

Puerto Rican Cookout
1/7/2023 | 26m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
Grilled Chicken with Adobo and Sazón, Pastelón; medium jarred salsa.
Test cook Lan Lam cooks host Julia Collin Davison Grilled Chicken with Adobo and Sazón. Tasting expert Jack Bishop challenges hosts Julia and Bridget Lancaster to a head-to-head tasting of medium jarred salsa. Test cook Dan Souza makes host Bridget Lancaster Pastelón (Puerto Rican Sweet Plantain and Picadillo Casserole).
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Puerto Rican Cookout
1/7/2023 | 26m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
Test cook Lan Lam cooks host Julia Collin Davison Grilled Chicken with Adobo and Sazón. Tasting expert Jack Bishop challenges hosts Julia and Bridget Lancaster to a head-to-head tasting of medium jarred salsa. Test cook Dan Souza makes host Bridget Lancaster Pastelón (Puerto Rican Sweet Plantain and Picadillo Casserole).
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Today on "America's Test Kitchen," Lan makes Julia grilled chicken with adobo and Sazón.
Jack challenges Julia and Bridget to a head-to-head tasting of medium jarred salsa.
And Dan makes Bridget pastelón.
It's all coming up right here on "America's Test Kitchen."
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♪♪ -Our colleague David Pazmiño taught us how to make a killer grilled chicken recipe based on his Puerto Rican grandmother's version, that uses adobo and Sazón, and it's a game-changer.
-It really is.
There's something about how the Sazón and adobo combine with that grilled flavor.
The chicken comes out just so flavorful and the color is gorgeous.
Let's start with our spice mix.
This is a dry adobo.
There are wet adobos.
They tend to kind of burn on the grill and so, a dry one is a nicer option.
I've got 4 teaspoons of granulated garlic and to that I'm adding 1 teaspoon of table salt.
Next is 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
And I've got 1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano.
For the Sazón, you can make your own, but I like to use the commercial stuff.
It's got MSG and... -[ Laughs ] -...I kind of love MSG.
It just brings so much depth and savoriness.
If you're not into it, you can just choose a Sazón that doesn't contain MSG.
And that was 2 1/2 teaspoons of Sazón.
But the other thing it has is achiote, or annatto... -Yeah.
-...and it's what gives it this beautiful kind of pumpkiny color.
-Mm-hmm.
Makes the chicken look beautiful off the grill.
-It really does.
So, let's get started with the chicken.
-Alright.
-This is a 4 1/2 pound bird.
Now, with any chicken I'm doing, whether I'm using it for parts or using it whole, I get rid of any extra skin or fat that I don't want dripping onto the grill or in the final dish.
Shears are great for this.
-Mm-hmm.
-And I'm going to cut out the backbone.
The reason we're breaking this down is it'll just speed up cooking.
-Mm-hmm.
-Normally, people would discard this, but I actually think it's super tasty, so, we're going to keep it.
-Okay.
We're going to grill it.
-It's the best bit.
Now, I'm done with the shears.
I'm going to open this up and I'm going to divide this chicken in half.
I like to figure out where the center is... -Mm-hmm.
-...and then you can just cut down until you hit the bone and then you just -- [ Thwack ] That's it.
We're just going to work with one piece at a time.
First, I'm separating the breast from the leg, so, I'll tuck this wing and then I want to find the bone.
If you do this, you can kind of figure out where the joint is.
-Mm-hmm.
-The bones are right here, so, I'm going to put slashes perpendicular to that bone, all the way through the skin.
-Into the meat a little bit.
-Yep, right there.
And then I'm going to put one at the joint as well.
-Yeah, where all the fat is.
-Yeah.
And what this is going to do is it gives space for the dry rub to get in, but it also speeds cooking.
One more on the back side.
We don't need to slash the white meat because it cooks faster.
Dark meat takes more time to get tender.
That's why we want to speed it up.
And I'm going to repeat with the other side.
-Alright, now that this chicken is ready, let's get some spices on there.
I'm going to start by throwing on some gloves.
-Yeah, the annatto is basically a food coloring, so, it will stain your hands.
-It will.
I'm adding 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar... -Mmm!
-...and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
And what we're doing here is moistening the pieces, so that that spice rub can really stick.
And I'm going to go in and gently loosen the skin a little bit, so that I can get the salt and spice rub under the skin as well, so that it's really going to get into the bird as it cooks.
If you don't mind, would you grab that... -Sprinkle?
-...and sprinkle it on?
-Happy to.
Oh, that smells good!
-Doesn't it?
-Really garlicky.
