Al Dente

Tom Douglas: How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken

Occasionally you may find a recipe you want to try that instructs you to cut up a whole chicken...yet it doesn't tell you how to do it. It's actually quite simple and only takes a few minutes. Instead of buying all the individual parts, or worse, not bothering with the recipe, follow these steps next time you need to cut up a chicken.

In the photos to the right, I'm using a 10-inch butcher knife to make quick work of this chicken. Click on the image to get a larger view of the different steps.

1. Remove the neck, heart, gizzard, and liver from the chicken.  Cut off fat and excess skin from the neck and tail ends.

2. Place the chicken on a work surface, breast side up, and cut off the wings at the first joint (closest to the breast). Then cut off the leg and thigh by cutting through the skin into the natural division between the leg and the body.  Bend the leg away from the body and cut down between the thighbone joint and the hip socket.  Cut the leg away from the body as close to the backbone as possible.  

3. Repeat with the other leg and thigh.  Separate the drumstick from the thigh by cutting down through the joint that separates the two.  Repeat with the other drumstick and thigh.

4. To remove the backbone, insert a large heavy knife into the chicken’s cavity and cut down through the rib bones on each side of the backbone, chopping down through the collarbone to free the back bone completely.  Or use a kitchen shears or a poultry shears to cut out the backbone.

5. Place the chicken on the work surface breast side up and use a large heavy knife or a poultry shears to cut the breast in half, cutting through the breast bone.  If you like, you can divide each half-breast in half, in two equal pieces.

--Tom Douglas

Tom Douglas is currently working with Amazon.com on the exclusive line of kitchen and dining products, Tom Douglas by Pinzon, aimed at building confidence in the kitchen.

Tom Douglas's Recipe for Whole Salmon on the Grill

Barbecuing a whole salmon on the grill is a Seattle tradition, especially when celebrating any significant event or holiday from the Fourth of July to Christmas.   Try cooking a whole fish once in a while.  It will be infinitely more satisfying than boned fillets, and it’s probably a lot quicker and easier than you think.  Jackie spent 10 minutes getting this salmon ready to go on the grill, then only about 30 minutes grilling it.  Believe me, it will make a huge impression on your guests when you carry this gorgeous, slightly charred, sizzling hot salmon to the table.
     
Some people don’t like to eat the salmon skin, but if you do want to eat it be sure to remove the scales, or ask your fishmonger to do it for you.  A small sharp knife or a boning knife works well for scraping the scales off, though Jackie likes to use our Italian cheese knife, which does the job perfectly.  I lightly dust the skin with flour and brush with olive oil before grilling, to keep the fish skin from sticking to the grill.  I like to use an instant-read meat thermometer to check when the fish is done, just like I would check a roast. 

Try to get a wild salmon for this recipe, rather than a farmed salmon, because a fish with a nice firm texture is best.  A 3-1/2- to 4-pound fish is the perfect size for grilling. You can grill the salmon with the head and tail on, or you can ask your fishmonger to remove them.  Instead of salmon, you could substitute a steelhead, a large trout, a striped bass, or a red snapper.

Whole Salmon on the Grill Stuffed with Sea Salt, Lemon, and Onion
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 whole salmon, about 4 pounds, gutted, rinsed, and patted dry
Sea salt
1/2 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
1 small bunch fennel fronds or fresh dill
Olive oil, for brushing
Flour, for dusting

Sweet Fennel Butter, softened (see recipe below)
Lemon wedges and fennel fronds or fresh dill, for garnish

Directions:
1. Fire up the grill, with the coals lined up for direct heat about 5 to 6 inches below the fish.  Sprinkle sea salt generously in the cavity of the fish and over the skin, then stuff the cavity with the onion, lemon, and fennel fronds.  Tie kitchen string around the fish in three or four places to hold the stuffing in.  In between the string, make deep incisions with your knife through the thickest part of the fish on both sides, all the way down to the spine, so the fish will cook more quickly, and the smoke flavor will get inside the fish better.  Lightly dust one side of the fish with flour. Brush both the floured side of the fish and the grate with oil, then place the salmon on the grill, floured side down. Once the salmon is on the grill, lightly dust the other side of the fish with flour and brush it with oil.

