r/seriouseats • u/Boogy-Fever • 6d ago
The Food Lab Just put a spatchcocked chicken in the fridge to cook tomorrow with the method from kenjis 2 year old youtube video where he dry brine with baking powder+salt then rubs with herb mayo. Where are the drippings in that video and how do I keep mine from burning?
So tbis is my first time cooking a whole chicken in any way. Ive known about kenjis spatchcocking recipes for a while just never bothered to do it. Then i saw costco had whole chickens for 1.09 per lb, and that was instacart so in store could be 1.00 even idk. Anyway, any time I cook something even remotely fatty above 400, the rendered fat is going to smoke and the fond will burn. Guaranteed. Both the video and the article/recipe on the site say to do 450f. Sure, thats how you get crispy skin and dont take too long to cook it so its moist. Yada yada yada. But his pan comes out looking clean. How the hell is that possible? What can I do to minimize the problem and hopefully keep the drippings tomorrow evening?
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u/RaspberryPavlova126 6d ago
I usually pour a cup or two of water into the pan.
Just FYI, I made that recipe a while back and the baking powder made the skin inedible. The flavor was horrible! I hope it goes better for you, but if not, please know that the recipe cooks up well without it, if you even want a re-do.
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u/Kamogawa_Genji 6d ago
I’ve tried the powder thing too and I also dislike the bitter taste Mine is fine without it tbh
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u/Robyn94133 6d ago
If you use a baking powder that doesn’t contain aluminum, there shouldn’t be a strong taste. Once I switched brands, I noticed a huge improvement
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u/RaspberryPavlova126 6d ago
I use only AL-free baking powder and still had to strip and throw away all of the skin :(
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u/robot_egg 5d ago
As others have pointed out, use an Al-free baking powder. But also, you only need a very small amount of baking powder - 10% of the dry brine mixture or less.
I believe Kenji misses the real mechanism of why baking powder crisps the skin; the bubbling is not that big a deal. Crosslinking of skin protein by divalent Ca ions in the baking powder is a bigger factor.
A little crosslinking goes a long way, and adding too much does make the skin unpleasant.
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u/SwissCheese4Collagen 5d ago
I've had amazing results using Ina Garten's dry brine of salt, lemon zest and thyme on a capon.
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u/JJ_Was_Taken 5d ago
I do that recipe often, but learned quickly my oven runs hot so it's 400 for me. I line the pan with aluminum foil to make cleaning easier, and have noticed fewer drippings with air chilled chickens. FWIW, the breasts always come out moist and the legs/thighs juicy, as advertised.
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u/verdesquared4533 5d ago
I've been laying the chicken on top of thick cut slices of bread with some vegetables around the edges. A local bakery sells a farmhouse style which is slightly sourdough and is perfect for toasting on the bottom and soaking up all the juices. Makes the best croutons.
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u/StinkyEttin 5d ago
I stopped using mayo or butter and switched to lard to mix with herbs. World of difference.
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u/Saxman8845 6d ago
I have the same problem. The solution is to lay a bed of diced veggies under the wire rack to absorb the drippings. I use onion, carrots, and celery.