-Yeah.
-And the vinegar, which I can smell.
-Yeah.
-The combination's delicious-smelling.
-The breast meat always needs a little bit of help, right?
-Yeah.
-That looks perfect.
I'll throw some plastic wrap on here, stick it in the fridge for 3 to 24 hours.
-Okay.
-Alright, Julia, before we head outside, let's make a post-marinade.
-Post-marinade.
That's a marinade you add post-grilling?
-Correct.
-Ah!
So, it adds flavor right before serving.
-Absolutely.
I'm going to start by smashing 6 cloves of garlic.
But don't worry, this won't be over-the-top garlicky.
And then I'm just going to run a knife through it.
I just want to break it down.
-Mm-hmm.
-And add 1/2 teaspoon of table salt and I'm going to mash this into a paste.
And I'm just putting pressure on the blade and smearing it... ...and that coarse salt is going to help break the garlic down.
-Mm-hmm.
-This kind of mellows the flavors a little bit... -Yeah.
-...so that it takes that heat away and we're left with kind of a soft, raw garlic flavor.
So, this is looking nice and bruised.
-Looks good and sticky.
-Yeah.
-Scrape this sucker up and I'm going to transfer this to a disposable 13x9 pan.
Last couple of ingredients for this.
I've got about 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro.
It'll go right in this pan.
I've got 1/4 cup of distilled white vinegar, 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
Nice and simple.
Now, just give this a quick stir and let's grab that chicken and go outside.
Julia, I have set up the grill for us.
Let me show you what I did.
-Alright.
-I had a chimney that I filled to the top.
It was 6 quarts of charcoal and I've covered just half of the bottom of that grill.
It provides a concentrated fire, but also gives me a little cool area... -Mm-hmm.
-...to work with, which is really useful for this.
I just want to give this a quick scrape.
And, to clean it up a little bit more and to prevent sticking, I'm going to oil it.
Alright, so, let's start cooking.
I have our chicken here.
It's marinated for a little over 3 hours... -Mm-hmm.
-...and I'm going to slow-roast it skin-side-up on the cooler side of the grill.
During this first bit of cooking, that skin sets and it's not going to tighten up on us too much... -Mm-hmm.
-...later on, when it sees more intense heat.
So, I'm just going to cover this and we're going to let this go for about 15 to 20 minutes, just until I see a little bit of browning on that chicken.
-Okay.
-Julia, it's been about 20 minutes.
Let's have a peek.
-Oh!
Look how taut that skin is!
-Right?
This chicken is not quite there yet.
I'm going to just flip them all over, so that they cook evenly.
What I'm shooting for is to get the breasts to 150 degrees.
-Okay.
Which is not quite done.
[ Sizzling ] -No, not quite done.
Julia, would you mind handing me that paste?
-You got it.
Oh, that smells good!
-It does, right?
It's going to smell even better shortly.
I just want that garlic to cook up a little bit.
I'm going to put it over the hot side of the grill and we're going to let it come to a simmer.
That garlic's going to start to cook up.
It's going to become more fragrant.
Takes 2 to 3 minutes.
Can you hear that?
There's like a gentle bubbling going on.
[ Sizzling ] -A little simmer.
[ Laughs ] -Right.
-So, I'm just going to pull this off and this is ready to go for later... -Goodness.
-...and we'll pop this lid back on and let this chicken finish roasting.
Julia, it's been 15 minutes.
Let's have a peek.
-That looks beautiful!
-That color is gorgeous, right?
-Yes!
-We're almost there.
I'm just going to check the breast and I'm really just going to pick the biggest piece... -Mm-hmm.
-...insert the thermometer into the thickest portion, and, oh, that looks great.
I'm just shooting for 150.
I deliberately undercooked them on this side because I want to add a little bit of browning to that skin, crisp it up just the tiniest bit more.
We'll just move these over to the hot side.
All I'm looking for is to take the breasts to 155 degrees.
[ Sizzling ] and the legs up to 175.
So, as they hit temperature, I'm just going to pop them into this post marinade.
This browning step, it usually just takes 2 to 3 minutes.
These are doneskies.
-[ Laughs ] -Let's get these off of here.
So, one final step.
I'm just going to slap some foil over this, scoot it over to that hot side, give it another, maybe, 3 to 4 minutes... -Mm-hmm.
-...just to get that post marinade bubbly.
-Is it time to eat?
-Oh, for sure.
-[ Laughs ] -I'm starving.
Julia, this chicken has been resting for about 10 minutes.
I'm going to divide the breast in half.
