And on the recipe, it's

00:44:22going to say you're going to

00:44:22get 24 nuggets out of this

00:44:24batch.

00:44:25But as you can see, I got

00:44:2723.

00:44:28So if you want 24, make

00:44:30them a little smaller.

00:44:31And then what we're going to

00:44:32do once all those have been

00:44:33dredged is shape those

00:44:35into nuggets, which of

00:44:36course, depending on where

00:44:37you eat them, will vary in

00:44:39size and shape.

00:44:40But for me, I kind of go

00:44:41with a flat oval.

00:44:43But hey, if you prefer a

00:44:44little bit of a pointier

00:44:45nugget, that is not going

00:44:46to bother me.

00:44:48And then what I like to do

00:44:49once all these are coated

00:44:50is pop them back in the

00:44:51fridge, which I do

00:44:52uncovered, but you can

00:44:54cover them if you want.

00:44:55And I like to leave them

00:44:56in there for a couple hours

00:44:57to really give that starch

00:44:59on the surface time to

00:45:00adhere.

00:45:01But if you're starving, you

00:45:02can pretty much fry these

00:45:03up anytime you want.

00:45:05And while those are

00:45:05chilling, we should go

00:45:07ahead and make our

00:45:07bang bang sauce, which

00:45:09starts with some mayonnaise

00:45:10to which we will add some

00:45:11honey.

00:45:12And once we do some sweet,

00:45:14we will add some heat in

00:45:15the form of some shirazza

00:45:16hot sauce.

00:45:18And I like to add a lot,

00:45:19but of course that's going

00:45:20to be to taste, just like

00:45:22the honey is.

00:45:23And then for my version,

00:45:24we'll also add some rice

00:45:25vinegar, as well as some

00:45:27soy sauce, plus a little bit

00:45:29of sesame oil, and then

00:45:31last but not least, a

00:45:32little bit of ground

00:45:33Szechuan peppercorn, which

00:45:35is totally optional, but

00:45:37highly recommended.

00:45:38And that's it.

00:45:39We'll give this a thorough

00:45:40whisking until it's all

00:45:41combined, at which point

00:45:43we'll give it a taste and

00:45:45adjust with more sweet, or

00:45:48in my case, more heat.

00:45:50And that's it.

00:45:50Once that's tasting exactly

00:45:51how we want, we will

00:45:53simply refrigerate that until

00:45:54needed.

00:45:55And then as far as how to

00:45:56cook the nuggets, I'm

00:45:58actually going to shallow

00:45:59fry these in vegetable oil

00:46:00over about medium-high

00:46:02heat.

00:46:03Although I should mention

00:46:04for the full chicken nugget

00:46:05effect, they're supposed

00:46:06to be deep-fried.

00:46:07But this really does work

00:46:08out almost exactly the

00:46:09same.

00:46:10And please keep in mind

00:46:11these are going to get

00:46:12tossed with our bang-bang

00:46:13sauce, so they're not

00:46:14going to stay super crispy

00:46:15anyway.

00:46:17And what we'll do is cook

00:46:17that first side for a

00:46:18couple minutes, or until

00:46:20we've achieved a nice

00:46:21golden brown, at which

00:46:22point we'll flip them over

00:46:23and give the other side a

00:46:24couple minutes.

00:46:25And if you are doing

00:46:26these in batches, or

00:46:27doing a whole bunch, you

00:46:29can just keep the ones you

00:46:30fried in a warm oven until

00:46:31they're all finished, which

00:46:33is what I did while I fried

00:46:34the other half of the

00:46:35batch.

00:46:36And that's it.

00:46:37Once fried, we can

00:46:38transfer those into a

00:46:38mixing bowl, and we'll

00:46:40toss in some freshly

00:46:41sliced green onions, and

00:46:43we'll pour over a couple

00:46:44nice ladles of our bang-bang

00:46:46sauce, or just enough to

00:46:48coat, and then we can

00:46:49serve the rest alongside.

00:46:51And that's it.

00:46:51We'll toss and stir those

00:46:52until they're coated.