2. Grill the salmon over medium-hot direct heat, with the lid on and the vents open.  If your grill has a thermometer, maintain the heat at 300 to 350 degrees F.  When the skin side facing the grill is nicely browned, after about 20 minutes, use two large grill spatulas to flip the fish to the other side.  Slide your spatula under the fish in several places first, to help detach the skin from the grill.  Then continue to grill until the fish is just cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of fish reads 125 degrees to 135 degrees F, about 10 to 20 minutes longer, for a total grilling time of 30 to 40 minutes.  Remove the fish from the grill, place it on a large platter, cut off the string, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Tom Douglas's Recipe for Charred Squid Skewers on Garlic Toast

This is one of my favorite recipes for summer parties. Squid can be very tender when grilled--just make sure to pull the skewers off the grill as soon as the squid is cooked. Charmoula is a slightly spicy Moroccan sauce made with cilantro and garlic--it adds a nice kick to this appetizer. For grilling, you can use bamboo skewers found at most markets, or check out my new double-pronged skewers--they'll keep the squid in place so you can grill evenly and also avoid having any squid fall into the fire. Plus, the "pusher" helps you get the squid off the skewers and onto your plates.

Charred Squid Skewers on Garlic Toast with Arugula

Ingredients:
2 pounds cleaned squid bodies, with or without tentacles
12 or more 10-inch skewers; if using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes and drain

For the Charmoula Marinade:
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons sambal oelek
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

6  garlic toasts (see recipe below)
5 cups loosely packed arugula leaves, stems trimmed, washed and dried

For the Lemon Vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice,
2 teaspoons minced shallots,
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon wedges, for garnish

Directions:
1. If your squid bodies have fins (thin flaps) attached to them, slice off and discard them. Put the blade of your knife inside a squid body and carefully slice it open, cutting away from you, so you have one flat piece. Cut this piece in half, lengthwise. You will have two squid pieces, shaped like two long, tapered rectangles.  Using your knife, lightly score the inside of each rectangle in a crosshatch pattern, not cutting all the way through. Repeat this procedure with all the squid bodies. 

2. To skewer the squid, thread one rectangle, lengthwise, onto a skewer, followed by 2 tentacles (if using), then another rectangle.  Pick up another skewer and continue until all the squid bodies are used. (You may have some tentacles left over; you can thread them together on a skewer.)  Place the skewers in a nonreactive pan.

3. To make the marinade, combine the parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, sambal, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk in the oil.   Pour the marinade over the squid, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4. To make the lemon vinaigrette, combine the lemon juice and shallots in a small bowl and whisk in the olive oil.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

5. Fire up your grill.  Remove the skewers from the refrigerator and allow the squid to come to room temperature.  Shake off excess marinade, then grill the skewers over a hot fire, direct heat, with the lid off. Turn the skewers several times as needed, until the squid is cooked through, opaque, and charred in a few places, about 1 to 3 minutes total time, depending on the heat of your fire.  Do not overcook, or the squid will be tough. Remove the skewers from the grill.

Tom Douglas's Recipe for Crab and Pork Shao Mai

Shao mai or gyoza wrappers, available in Asian groceries, are 3-inch diameter rounds that are very thin.  If you buy square wrappers, it’s easy to stack the wrappers in groups of 10 or so and shave the corners with a pair of kitchen shears to make rounds.

For steaming the shao mai, a multi-tiered Chinese bamboo steamer with two steaming baskets works best. Set your bamboo steamer over a wok or a large saucepan partially filled with boiling water.  If you don’t have a multi-tiered bamboo steamer, divide the dumplings between two pots with steamer baskets. (If you use metal steamer baskets instead of bamboo, lightly oil them first so the shao mai don’t stick.)

If you like, you can make these ahead, chill, and reheat in the steamer baskets for about 5 minutes.

Crab and Pork Shao Mai

Ingredients:
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon sake
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch, plus a little more for dusting the plate
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced scallions, white and green parts
2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup drained, canned water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup peeled and grated carrot
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound crab meat, drained, picked clean of shell, and lightly squeezed of excess moisture if wet
About 24 raw green peas, fresh or frozen
1 package shao mai or gyoza wrappers

For serving:
Chili oil or Chinese hot chili paste

Directions:
1. In a bowl, lightly whisk together the egg white, sake, soy, sesame oil, cornstarch, sugar, salt, and pepper. Add the scallion, ginger, cilantro, water chestnuts, and carrot and stir.  Add the pork and crab meat and mix with a rubber spatula until well combined.

2. Set a shao mai wrapper on a work surface and place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center.  Then gather up the edges of the wrapper, pleating it around the filling.  Hold the dumpling between your thumb and index finger, squeezing it to form a “waist,” while flattening the bottom of the dumpling with your other hand.  The dumpling will be open on top, leaving the top of the filling exposed.  Press one pea into the center of the exposed filling.  Set the dumpling on a large plate lightly dusted with cornstarch.  Repeat until all the crab-pork mixture is used. You should have about 24 dumplings.