I want to make sure this side, which is a little small, isn't a chintzy portion... -[ Laughs ] -...so, I'm going to scoot the knife up a little bit, slice through the skin, and, when I get to the bone... just a little bit of pressure.
That's it.
Look at that cook.
-Mmm!
Look how juicy that is!
-And look at that color.
That kind of brick red color is great.
-Mm-hmm!
-Now, I'm going to find that slash I made earlier and cut right down and that's where we split the drum from the thigh.
-Mm-hmm!
And your favorite bit.
-Yes, the best part -- the back.
Now, this is just going to go right into this bowl.
And you ready to eat?
-I am!
-Alright.
-A little white and a little dark.
-Yeah, I think so.
-Yeah.
-Why not some of each?
And some sauce.
-[ Laughing ] Yes.
Yes, please.
-Mmm.
-I smell that grill on here.
-Oh, it smells so good!
-Doesn't it?
-Mmm!
That is delicious!
-Isn't it?
-Yeah, it's got flavor, but it's not overpowering.
It just enhances the flavor of the chicken.
You get the garlic, a little bit of vinegar, and, of course, the spice rub, with the adobo and the Sazón.
-That garlic flavor just kind of blooms.
You get a little bit of the heat from the pepper, but it's like the best chicken... -Oh!
-...you've ever grilled.
-Yeah, it really is.
Lan, this is amazing.
Thank you for showing me.
-Oh, yeah.
I got to thank Dave for showing me.
-Yeah.
Thank you, David.
So, if you want to make this classic recipe for a Puerto Rican-style grilled chicken, make your own dry adobo, slash the legs for faster cooking, and let the cooked chicken sit in the marinade.
From "America's Test Kitchen," a terrific recipe for grilled chicken with adobo and Sazón.
This is a game-changer.
-Isn't it?
I'm stealing this chicken.
-Yeah, It's almost perfumed.
-Yeah.
Yeah!
♪♪ -Salsa means "sauce" in Spanish and there are dozens of salsas made in Mexico.
The jarred, tomato-based salsa that we know here in the United States dates back to the 1940s and was created by immigrant families in California and Texas.
By the 1980s, it was everywhere, with tortilla chips, and incredibly popular.
By the '90s, it was the most popular condiment in the United States.
Although, I think it's more an appetizer.
[ Laughter ] I brought four medium salsas for you to taste, so, you can dig in.
Now, medium means it should have some heat.
Some brands have bell peppers on the label.
-Mm-hmm.
-That's really, really medium.
-[ Laughs ] -I would say too medium and that was one thing the tasting panel agreed upon, was they wanted a fair amount of heat, even in a medium salsa.
-Okay.
-So, you're going to notice that some of them are thick and some of them are really thin.
And we actually quantified this.
We took 16 ounces of salsa, put it in a strainer, and you can see this was a pretty thick one, not that much juice.
This was a very thin one, with twice as much juice.
Chunky or smooth?
I personally am on Team Smooth because the chunky bits are going to end up on my shirt, are they not?
-Yes.
-Or maybe your rug.
-[ Laughing ] Yes.
[ Laughs ]- -On her shirt.
-On my shirt.
-Oh, well, everything is... -[ Laughs ] --...on her shirt, you know.
-[ Laughs ] Other tasters felt like salsa needs to have crisp bits of vegetables in it and that, if it's perfectly smooth, what happened to the crisp bits of vegetables?
So, controversy left and right here.
Other thing was, what else, besides tomatoes and onions, are you tasting?
And the chilies, of course.
I like a lot of other flavors.
Garlic and cumin?
Yes, please!
-Yes.
-Some of these are made with roasted vegetables, so, roasted tomatoes and onions and garlic, and, of course, that gives it a lot of smoke.
-Yeah!
-So, we have something for everybody here.
-I'm enjoying myself.
-Me, too.
-Yeah.
-I'm enjoying this way more than I thought I would.
I am loving these last two, C and D. They are totally up my alley.
They're very different, in terms of flavor.
C is -- you mentioned -- roasted.
It's smoky.
I love that.
I also love D. You can taste the cumin.
You can taste the garlic.
These?
Totally different style.
I'm sure they have their fans.
They're just not -- not my thing.
-Alright.
-I'm going to agree with you on one point -- I also like D a lot.
It does have that cumin.
-Mm-hmm.
-That cumin just slaps you in the face and I'm loving it.
Now, this was good, but it's not for me for dipping the chip into.
-Oh.
-Or spoon.
This one's a little too sweet for me... -Yeah.
-...but I think -- I know people that love a sweet salsa.
-Yep.
-My daughter would love this one.