00:46:53And by the way, the

00:46:54recipe is going to make

00:46:55lots of extra sauce, which

00:46:57is nice, since that stuff's

00:46:58great on like a thousand

00:46:59other things.

00:47:00And then once our nuggets

00:47:01have been sauced, we'll go

00:47:02ahead and plate up.

00:47:04And once I had those

00:47:05piled up, I gave them one

00:47:06more drizzle of shirazza

00:47:08before I finished up with

00:47:09some more sliced green

00:47:10onions.

00:47:11And that's it.

00:47:12What I'm calling bang-bang

00:47:13chicken nuggets are ready to

00:47:14enjoy.

00:47:15So I grabbed a fork and

00:47:17stabbed a nugget, and went

00:47:18in for the official bite.

00:47:19And that, my friends, if

00:47:21you're a fan of sweet and

00:47:22spicy sauces like I am, it's

00:47:24going to be an incredibly

00:47:25delicious bite of food.

00:47:27And I enjoy that whole sweet

00:47:29heat thing on pretty much

00:47:30anything.

00:47:31But when we're talking about

00:47:32a homemade chicken nugget,

00:47:33that's been fried up to have

00:47:34that nice crispy exterior,

00:47:36which holds on to our sauce

00:47:37so perfectly, we produce

00:47:39something extra, extra special.

00:47:41And because I didn't puree the

00:47:43meat, these do have a texture

00:47:44reminiscent of a meatball,

00:47:46or maybe like a dumpling

00:47:47filling, which totally works

00:47:49for me.

00:47:50Oh, and fun fact, people

00:47:52assume the bang-bang refers

00:47:53to the spiciness of the

00:47:54sauce, but it actually

00:47:56doesn't.

00:47:57Right, the original bang-bang

00:47:58chicken got that name because

00:48:00the chicken was pounded with

00:48:01a stick, and apparently the

00:48:03Chinese word for that is

00:48:04bang.

00:48:05And apparently that original

00:48:06version is flavored with

00:48:07sesame and vinegar, and

00:48:09definitely did not contain

00:48:10any mayonnaise, which is why I

00:48:12mentioned this might be

00:48:13closer to boom-boom sauce.

00:48:14But whether you call this

00:48:16boom-boom chicken, or

00:48:17bang-bang chicken, or my

00:48:19personal preference, bang-bang

00:48:21boom-boom chicken, this

00:48:23would be a hit on any

00:48:24occasion, whether that's a

00:48:26Super Bowl party, or just a

00:48:27casual weeknight meal.

00:48:29I really did love everything

00:48:30about these, which is why I

00:48:32really do hope you give this

00:48:33a try soon.

00:48:35Hawaiian-style beef stew!

00:48:38That's right, I thought I

00:48:39knew about all the beef stews

00:48:41there were to do.

00:48:42But then I found out about

00:48:44this, and realized that

00:48:45wasn't true.

00:48:46So I gave it a try, and it

00:48:48was incredible.

00:48:49And now I'm going to show

00:48:50you how to do what might

00:48:51actually be the best beef

00:48:52stew.

00:48:54And to get started, let's go

00:48:55over the most important tip

00:48:56in this entire video, which

00:48:58is not to buy pre-cut stew

00:49:00meat, but rather get a nice

00:49:02piece of beef chuck, and cut

00:49:04it up yourself.

00:49:05And not just because it's

00:49:06going to be cheaper, and it's

00:49:08super easy to do, but because

00:49:10you can pick out the piece of

00:49:11meat you want in the butcher

00:49:12case, so you're able to get

00:49:13something beautifully marbled

00:49:14like this.

00:49:16And since a beef stew is only

00:49:17going to be as good as the

00:49:18beef that goes in it, I cannot

00:49:20stress the importance of this

00:49:21enough.

00:49:22And what we'll do is cut that

00:49:23into about one and a half

00:49:24inch pieces, although a little

00:49:26smaller or a little bigger will

00:49:28work.

00:49:29Right, the key is to try to get

00:49:30them relatively uniform, so

00:49:32these pieces of meat get tender

00:49:33at the same time.

