♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Welcome to "America's Test Kitchen" at home.

Today I'm making my favorite recipe for chicken under a brick.

Jack's gonna tell us everything we need to know about buying mozzarella.

And, finally, Lan's making buttermilk panna cotta.

We've got a lot in store today, so stick around.

♪♪ -Roast chicken is my all-time favorite dinner, and I make it at least once a week, and this recipe is the recipe I use.

Now, I developed this recipe called pollo alla mattone, or chicken under a brick, nearly 15 years ago, and I like it 'cause the skin gets super crisp.

Alright, so the key to getting super-crisp skin is we're going to butterfly it, or spatchcock it, if you want to sound fancy.

So here I have a chicken.

Now, to do this recipe, you need a chicken on the smaller side, 3 to 3 1/2 pounds.

If it gets much larger than that, it won't fit in the skillet so well, because we are cooking this in a skillet.

Alright, so here we have a little chicken.

I'm gonna tuck the wings back behind the body.

That just keeps them out of the way so that all the surface area can get good and brown.

Alright.

Patting it dry.

Throw this in the laundry.

Now, to butterfly a chicken, you're gonna flip it upside down.

Here's the backbone.

And this is why you want to have a nice sharp pair of poultry shears.

You're going to go up one side of the backbone.

[ Snipping ] And these poultry shears, you can hear them.

They just go right through the bones with no work.

This one up at the top can be a little tough, but these things go right through.

I like to flip it around so I'm always cutting away from myself.

Go right down the other side.

Now we're going to flip the chicken over.

And now you've got to give it a little CPR.

You're going to press on the breastbone to flatten it.

And then when that's good and done, I'm gonna take some plastic wrap.

We're actually going to take it a step further and pound it flat.

Really make sure that the bones in there are nice and flattened.

That way, you ensure all the skin makes contact with the skillet, and that's how you get it good and crisp.

Now I'm just going to season it with a little salt and pepper.

You really don't want to add any other seasonings at this point, 'cause those seasonings will burn in the skillet.

Alright, and you can also season the back side.

Never hurts.

This chicken is ready for the skillet.

I'm just gonna wash my hands.

Here I have a 12-inch nonstick skillet.

Has just a little bit of vegetable oil in it, and it's been heating up over medium-high heat.

You want to get this skillet ripping hot so it really makes a good crisp skin.

And I mean, the oil is just beginning to smoke.

Yep.

Seeing wisps of smoke.

So now it's time to get the chicken into the pan.

I'm just gonna pick the chicken up with tongs, lay it skin side down in the pan.

That's a good sizzle.

Now this is where the brick or the alla mattone comes in.

What I use instead is a nice heavy Dutch oven.

I've learned over the years to wrap the bottom of the Dutch oven in foil just to help keep it clean.

Alright, so this weight is then gonna press the chicken skin into that hot skillet, and it gets a beautiful golden.

We're going to cook it like this for 20 to 25 minutes, checking every five minutes and adjusting the heat as necessary to make sure that it's getting brown, but not scorching.

♪♪ While that chicken is browning, and it's time to make a little bit of a marinade.

Now, a lot of the recipes I found marinated the chicken before they started cooking, but I found that that didn't work so well because the marinade really had a tendency to burn.

Instead, we're going to add it partway through.

And for the marinade, keeping it really simple.

We just have some olive oil.

To this, we're going to add a little bit of garlic -- about 3 cloves.

You can mince them by hand, but I love using a garlic press, especially if it's a fast midweek dinner.

And I don't even peel it.

I just cut the root end off, and then I put it in cut side down, and I let it all squeeze out.

Next, I'm going to add a little bit of fresh thyme, about 1 1/2 teaspoons.

And if you don't have fresh herbs, it's okay.

You can use dried herbs here.

It'll taste just as good.

But if you use dried herbs, you want to use a lot less, maybe more of about 1/2 teaspoon, 3/4 teaspoon.