-[Both] Mm-hmm.
-This one has nice big chunks of vegetables, which, I kind of like the crunch, but this one, I would call like the salsa that I grew up with.
-Mm-hmm.
-That would be this one.
-So, let's start with A.
So, A is Pace.
We dubbed this the crowd-pleaser because, in the tasting panel, people wanted the chunks more than not.
It's got a decent amount of heat... -Mm-hmm.
-...and it just said, "Jarred tomato salsa" to a lot of people.
-Mm-hmm.
-And the vegetables that were in there, they didn't feel spent.
-Your daughter's going to have B... -Okay, good to know.
-...so, which is the Newman's Own.
-Okay.
-This is the mild choice.
-Mm-hmm.
-It's on the sweet side.
It's got bell peppers.
C is the Frontera.
-Yeah.
-Oh!
-And this is roasted everything... -Mm-hmm.
-...from our friend Rick Bayless' company, and it's bold.
-Yep.
-It's got a lot of smoke... -Mm-hmm.
-...and a lot of flavor.
Some people loved it.
-Mm-hmm.
-I think that would be our friend Julia.
It's really delicious, but it's a different style.
-Yep.
-And D was Mateo's and this is actually my personal favorite because I love the garlic and cumin, which you called out.
It's smooth, it's got a lot of heat, and it's just a delicious salsa that's going to stay on the chip, if I just remembered to bring the chips.
-[ Laughs ] -That's right, yes.
-So, whether you want spice or smoke, thick or thin, there's a salsa for everyone.
♪♪ -A little sweet and very savory, pastelón takes two of Puerto Rico's most beloved staples -- picadillo and plantains -- and combines them into a hearty, savory casserole.
Well, that's a good thing because Dan's here and he's going to make a fabulous version for us.
-That's right.
And so this is one of my favorite plantain dishes.
As you know.
they're incredibly versatile.
-Mm.
-When they're green and starchy, we make tostones with them... -Right.
-...but when they get to a super ripe stage, which we're going to work with today, you get those gorgeous maduros... -Mmm.
-...which are just sweet and incredible.
They build the foundation of this casserole.
-Alright.
-Before we get to them, we're going to get to our sofrito.
So, this is going to season the entire dish and we're going to work with a couple of different ingredients here.
First, I have a Cubanelle pepper here.
So, pretty mild, lots of nice, green, grassy flavor... -Yes!
-...which is something you'll see, I think, a lot in this sofrito.
I'm going to, basically, stem and seed it.
So, I'm just going to chop this pretty rough because we're going to use our food processor to put our sofrito together.
-Gotcha.
-So, we just need some manageable-size pieces.
-Giving yourself a head start here.
-Okay, next up, we have culantro.
We're looking for 1/4 cup here.
Now, culantro is a really wonderful herb.
It's one of my favorites.
It is really pungent and grassy, but it does share some flavor compounds and some aromas with cilantro.
-Uh-huh.
-So, this is absolutely worth seeking out.
Do everything you can to find it.
If it's just not available where you live, you can substitute 1 cup of cilantro in its place.
I'm going to do a healthy 1/4 cup here.
So, for the rest of our sofrito, we have 3/4 cup of cilantro leaves and stems.
The stems have tons of flavor, too, so, we're going to include those.
We've got half of an onion here, that I've quartered.
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, which is going to help when we cook this out later.
-Right.
-And 3 garlic cloves.
And then I'm going to pulse this until it is coarsely chopped, which would be 12 to 14 pulses.
-Okay.
-Okay, that looks great.
So, we'll leave it in there.
-Okay.
-Now, it is time for the star of the dish -- plantains.
And, as you can see, this is black, right?
Really, really dark.
It's got some yellow over here.
It's really soft.
Plantains go through an incredible process, from green all the way up to black, and, during that time, a couple of things happen.
Starches convert to sugar, so, we get something that's firmer, something that's nice and sweet.
-Mm.
-Acids decrease, so, you get something that tastes even sweeter, in that way.
-Right.
-And they get really, really soft as well.
So, this is ideal for this recipe here.
I find it's really easy to cut it in half, first... ...and then I'm going to cut it into thirds.
So, we're looking for thin slabs that will stack really well in the casserole.
-Nice little planks.
-Nice little planks.
Now, it is time to do our frying.
I have 3/4 cup of vegetable oil in my 12-inch nonstick here, which I'm going to heat over medium high heat until shimmering.
-I see shimmer!
-You see shimmer and I see time to put in the plantains.
So, I'm going to start with a third of them.
Beautiful.
So, that's a third of our 3 pounds of plantains.