00:49:35And once we do have our beef

00:49:36prepped, I'm going to season it

00:49:38right on the board by sprinkling

00:49:39over some kosher salt, followed

00:49:42by half the amount of the

00:49:43flour called for.

00:49:45And what we'll do is give that a

00:49:46thorough tossing until those

00:49:48pieces of meat are evenly

00:49:49coated.

00:49:50And you know what the salt does,

00:49:52but what this flour is going to

00:49:53do is dry the surface, which is

00:49:55going to help us get a beautiful

00:49:56brown crust on the meat when we

00:49:58brown it up in the next step.

00:50:01And for that, we will heat up some

00:50:02vegetable oil in our stew pot, set

00:50:04over high heat, and we will

00:50:06transfer those freshly floured

00:50:08pieces of meat into the pot.

00:50:10And then we'll proceed to brown

00:50:11those very well on at least two

00:50:13sides.

00:50:15All right, that's the minimum.

00:50:16And if you have the time and

00:50:17patience, you could do four sides

00:50:19or even all six if you want.

00:50:22But I think two very well brown

00:50:23sides is probably enough for

00:50:25this.

00:50:26And yes, to ensure better

00:50:27browning, you want to do this in

00:50:28two batches probably.

00:50:30So even though I won't show you

00:50:31the second batch, that's exactly

00:50:33what I did.

00:50:35But anyway, once that meat's been

00:50:36transferred into a bowl, we'll set

00:50:38that aside for now and we'll

00:50:40reduce our heat to medium high

00:50:41and we will transfer in our

00:50:43roughly chopped up onion and

00:50:44we'll cook that stirring for a

00:50:46couple minutes or until it just

00:50:47starts to turn translucent, at

00:50:50which point we'll transfer in

00:50:51about three tablespoons of

00:50:52tomato paste, which ended up

00:50:54being way more exciting than I

00:50:55thought it was going to be.

00:50:58But anyway, once that gets

00:50:59transferred in, we'll cook this

00:51:01stirring for about three or four

00:51:02minutes or until that tomato

00:51:04paste starts to kind of brown onto

00:51:05the edges of the onions.

00:51:07And while this is sort of an

00:51:08optional step, I think the depth

00:51:10of flavor you get if you do this

00:51:11makes the couple extra minutes

00:51:13this takes more than worthwhile.

00:51:15And that's it.

00:51:16Once we've toasted that tomato

00:51:17paste a little bit, we'll sprinkle

00:51:19in the rest of our flour and we'll

00:51:21cook that stirring for a few

00:51:23minutes to take off that raw

00:51:24pasty edge.

00:51:26And once we feel like that's

00:51:27happened, we will dump in our

00:51:29second tomato product, which is

00:51:31just going to be some plain tomato

00:51:32sauce or tomato puree or crushed

00:51:35tomatoes, or really any kind of

00:51:38tomato product will work.

00:51:40And then we'll follow that with

00:51:41some beef broth or things are

00:51:43going well for you, some beef bone

00:51:44broth.

00:51:46And we'll go ahead and stir that in

00:51:47and raise our heat to high.

00:51:49And we'll wait for this to come to a

00:51:50boil.

00:51:51And while it does, we can add the

00:51:53other two key ingredients, which is

00:51:55going to be some Worcestershire sauce,

00:51:57as well as a whole bunch of soy sauce.

00:51:59And in case you're wondering, the

00:52:02things that make a regular beef

00:52:03stew, a Hawaiian-style beef stew,

00:52:05would be the additions of the

00:52:07tomato, as well as the soy sauce

00:52:08and possibly the Worcestershire sauce.

00:52:11All right, the tomato and soy for

00:52:12sure.

00:52:13And even though not all the recipes

00:52:15call for the Worcestershire, to my

00:52:16taste, I think it's an important

00:52:18addition.

00:52:19And then once things do come up to a

00:52:21boil, we'll transfer in our browned

00:52:23beef, along with any and all

00:52:25accumulated juices, and we'll give

00:52:28that a stir and reduce our heat to

00:52:30low, or whatever heating setting

00:52:32gets you a nice gentle simmer.

