Cook's Country December 2021/January 2022

MY OVEN STAYS hot from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Day until the third Monday of January, Martin Luther King Day. For me, holiday baking is a labor of love. The marathon begins with the pillowy potato rolls that grace our family dinner table every Thanksgiving. Then, while putting away the turkey platter and decorating the house for Christmas, I make and freeze the doughs for everyone’s favorite cookies, which I finish baking just before Christmas—a radical tradition that has evolved from the early years when my daughter, Jade, and I decorated sugar cookies in all sorts of shapes for Santa. There are chocolate crinkle cookies dusted with confectioners’ sugar for my husband, Bruce. My oldest son, Brandon, likes chocolate chips, while salty-sweet peanut butter cookies topped with chocolate candy kisses…

IN PRAISE OF KITCHEN SHEARS Many cooks use kitchen shears to cut out poultry backbones when spatchcocking—and that’s it. But kitchen shears are incredibly useful in the kitchen, and they’re underutilized by most home cooks. They can replace a chef’s knife and a cutting board in numerous circumstances, saving you counter space and dirtying fewer dishes (this is especially useful for reducing the risk of cross contamination with raw meat), and they’re the best choice for some jobs you might not be using them for. Here are a dozen tasks where your kitchen shears will prove their mettle. –M.F. 1 Trimming fat from cuts of meat such as chicken thighs or pork roasts 2 Cutting smaller hunks of raw boneless meats into bite-size pieces 3 Snipping bunches of chives and…

A GOOD TURKEY fryer makes perfectly browned turkey in less than half the time it would take you to roast the same bird. There are two types of fryers: outdoor and countertop. Outdoor cookers are pretty simple—just a large stockpot and a burner that you hook up to a propane tank. Most outdoor cookers also include a rack for holding the turkey, a hook for lowering the rack, and a thermometer for monitoring oil temperature. Countertop fryers are powered by electricity and are essentially extra-large deep fryers. Both types usually come with a steamer basket so that you can also cook seafood or steam tamales. Countertop cookers are easy to use and allow you to fry your turkey indoors, but the model we tested trapped moisture and couldn’t maintain proper…

PORK AND SUGAR play well together (think maple bacon, brown sugar–glazed ham, and sticky ribs). As an unapologetic fan of all things swine (it’s a bit of a joke among my coworkers), I wanted to enhance a holiday-worthy pork roast with fruity, floral honey. I started with a roast from the pig’s shoulder called a Boston butt (or pork butt), which I think of as the darling of the meat department. It’s relatively inexpensive and has plenty of fat and connective tissue that—with low, slow cooking—melt out as the meat becomes tender and silky. It’s the cut that most people, including us here in the test kitchen, use for pulled pork. For the honey, I bought every type I found in local markets: clover, wild-flower, orange blossom, buckwheat, and alfalfa.…

IF YOU’RE A fan of bacon and brussels sprouts, you’re going to find comfort in these well-browned, roasty sprouts paired with smoky chorizo. But you’re also sure to be surprised and refreshed by the distinctly unique tastes in this recipe. Rich pork sausage seasoned with Spanish pimentón (smoked paprika); lots of fried garlic; creamy Manchego cheese; tart, ultracomplex sherry vinegar; and sweet honey blend harmoniously here, adding layer upon layer of flavor and intrigue to these vibrant buds. The brussels sprouts themselves—which are strong enough to stand up to other bold flavors—are not overwhelmed. With a simple, two-stage stovetop method, they emerge perfectly cooked: juicy and just tender, with flavorful caramelized edges. This recipe, which comes together quickly, starts with frying chopped chorizo and garlic in olive oil until the…

DUCK IS A restaurant special-occasion dish that is also a great choice to cook at home. To love duck is to understand its uniqueness and its dichotomies: This game bird is hunted wild, but it’s also commonly farm raised and can be purchased in supermarkets. Duck is often eaten rare(like beef). Because it flies, its muscles are firmer and pinker, more similar to red meat. Most important, with a little know-how, you can have restaurant quality duck goals are to get you to share my love of duck and to make you confident in cooking it. I developed this recipe using boneless breasts from White Pekin ducks, which tend to have a more balanced meat-to-fat ratio than the breasts of Moulard, Muscovy, and Mallard breeds. Also, since White Pekin is…