I'm just pulling the leaves off the stems.

If the stems are really delicate and they break, that just means you can chop them up and it's going to be as delicate as an herb.

Into the oil it goes.

I'm going to add a little bit of lemon juice.

This is 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Just a few red pepper flakes for a little kick.

You can add more if you like.

Last but not least, a little pepper and a little salt.

That's it for this simple marinade.

And now the best part about this recipe is it's a twofer because when we put the chicken in the oven, it gives us an opportunity to put some potatoes in the pan so they get good and schmaltzy.

So these are some red bliss potatoes, about 1 1/2 pounds.

And if they're bigger, it's okay.

Just cut them into smaller pieces.

You want them to measure about 3/4 inch so that they'll cook at the same rate as the chicken.

I like to just slice them in half so you can lay a few of them cut side down in the skillet, and they get good and crisp and browned.

So I'm going to finish cutting these up, and then we can check the chicken.

♪♪ -I go through a lot of garlic, and I can't be bothered dealing with whole heads of garlic and peeling all that papery skin off, so I've got a shortcut.

I buy garlic in bulk.

These are already peeled.

And I put them in a bag and store them in my freezer.

And whenever I need a clove or two, I just pull out a clove -- still nice and frozen -- and I get my rasp grater, and I just start grating away.

This is minced garlic in seconds.

It shaves a lot of time off of a recipe.

And look at that.

Perfect minced garlic.

♪♪ -This chicken has been cooking under this weight for a little over 20 minutes, and I've been checking it every five minutes or so to make sure it's good and browned but not scorching.

And at this point, the skin is gorgeous, but it's very delicate.

So you want to treat it gently because you want that skin to stay intact.

I like using two pairs of tongs.

Oh ho ho ho!

That is why I love this recipe.

It's fast, but also it's the only way to get a mahogany crisp skin on a whole chicken.

So now it's time to get those potatoes into the skillet.

First off, I'm going to drain off this excess oil.

Plenty more schmaltz is going to come out of that chicken in the oven for those potatoes.

Alright.

Did you like that back flip?

Did you see that?

I learned that in the test kitchen.

It's a really nice way to prevent the drip from going to the bottom side of the skillet.

It falls back in the skillet.

And it looks cool.

Alright, so, into the skillet go the potatoes.

We're going to add a little bit of fresh thyme, about 1 1/2 teaspoons.

Some salt and some pepper.

Alright.

Like to put some of them cut side down.

This is being a little fussy.

You definitely don't have to do that.

But when they're cut side down, that cut side gets so beautifully crisp.

It's almost like a potato chip.

I usually take time to do that to some of them until I run out of patience, because this is a midweek dinner after all.

That's a good amount.

Alright, so the chicken goes back on top of those potatoes.

Ho ho!

And last but not least, now is when we're going to add that marinade by brushing it over the top, and then it goes into the oven with the skin side up.

That skin stays good and crisp.

I found a lot of recipes that cook it skin side down in the oven, but with the skin on the bottom, all the juices just made it soggy by having it skin side up, the hot air of the oven makes sure that it stays good and brown and crisp.

Oh, and it drips down onto those potatoes.

Oh, stop.

So good.

Alright.

So this is going to go into a very hot oven, 450 degrees, on the bottom rack.

That bottom rack is just going to help those potatoes cook through.

And the chicken only needs another 10 to 15 minutes to cook through.

We're looking for the internal temperature of the breast meat to be about 160.

♪♪ It's been about 15 minutes, so it's time to check the chicken.

Ho ho!

Goodness!

That is a good-looking bird.

Now, again, we want the breast meat to register about 160 degrees in the thickest part.

Ooh, right there.

Hovering around 160, 161.

Perfect.

Now time to let that chicken rest.

I'm gonna let it rest on a carving board -- that way, any of the juices get nice and trapped -- and transfer it very gently to the carving board.

Ohh!

Because that skin is very delicate.