00:52:34And what we'll do is cover this

00:52:36tightly, and we will let it simmer

00:52:38for one hour, to give it a nice

00:52:40head start, before we add the rest

00:52:42of the ingredients.

00:52:43And after about 60 minutes, this is

00:52:45what mine looked like.

00:52:47And what we'll do at this point is

00:52:49go ahead and add our black pepper,

00:52:51plus a few shakes of cayenne, so

00:52:53people know this is our recipe.

00:52:54And by the way, we could have added

00:52:56that earlier, and I would have, but

00:52:58I forgot.

00:53:00And that's it, we'll also add in our

00:53:01stew veggies, which will be some

00:53:04celery and carrots, as well as some

00:53:06potatoes, of course.

00:53:08And I'm using some nice big Yukon

00:53:10gold, which I peeled and cut into

00:53:11some nice big pieces.

00:53:13Okay, I usually don't like to cut the

00:53:15potatoes too small, since we don't

00:53:17want those totally falling apart while

00:53:18this cooks.

00:53:19And then we'll cover this back up,

00:53:22and we'll let it simmer gently on low

00:53:23for another hour, at which point our

00:53:26meat's probably not going to be done

00:53:27yet.

00:53:28But what we'll do is uncover this,

00:53:30and give it a nice stir, and then

00:53:32we'll continue cooking without the

00:53:34cover on, for another hour or so,

00:53:36stirring occasionally.

00:53:38And we'll do that until our meat is

00:53:40very, very tender.

00:53:42And as usual, as is Simmers, if you

00:53:44want to skim some of the fat off the

00:53:45top, feel free.

00:53:47I mean, you guys are after all the

00:53:48grandpa sees, of whether you should

00:53:50degrease.

00:53:51And by the way, the grandpa see I just

00:53:54referred to is Grandpa Clarence,

00:53:56whose recipe I adapted this one from,

00:53:58so a big thanks to him.

00:54:01And by finishing this uncovered,

00:54:03our sauce will reduce down a little bit,

00:54:05which is going to thicken things up.

00:54:07And at this point, any of that fat that

00:54:09wasn't skimmed off is basically going to

00:54:11get emulsified in, which not only adds

00:54:13some flavor, but it also gives our stew a

00:54:15lovely shine.

00:54:16But anyway, like I said, we'll simply

00:54:19continue simmering uncovered until our

00:54:22meat is nice and tender.

00:54:24And since this meat seemed to be just

00:54:25about perfect, I was down to one last

00:54:27task, which is, of course, tasting for

00:54:30seasoning and maybe sneaking in another

00:54:32pinch of salt or a little splash of soy.

00:54:35But that was tasting really good as is.

00:54:38And once it is, we can grab a ladle and

00:54:40serve up.

00:54:42And by the way, if you don't want it quite

00:54:43this thick and you want something a little

00:54:45brothier, just simply reduce the amount of

00:54:47flour by half and you'll end up with

00:54:49something a little bit thinner in texture.

00:54:52But either way, I recommend we serve this

00:54:54with rice.

00:54:56And then I finished up with a little bit of

00:54:57freshly ground black pepper, plus a

00:55:00scattering of green onions.

00:55:01And then I grabbed a fork and a spoon and

00:55:04went in for the official taste.

00:55:06And that, my friends, as I mentioned in

00:55:08the intro, just might be the best version

00:55:11of beef stew.

00:55:12And the umami level, which is what us

00:55:14foodies call something that's super

00:55:16savory, is just off the charts.

00:55:19In fact, it's so flavorful, it could

00:55:21actually break your mouth.

00:55:23I mean, not literally, but metaphorically,

00:55:26oh yeah.

00:55:26So I really did love everything about

00:55:29this, and I really do hope you give it

00:55:32a try soon.

00:55:33New Orleans mac and cheese.