3. Fill a large saucepan or wok about halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat.

4. Divide the shao mai between two bamboo steamer baskets.  Stack the baskets, cover with the lid, and place over the saucepan or wok. Steam until the shao mai are cooked through, about 15 minutes, reversing the baskets about halfway through the steaming time.

5. Remove the shao mai from the baskets, transfer to plates and serve with ramekins of chili oil or chili paste.

Makes 6 appetizer servings

Recipe from I Love Crab Cakes (Morrow, 2006)
Photo by Robin Layton

--Tom Douglas

Tom Douglas is currently working with Amazon.com on the exclusive line of kitchen and dining products, Tom Douglas by Pinzon, aimed at building confidence in the kitchen.

Tom and Jackie’s Favorite Champagnes and Sparklers

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and if you haven't already stocked up on the bubbly, here are a few of our favorites. Pick up a bottle on the way to your party!

• Billecart-Salmon Rosé, France
• Roederer Cristal, France
• Philipponnat Clos de Goisses, France
• Pol Roger Rosé, France, (Winston Churchill’s and Tom’s favorite)
• Roederer Estate, California
• Mountain Dome, Washington (from Spokane, Jackie’s hometown)
• Argyle, Oregon

Happy New Year!

--Tom Douglas

How to Serve Caviar

Several years ago, after reading the umpteenth article about poaching in the Caspian Sea, and especially an article in the New York Times suggesting that 90+ percent of all Russian caviar is poached, we decided to stop serving caviar at our restaurants altogether. Then we discovered environmentally friendly, sustainable American caviar from farmed white sturgeon.

White sturgeon is very similar to the species Osetra from the Caspian Sea, but is indigenous to the Pacific Coast of North America. The white sturgeon is one of the oldest species found on earth. White sturgeon caviar is a beautiful dark-brown bead with a mild nutty taste balanced by a good ocean flavor.

For some reason it has become popular to “garnish” caviar service with capers, raw onions, sieved eggs, and sour cream.  I, for one, think that’s bunk.  If I’m going to spend $40 for an ounce of caviar, I want to taste the caviar.  I want to feel the egg burst on my tongue.  I want to taste the salty freshness of well-handled roe.  Maybe a little buttered brioche toast or something else fairly plain, but beyond that...fuhgeddaboutit!

--Tom Douglas

Holiday Entertaining with Tom Douglas: Mt. Townsend Seastack and Mushroom Crostini

Soft, oozing cheese, crisp toasts, and savory, caramelized mushrooms create a fantastic combo of tastes and textures. Be sure to sauté the mushrooms long enough to get them a little crisp.

I prefer a soft ripened cheese for this recipe, such as Mt. Townsend Seastack which is a soft goat’s milk cheese rolled in sea salt and vegetable ash, made by Mt. Townsend Creamery. 

Wine suggestion:  Along with our local cheese, a Washington state bubbly such as Mountain Dome Sparkler would work great!

Mt. Townsend Seastack and Mushroom Crostini

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces shiitake, button, or crimini mushrooms, stems trimmed and roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 slices from a baguette, about 1/3-inch thick
Olive oil for brushing
About 6 ounces soft-ripened cheese, such as Mt. Townsend Seastack
1 tablespoon sliced chives, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
2  teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat.  Add the mushrooms and sauté, stirring as needed, until the mushroom-liquid evaporates and the mushrooms  are browned and a little crisp.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Brush the baguette slices lightly with oil, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake for 6 to 8 minutes until crisp and golden.  Remove from the oven.
4. Spread some of the cheese on each toast while the toasts are still warm. Top each toast with some of the mushrooms and sprinkle with a little thyme. Serve immediately.

Makes 12 crostini  (6 servings)

--Tom Douglas

How to Make Holiday Entertaining Fun

Both Jackie and I are at work all day, running our five restaurants and other business concerns, but we don’t give up on entertaining during the holidays.  Spending time with family and friends is just too important, in fact, it’s good for the soul.

Here are a few ways to make holiday entertaining easier and make it fun:

1. Try to take some smart shortcuts.
Pick up part of the meal from your favorite restaurant or prepared-foods counter.  For example, shrimp filling for tacos takes about 10 minutes to cook--and no one makes this dish better than my wife, Jackie--but homemade tortillas are much more time consuming, so we stop by our favorite Mexican restaurant on the way home and grab two or three dozen for $5.