We often cover meat with foil as we let it rest after cooking, but I'm not going to do that with the chicken because I want that skin to stay good and crisp.

Alright, now, these potatoes almost always need a few more minutes in the oven.

So just give them a little toss.

You can see all that schmaltz in there.

I'm going to put them back in the oven while the chicken rests for about 10 minutes.

Oh ho ho!

Schmaltzy potatoes are the best.

Now when I take them out of the skillet, I'm using a slotted spoon to try to keep some of that schmaltz in the pan.

And you can see that potato right there, that was one that was facedown, and that's why it has that potato-chip-looking browning on it.

Just to finish these potatoes, add a little bit of parsley, about a tablespoon, and as you serve the potatoes, that parsley will get mixed in, add a really nice fresh flavor.

Now time to dive into this chicken.

This is a homestyle chicken.

No need to get fancy with the carving.

I like cutting off the legs.

I'll cut right between the drumstick in the thigh.

Give myself a nice thigh here.

Yes, please.

Gonna leave the wings on, and I'm just going to cut through the breast and then cut it into nice big rustic hunks.

Everyone gets a piece of white and a piece of dark.

Ho ho.

Serve a few potatoes.

Oh, those potatoes, crisp on the outside, but has that soft mashed potato texture on the inside.

Potatoes first.

Potatoes with schmaltz just make me so happy.

It tastes like just a home-cooked dinner.

The best bite is when you get chicken and a potato together, and then you squeeze it with lemon.

[ Laughs ] I mean, it's just roast chicken and potatoes, but it is so good.

One of my all time favorite dinners right here.

You want to make chicken under a brick with roasted potatoes, be sure to flatten that chicken as well as you can, use a nonstick skillet, and let those potatoes finish cooking while the chicken rests.

From "America's Test Kitchen" at home, my favorite recipe for chicken under a brick with herb-roasted potatoes.

♪♪ -Pop quiz.

Do you know what's America's favorite cheese?

Big hint -- It's in front of me.

Yeah, it's mozzarella.

Because of all the pizza that we eat, as well as all the baked ziti and casseroles, we eat more mozzarella than any other cheeses.

The biggest difference between all of these different choices at the supermarket is moisture content, which can range from 45% to 60%.

Let's start with the really good stuff.

So this is fresh mozzarella.

This is actually vacuum packed, our top-rated brand, from Bel Gioioso, a Wisconsin-based company.

It's not packed in water, but it is really fresh mozzarella.

You can see it's kind of squishy, as opposed to these other blocks which are really quite firm.

This one is really, really soft.

The moisture content here is 60%, which makes it really great for salads -- caprese salad.

It's milky, creamy.

It's a little tricky to cook with because it's got such a high moisture content.

Honestly, I save it for raw applications.

Most of the mozzarella you're going to use is what we call block mozzarella.

So I've got the two choices here, whole milk and part-skim.

And I know what you're thinking -- "Oh, the part-skim, it's gonna be so much better for me because it's low in fat."

Remember, it's part skim.

It's only 5 grams versus 7 grams per ounce of fat, so it's not a big difference, but actually a big difference in how it melts and how it tastes.

Go for the whole milk mozzarella.

You deserve it.

Again, Polly-O is our top-rated choice here.

What you want to avoid?

Yeah, this big boy.

And he's a bad boy.

Now, if you see the words "low moisture," put it back down.

Low moisture means low flavor and it's not going to melt very well.

By law, when the moisture content falls too low, they have to put "low moisture" on the label.

This one is closer to 45%.

If you're going to buy block cheese, which you should be for a lot of baked applications, make sure you're buying a brand that's just mozzarella, not low moisture mozzarella.

Now, I like convenience as much as the next cook, but I'm telling you, shredded cheeses, they're not worth the convenience.

This is coated with either starch or cellulose, depending on the brand.

You can actually feel how dry it is.

Look, it's left on my hands.

And it's just not going to melt as well.

If you use this in salad, I'm going to come find you, because that's really, really not a good thing.