00:55:36That's right, I'm very excited to show

00:55:38you my version of this, which is not

00:55:40necessarily how they make it there, but

00:55:42rather how I think it should be made

00:55:44there, since I'm going to add a few

00:55:46ingredients that, quite frankly, I'm

00:55:48shocked are not already being commonly

00:55:50used.

00:55:51And I think they make this even more

00:55:52special than it already is.

00:55:54And to get started, we will add some

00:55:56diced onions to a little bit of olive

00:55:58oil that we have in a pot set over

00:56:00medium-high heat.

00:56:01And after tossing in a nice big pinch

00:56:03of salt, we will cook those stirring

00:56:05for about two minutes, just to give

00:56:07them a head start, before we add our

00:56:09celery and our diced bell pepper.

00:56:12And in New Orleans, these three

00:56:13ingredients are referred to as the

00:56:14Holy Trinity, and they are the

00:56:16aromatic vegetable base for many of

00:56:19the city's most delicious recipes.

00:56:21And what we'll do is continue cooking

00:56:23our Holy Trinity stirring for another

00:56:25three or four minutes or so, or until

00:56:27our onions turn translucent and our

00:56:29pepper and celery just start to

00:56:30soften up.

00:56:32And when I heard there was a thing

00:56:33called New Orleans mac and cheese, I

00:56:35was 100% positive the Holy Trinity

00:56:37would be involved.

00:56:38But much to my shock and surprise, it

00:56:40was not.

00:56:42But I am so glad I included them here,

00:56:44since I thought they did wonderful

00:56:46things.

00:56:47But anyway, once we're happy with how our

00:56:49vegetables look, we will toss in a

00:56:51generous amount of butter, followed by

00:56:53some smoked paprika, some freshly

00:56:55ground black pepper, a little bit of

00:56:57garlic powder, as well as some ground

00:57:00cumin, and then finally the rest of

00:57:02our salt.

00:57:03And we'll go ahead and stir all that

00:57:04together and cook this for another

00:57:06minute or so, or until our butter is

00:57:08melted and the spices are fragrant.

00:57:12And that's it.

00:57:12Once we've cooked that stirring for a few

00:57:14minutes, we'll go ahead and toss in our

00:57:16flour and we'll stir that in and cook

00:57:19that for about two minutes to form

00:57:21what's known as a roux, R-O-U-X.

00:57:24And once we've cooked the raw edge off

00:57:26that flour, and it's kind of toasting

00:57:28and sticking to the bottom of the pot,

00:57:30we'll go ahead and transfer in some cold

00:57:31heavy cream, followed by some whole

00:57:34milk.

00:57:35And once that's in there, we'll take a

00:57:37whisk and we'll give that a thorough

00:57:38mixing, and we will keep mixing until all

00:57:41that roux dissolves in and we can't feel

00:57:44anything still stuck to the bottom of the

00:57:46pan.

00:57:46And then what we'll do is wait for this

00:57:48to come back to a simmer, which is

00:57:50probably going to take a few minutes.

00:57:53And you'll see as your mixture starts to

00:57:55boil, it's going to thicken up.

00:57:57And if everything goes according to plan,

00:57:59it should look something like this.

00:58:01And once it does, we'll reduce our heat to

00:58:04medium-low, and we'll let this simmer for

00:58:06five minutes, stirring occasionally.

00:58:09And during that time, because we added that

00:58:11paprika, and some of my bell peppers were red,

00:58:13this cream sauce is going to take on a

00:58:15beautiful warmer color.

00:58:17And once it does, and this is simmered for

00:58:19about five minutes, we'll turn off the heat,

00:58:22and we'll whisk in whatever cheeses we're

00:58:24going to use, which for me is going to be

00:58:26half sharp cheddar and half Monterey Jack.

00:58:29Okay, apparently mozzarella is also a popular

00:58:31choice.

00:58:32But I'm sorry, I'm just not a big mozzarella

00:58:34fan in mac and cheese.

00:58:36All right, it's all stretch, no flavor.

00:58:37But anyway, use what you want.

00:58:41I mean, you are after all the dochi of how

00:58:43this should be.