2. Make a special cocktail.
I like to pass cocktails as soon as guests arrive, because the minute you put a drink in someone’s hand, the mood turns festive.  I don’t mean just a typical drink, like scotch and soda, but a cocktail matched to the menu or the season.  If I’m serving garlic greens on toasts, for example, I pick up on the theme by passing a classic Italian cocktail like the Negroni.  Or I might make a simple homemade Bianco, by steeping a few sprigs of rosemary, mint, and thick strips of lemon zest for a few hours in a couple bottles of Sauvignon Blanc. Voila, your own herbal appertif!

3. Set your feast out on big platters, rather than plating up individual courses.
Jackie and I have a collection of beautiful platters picked up from our travels around the world or received as gifts from family and friends. If we’re serving buffet style, we use the big platters and lay them out on our big kitchen island.  When serving family style at the table, it’s really important to use smaller platters or oversized dinner plates so people can easily and more comfortably pass the food around the table.  There’s a real communal feeling about holding a platter while your table-mates help themselves and continue the process all the way around the table.

4. Let your friends help in the kitchen.   
Years ago, I got into the bad habit of treating entertaining at home like we were at the restaurant.   Whenever someone would offer to bring a course, or make the salad, or bring dessert, I would say “oh no, I got it,” and dinners would end up being orchestrated in a way that stifled the essence of an intimate gathering with friends. Nowadays, if someone offers to bring a favorite dish, or wants to jump in on the kitchen prep, I say “go for it.”  When your guests feel included, it’s more fun for everyone.

--Tom Douglas

Check out Tom's favorite kitchen products in the Kitchen & Home Gift Guide.
 

A Crab Dip Recipe from Tom Douglas

My mom makes a delicious creamy crab dip reminiscent of Thousand Island dressing that the whole family loved.  She served it on Ritz crackers, but I prefer to serve dollops of crab dip on homemade or best-quality purchased potato chips.

Mom’s Crab Dip on Potato Chips
From Tom’s Big Dinners (Morrow, 2003)
Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon seeded and minced sweet red cherry pepper (from a jar of vinegar-packed sweet cherry peppers)
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
1 hard-boiled egg, finely chopped
3/4 pound fresh Dungeness crabmeat, picked over for bits of shell and cartilage with claw meat and large pieces of crab left whole
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 of a lemon
Potato chips, homemade or top-quality purchased

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk the tomato paste and the honey together until smooth.  Whisk in the mayonnaise, chives, lemon juice, cherry pepper, zest, horseradish, and Tabasco.  Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the egg.  Add the crabmeat to the bowl and toss it with the dressing.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon.

To serve, set a bowl of crab dip on a large platter and surround it with potato chips for dipping.

--Tom Douglas

Check out Tom's favorite kitchen products in the Kitchen & Home Gift Guide.
 

Tom and Jackie’s Favorite Cheeses for a Holiday Cheese Tray

A well-thought-out cheese tray can be the highlight of a delicious holiday spread. Here are a few cheeses and accompaniments Jackie and I enjoy putting together.

Favorite cheeses:

Epoisses
A strong-smelling washed rind cow’s milk cheese
From Bourgogne and Champagne-Ardenne, France

Colston Bassett Stilton
One of the great blue cheeses of the world, rich and crumbly
From Nottinghamshire, England

Mt. Townsend Creamery Seastack
Semi-soft sheep’s milk cheese with a mild, earthy flavor
From Oroville, Washington, USA

Montgomery Farmhouse Cheddar
Semi-hard cow’s milk cheese with nutty flavor and creamy finish
From Somerset, England

Humboldt Fog
Ripened goat’s milk cheese with a layer of ash in the center and under the exterior white mold
From Cypress Grove Chevre, California, USA

Suggestions for accompaniments:

• Marcona almonds
• Spanish quince paste (Membrillo)
• Fresh figs
• Red, black, or green grapes
• Sliced apple or ripe pear
• Crisp crackers such as La Panzanella Croccantini
• Sliced baguette
• Honey--especially good drizzled over blue cheeses
• A piece of honeycomb
• A drizzle of Saba (an Italian product that is a sweet reduction of grape must, similar to Balsamic vinegar)

Be sure to serve your cheeses at room temperature for the best flavor.

--Tom Douglas

Check out Tom Douglas’s favorite kitchen products in the Kitchen & Home Gift Guide.