But even in baked applications where it's going to melt, it just doesn't melt as well.

So stick with the block cheeses.

And if you're using it raw, make sure that it's the good stuff, the fresh stuff.

Enjoy your mozzarella.

♪♪ -I have made hundreds of batches of panna cotta.

I really love this dessert because it's really easy to make, you can make it well in advance so there's no last-minute prep, and I can change up the flavor and the feel of the dish by changing the garnishes or infusing different things into the cream.

My favorite version contains buttermilk, and that's what we're going to make today.

But before I get to that, let's start with the sugar.

And I need 1/2 cup of sugar, which is 3 1/2 ounces.

I don't like to use measuring cups when I don't have to.

I spent a lot of time in restaurants, where we just weighed everything.

So that's what I'm doing today.

Great.

Next up, a pinch of salt.

And then the key ingredient to panna cotta is the gelatin.

And I'm using powdered gelatin here today.

You often see recipes where they tell you use one packet.

And I like to measure the gelatin because it's a little bit more precise, and that precision really matters to the texture.

I'm looking for 2 teaspoons here.

Each of these packets contains about 2 1/4-ish, and that's why we measure with spoons.

Next up, I'm just going to whisk all of this together.

What I'm looking for is to make sure it's really well mixed.

I don't want any clumps of sugar or gelatin in here.

So just a really good whisk.

That looks pretty great.

Next up, I've got 2 cups of heavy cream, and I'm just going to pour this right in and give this another whisk.

While I'm doing this, I really want to make sure I get into the corners of the pot so that there aren't any dry clumps.

Everything in here has to be really well moistened.

Now, this is just going to hang out for five minutes.

♪♪ So our cream has been sitting for about five minutes.

It's time to get some flavor in there.

I've got a vanilla bean today.

And you can flavor this with just about anything.

If you're using a vanilla bean, you want to split it down the middle.

And it doesn't have to be precise.

You just need to get it open.

So I'm using vanilla today, but you can use other extracts.

You can use herbs or citrus.

In fact, I developed a couple variations on this recipe.

One of them features Thai basil and the other features grapefruit, and they're on our website.

And then you want to scrape out those seeds.

I like to use the back of the tip of my knife to do this.

And those seeds are sticky.

They can go right in the pot, as can the bean.

Alright, let's get cooking.

I want to heat this mixture over medium heat until it comes to about 150, 160 degrees.

And this should take maybe five minutes.

I'm just going to give this a couple of stirs as it cooks to help that sugar dissolve.

I think you can see that there are a bunch of clumps of vanilla bean floating in here, and that's perfectly normal.

Don't worry about it.

We'll break them up later.

So it's been about five minutes.

It's starting to get the tiniest bit translucent and yellow.

And those bubbles from whisking earlier, they've gone away mostly.

It's a good time to start temping.

And we're shooting for 150 to 160 degrees.

This looks awesome.

So this needs to cool before we can move on to the next step.

Gelatin is really important to the texture of panna cotta, and we're working with powdered gelatin here, which has to be rehydrated before we can use it.

That process is called blooming.

Now, how you add the liquid to the gelatin, it's really important.

If you add it improperly, the gelatin clumps and then you don't get its full thickening power.

Let's look at the traditional method.

Powdered gelatin consists of tiny granules of dried protein strands.

The granules are sprinkled over a liquid and left to hydrate for several minutes.

As the granules hydrate, water slowly makes its way from the outside to the center of each one.

If you shortchange this step and simply stir the gelatin into the liquid, the surfaces of the granules will stick together, forming lumps before the water has a chance to penetrate all the way through.

This not only makes the mixture lumpy, but it means only some of the gelatin is fully hydrated so it won't have the same thickening power.

There's another way to prevent clumps from forming, and it's called bulking.

We're using it today, and what it involves is combining the gelatin with dry ingredients before we add our liquid.

Today, our dry ingredients are sugar and salt.