00:58:44Oh, and by the way, we're only adding 75% of

00:58:47the cheese at this point, since we want to

00:58:49reserve 25% for the top.

00:58:51And that's it, as soon as that cheese melts

00:58:53in, our sauce is done, and we'll simply reserve

00:58:56that until our pasta is cooked.

00:58:59And while spaghetti is by far the most popular

00:59:01choice for New Orleans mac and cheese, I

00:59:03personally think Bucatini is a much better

00:59:05choice, and from what I hear, the original

00:59:08choice of the Italian immigrants, who

00:59:10inspired this amazing variation on an

00:59:12American classic.

00:59:14And since the pasta is hollow, it does an

00:59:16amazing job of soaking in the sauce.

00:59:19But no matter what you use, we're going to

00:59:21boil that in salted water until it's just

00:59:23barely cooked.

00:59:25All right, this package said cook at 9 to 11

00:59:27minutes, so I set my timer for 8 and a

00:59:29half, and that's going to be just about

00:59:31perfect, considering we're going to bake this

00:59:33in the oven for about a half hour.

00:59:36And that's it.

00:59:36Once our pasta is cooked, we will drain that

00:59:38very well, and we'll go ahead and transfer

00:59:41that into a casserole dish.

00:59:43And then before it gets too sticky and hard to

00:59:45move, we'll grab our tongs, and we will quickly

00:59:47distribute that as evenly as possible.

00:59:51But we don't have to get it perfect yet, because

00:59:53we're going to do this again once our sauce has

00:59:55been poured over, which I'm going to do with a

00:59:58ladle, even though you could probably just pour

01:00:00everything over the top, but my theory is by

01:00:03ladling this, I'm going to get better distribution

01:00:05of that Holy Trinity, which may or may not make

01:00:08any difference, but I've always enjoyed a good

01:00:11ladling, so just dump it all on at once if you

01:00:14want.

01:00:15But this is how I did it.

01:00:17And once that was finally accomplished, I

01:00:20grabbed my tongs, and I gave that bucatini the

01:00:22old shake-a-shake-a to help settle that sauce down

01:00:26in.

01:00:27And we'll also try to make sure that pasta has been

01:00:29distributed as uniformly as possible.

01:00:32And then once we're finally done fussing around, we'll

01:00:35go ahead and sprinkle over the rest of our cheese.

01:00:37And then if you want, you could add the traditional

01:00:40breadcrumb topping to this, but I decided not to.

01:00:44All right, it didn't look like most versions used one, and

01:00:46since I had already made a couple other major changes, I

01:00:49did not want to temp fade.

01:00:51Although after the cheese was down, I did sprinkle the top

01:00:54with cayenne, so I guess this technically counts as a topping.

01:00:58But in any event, once we're done, this is now ready to

01:01:02transfer into the upper center of a 425-degree oven for about

01:01:0630 minutes or so, or until our top is golden brown and our sauce

01:01:11is bubbling around the edge.

01:01:13And yes, this does look amazing, and you really want to start

01:01:16eating right now, but do yourself and everybody else a favor and

01:01:21hang tight for about 10 minutes, so this has a chance to set up

01:01:24texturally and cool down just a touch.

01:01:27And while I waited, I garnished with some chives, since I had some

01:01:30in the garden.

01:01:32And after letting this cool for about 10 minutes, I grabbed a spatula

01:01:35and cut out a piece, and I went ahead and served that up.

01:01:39And that, my friends, was every bit as good as it looks, and every

01:01:43bit as delicious as you would think.

01:01:45All right, forget about my controversial inclusion of the

01:01:48Holy Trinity and those Cajun spices, or as they're called in

01:01:52Cajun country, spices.

01:01:54All right, even without those additions, this is a beautifully

01:01:57creamy, just decadent enough world-class mac and cheese.

01:02:01And you might not think that using a long noodle, like spaghetti

01:02:04or bucatini, would make that big of a difference compared to

01:02:07like an elbow macaroni, but it really, really does.

01:02:11So to summarize, I absolutely loved how this came out.

01:02:15And I think that Holy Trinity vegetable component we added, along

01:02:18with that little touch of spice, really did elevate things.

01:02:22And I'll just say this one more time.

01:02:24I'm really not sure why it's not already being added.

01:02:27And if you know the reason, maybe leave it in the comments.

01:02:30But anyway, if you're looking for a new, and I think very exciting

01:02:34addition to your mac and cheese recipe rotation, I really do hope you

01:02:38give this a try soon.

01:02:40Tiger chicken.

01:02:42That's right.

01:02:43Chicken leg quarters are becoming very popular, which is why I'm very

01:02:47excited to be showing you my tiger cut technique, which along with a few

01:02:51other tricks, is the perfect way to prepare this cut of chicken.

01:02:55Plus, I'm also going to show you one of the fastest, easiest, best pan

01:02:58gravies ever.

01:02:59But first things first.

01:03:00And to get started, we will take our chicken leg, which of course is the

01:03:04drumstick and the thigh still connected.

01:03:07And what we'll do is take a sharp knife, starting about halfway up the

01:03:10leg, and we'll cut all the way down to the bone.

01:03:13And we will keep cutting like this until we get all the way to the end of

01:03:16the thigh.

01:03:18Oh, and one small tip here.

01:03:20When we get past the drumstick, if we kind of pinch both sides of the

01:03:23thigh, that'll sort of push the meat up and give us a little more to cut

01:03:27through.

01:03:28And when we're done, we're going to have something that resembles the

01:03:30stripes on a tiger, which is where I got the name.

01:03:34But besides looking cool, that's going to allow our seasonings to penetrate

01:03:37in nice and deeply, as well as, as you will see and hear, help our skin get

01:03:41beautifully crispy and crusty.

01:03:44So we'll go ahead and do that to four leg sections, and we will place those

01:03:47skin side down on a parchment lined baking sheet, at which point they're ready

01:03:51to season with a mixture of kosher salt, to which we will add some freshly

01:03:55ground black pepper, some garlic powder, some ground chipotle, which could also

01:04:01be cayenne or just regular sweet paprika.

01:04:04And then we'll finish this up with one secret ingredient before we give it a

01:04:07mix, which is going to be a little touch of baking soda.

01:04:11No, not baking powder, baking soda, which is going to chemically alter the

01:04:16composition of the skin and make it more alkaline, which is going to help us get

01:04:20it nice and crispy.

01:04:21And that's it.

01:04:22Once mixed, we will apply about half to the meat side of our chicken legs, and

01:04:27then we'll flip them over and apply the rest to the tiger cut skin side.

01:04:31And I probably don't need to tell you this, but I will anyway.

01:04:35You go ahead and put in whatever spices you want here.

01:04:38I mean, you are after all the meg of how to season your leg.

01:04:42And there are so many different directions we could go.

01:04:44But no matter what you use, the game plan here is going to be the same.

01:04:49Once these are seasoned very generously, we're going to pop them in the fridge

01:04:53uncovered with the skin side up and let them dry overnight, which is going to

01:04:59accomplish several things.

01:05:01All right, it's going to give our seasoning mix time to get in there and get in

01:05:03there deep.

01:05:05Plus, we'll end up with some really nice dry skin, which always makes it crispier

01:05:08when you bake it.

01:05:10And then lastly, we're going to lose some moisture as it sits in the fridge

01:05:13overnight, which is going to help concentrate the flavors and tighten up the

01:05:16texture a little bit.

01:05:18So like I said, we'll pop that in the fridge uncovered overnight.

01:05:22And if you can't fit a pan, just use a plate and transfer it onto the pan later.

01:05:27And that's it.

01:05:27After about 14 hours in the fridge, our chicken legs are probably going to look

01:05:31something like this, which is kind of dry and leathery.

01:05:34But that is exactly what we want.

01:05:37And no, we are not going to oil these before they go in the oven.

01:05:40Okay, sure, it's going to look a little better and maybe get browner.

01:05:43But for the crispiest, most delicious skin, we're going to roast this as is.