By dispersing the gelatin granules with other dry ingredients before they get wet, we ensure they stay separate, don't clump together, and the gelatin is able to reach its full thickening ability.

And that's why properly hydrated gelatin is the key to our silky panna cotta.

♪♪ So it's been about 15 minutes, so I'm going to check the temperature of this mixture.

I'm shooting for a temperature of 105 to 110.

That looks pretty great.

Time to get this out of the pot.

I'm going to strain this mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, and now is the time to kind of work out those vanilla lumps.

I like to leave the strainer in the bowl and just kind of run my spat around, mash everything into the strainer.

That breaks up those clumps that I mentioned earlier.

So I've got 2 cups of buttermilk and I'm just going to pour it right in.

I'm adding it now because if I had tried to add it earlier, the buttermilk would have curdled and we would have ended up with this gross separated thing that is not panna cotta.

Now I'll just whisk this together, and I want to go kind of gently because I don't want to make too many bubbles.

You can use a ladle or you can transfer this to a measuring cup.

But I have poured so many of these that I don't bother.

It's just more dishes that I do not want to do.

I'm using 5-ounce ramekins here because I'm planning on unmolding these later.

If you don't want to unmold them, you can use a tumbler or maybe a wine glass.

As long as it holds about 5 ounces of liquid, you're good to go because we're pouring 4-ounce portions.

Okay, that's it.

So these are going to go into the fridge for at least six hours.

They could hang out there for three days.

The last thing I have to do before I put them away is to cover them so that nothing falls in while they're setting.

I don't like to use plastic wrap for this because it kind of lands in the panna cotta and it makes a mess.

Instead, I use another baking sheet.

♪♪ -I have a pretty big cookbook collection, but this one here is definitely the most near and dear to my heart.

This is my grandmother's 1931 edition of "The Joy of Cooking."

And when I was third, fourth grade, I read this book cover to cover I don't even know how many times.

It was the most fascinating book in the house to me, and it still is in many ways.

This is the book that I used to learn how to make crepes, and I still love the recipe, and I use this recipe all the time.

But I wanted to show you my favorite page in the whole book here, which I have marked.

I love -- it has this ribbon, this red ribbon attached.

So this has always been my favorite page.

It's how to clean game, and on this page, it shows you how to skin a rabbit.

And you have to make sure to wear your striped gloves when you do that.

And then over here, if you want to make squirrel, you come to this page.

And I always wanted to try this, but we could never get our hands on a squirrel.

But if you did find a squirrel, you could smother it with onions, you could roast it.

And then if you get to the next page, we've got possum, beaver, beaver tail, woodchuck.

[ Laughs ] It's such a good book.

So you see why it's my favorite book.

♪♪ -So it's been six hours, and these are good to go.

You can see they're wobbly but set, and they're not jiggling too much.

I'm going to need a paring knife.

Any thin, sharp knife will do.

I like a small knife because I have a little bit more control.

I want to run this knife all the way around the edge.

And you can see that little gap that's in there, and that gap is really important.

As long as that gap stays in place, panna cotta is going to pop right out.

So, just going to cover this... ...and invert.

Ta-da!

Okay, I went for a really simple set of garnishes for this, I'm just going to use a couple of berries -- couple of blackberries, and a couple of raspberries.

Nice and simple.

And now just a quick drizzle of honey and then we can eat.

So, look at that jiggle.

Isn't it great?

Oh, that's so good.

It's clean and light.

You get that tang of the buttermilk, and it's fantastic with these tart berries.

It's tangy, creamy, rich.

Just a hint of sweetness from that honey.

It's fantastic.

So, for the best buttermilk panna cotta, be sure to use the right amount of gelatin, hydrate it properly, and don't overheat your buttermilk.

So, from "America's Test Kitchen" at home, a delightful buttermilk panna cotta.

-Thanks for watching.

You can get all of the recipes from this season, along with our product reviews and more, at our website, americastestkitchen.com/tv.