01:05:48So let's go ahead and transfer that into the upper center of a 450 degree oven for

01:05:53about 45 minutes or until our chicken is safely cooked and our skin is crispy and it

01:05:58hopefully looks like this.

01:06:01But looking crispy and being crispy are two different things.

01:06:04So let's check.

01:06:05And as we like to say, fork don't lie.

01:06:13Oh yeah, that does sound amazing.

01:06:16And you can just go ahead and start eating this now, however you normally eat roasted

01:06:19chicken.

01:06:20But what I think we should do is quickly transfer that onto a plate and pop it in a warm oven

01:06:25for about five minutes.

01:06:26While we make an incredible pan gravy using all these drippings on the parchment paper,

01:06:31which because it's nonstick is going to make it very easy to scrape all this goodness into

01:06:35a pan.

01:06:36And from four legs, we're going to end up with about two tablespoons of fat, which is

01:06:41going to be perfect for making a quick roux.

01:06:43So we'll place that over medium high heat and we'll transfer in a couple of tablespoons

01:06:47of flour.

01:06:48And we'll cook that stirring with a whisk for about two minutes or so, just to take

01:06:53the raw edge off the flour.

01:06:55And you kind of know you've gone long enough when the mixture smells like cooked pie crust.

01:07:00And also, it's probably going to look something like this.

01:07:03And once it does, we will quickly, but very safely transfer in some cold chicken broth,

01:07:08or if times are good, some of that slightly more expensive chicken bone broth.

01:07:12And we will whisk that in.

01:07:14And because we added cold liquid into a hot roux, which is what that fat and flour mixture

01:07:19is called, we are not going to get any lumps.

01:07:22And I know you think you see lumps, but those aren't lumps.

01:07:26Those are just those little particles of the pan drippings that haven't broken down yet.

01:07:30But anyway, we'll give that a whisk and wait for it to come up to a simmer.

01:07:34And like all flour-based sauces, as soon as it's simmering or boiling, that's when it

01:07:39reaches its maximum thickness.

01:07:41And of course, if it's too thick, add a little more broth.

01:07:44And if it's too thin, just reduce it down a little bit.

01:07:47And once we've reached this point, we can reduce our heat to low.

01:07:51And we can season this up with a pinch of salt, a little bit of freshly ground black pepper,

01:07:56and then maybe a pinch of cayenne just because.

01:07:59And we'll go ahead and whisk that in.

01:08:02And then because I had it, and it goes so good with chicken,

01:08:05I tossed in a sprig of tarragon, which we don't even have to chop.

01:08:08Just toss it in and bruise it with your whisk, and give it a few stirs.

01:08:13And that's it.

01:08:14In about five minutes or less, you've created a delicious and beautiful chicken pan gravy

01:08:20that we can strain if we want, or we can serve it just like this,

01:08:24which is normally how I do it.

01:08:27And then we'll go ahead and sauce our plate generously with that.

01:08:31And of course, if you're serving mashed potatoes, which I insist you do,

01:08:35we'll make sure those get a good amount of this gravy as well.

01:08:38And we'll transfer on our still warm tiger chicken.

01:08:42And that, my friends, I truly believe is the best way to roast a chicken leg quarter.

01:08:47So I grabbed a fork and knife and went in for the official taste,

01:08:50which as usual was a huge challenge.

01:08:53Right, that skin was actually so crusty, I couldn't really even get the fork into it.

01:08:57And also, I remembered I'm not left-handed.

01:09:00So I switched hands, and I scooped it up, and eventually got it into my mouth.

01:09:04But it was totally worth the wait, since that really was an exceptional bite

01:09:09of roast chicken and pan gravy.

01:09:11Right, the skin is crispy, the meat is succulent, and beautifully seasoned.

01:09:16And while it's not a perfect analogy, it does remind me a little bit of duck confit.

01:09:20So flavor-wise and texturally, I could not love this technique anymore.

01:09:25And whether you're looking for a new way to cook chicken leg quarters,

01:09:28or like me, you're just looking for an excuse to eat mashed potatoes with gravy,

01:09:33either way, I really do hope you give this a try soon.

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