We're going to cook until they're nice and browned on the bottom.
We're going to cook these for 3 to 4 minutes.
Okay, it is time to flip and I think you will see... -Mmm!
-...that they're beautiful!
-Yes, they are.
Oh!
Deeply colored.
Oh, gorgeous!
-There's just so much sugar in there and it loves to brown up.
Oh, beautiful.
Okay, so we'll go for another 2 to 4 minutes here, until that second side looks just like this.
That has been 3 minutes and these look gorgeous.
So, I'm going to pop them over here... -[ Laughs ] -...and let them drain.
-Oh, my goodness!
-Alright.
That second side got gorgeously brown, so, I'm going to get them out and onto a sheet right there... -Yes.
-...so, they can drain.
So, I'm going to continue with the rest of these in two more batches.
Alright, all of our plantains look lovely and I'm going to hit them with some salt, about 1/2 teaspoon of table salt, right away.
It's going to help it really stick to it.
-Mmm!
-So, now, back to our skillet.
I emptied out most of our oil and then we're going to add 1 pound of 90% lean ground beef.
Now, that's pretty lean, but we really want the dish to be balanced, right?
So, we fried these and they have a fair amount of oil.
You might use some cheese later.
That adds a lot of richness, too, so... -Gotcha.
-...so, the 90% is really nice here.
I'm going to cook this and break it up with my wooden spatula.
I'm going to cook it until it's no longer pink and just beginning to brown.
[ Thudding ] Okay, there's just barely a little bit of pink there, so, I know I'm ready to go to my next step and I've got 2 1/2 teaspoons of Sazón to add here.
Now, there's a number of different formulations for this seasoning blend.
This one has achiote in it... -Mmm, nice.
-...which gives it that gorgeous, orange red color, so, I like to seek that out.
It's super rich, gives a ton of umami to the dish.
Takes about a minute.
And then, finally, 2 teaspoons of distilled white vinegar.
-Mmm!
-Smell good?
-Yes!
-I know.
This whole room is just filled with it.
Okay, so, that is all set.
I'm going to transfer it to this bowl over here.
Now, our sofrito that we made in the food processor goes right in.
[ Sizzling ] So, we're going to cook this until the onion starts to soften.
It takes about 3 to 4 minutes.
-Alright.
-Alright, that onion is nice and soft, so, I'm going to add 8 ounces of tomato sauce and this is the stuff in the can that says "tomato sauce."
That's what you want to go for.
I'm going to cook this until we start to see it really reduce on the sides and we get a little bit of fond happening there.
That means we've got a lot of water out of that.
It's producing a lot more flavor, so, we're going to keep cooking until that point.
You can see it's starting to brown and stick there.
-Deep flavor.
-Deep, deep flavor.
-Alright!
-So next, we're going to add back the meat.
[ Sizzling ] And I have 2 tablespoons of alcaparrado.
Now, this is a mixture of olives, pimentos, and capers.
It's really fabulous.
Adds tons of brininess.
A little bit of sweetness, but salty brininess is... -Yes.
-...really what it's all about.
We're leaving it whole.
You can chop it up, but it's really nice when you get a whole olive.
It kind of changes the flavor of the dish.
So, I'm just going to cook this for another 2 to 3 minutes, until everything is warmed through and the sauce is really absorbed into the meat.
Alright, it is time to assemble.
I have my 13x9-inch baking dish here.
I'm going to lightly spray the bottom of this and then I'm going to layer on half of the plantains into a nice, even layer here.
Now, you don't have to fully cover the bottom, but pretty even coverage.
-Okay.
-Beautiful.
The next layer we're going to add is some beaten egg.
What we're going to do is add a pinch of salt to these two eggs.
That's going to be seasoning, but it also helps them turn more fluid.
It breaks down the proteins... -Right.
-...a little bit, so that you can actually get it to spread evenly on the bottom.
This is a really traditional component of pastelón, is it settles to the bottom and it forms like a really nice base... -Mm.
-...so, it's easy to get clean slices out.
Do a little shimmy, make sure it's evenly distributed.
Now, time for our beef.
So, we're going to do one layer of the beef.
We want to spread this out over the whole plantain layer there.
-Mmm mmm mmm!
-Beautiful.
That is our beef.
And then we're going to do our second layer of plantains.
-Beautifully done.
-It does.
It looks good, right?
So, we could pop this in the oven and roast it now.
It would be absolutely fabulous.
I'm actually going to add some cheese to the top... -Hm!
-...which is not in the most authentic original recipes... -Right.
-...but most modern recipes do have some cheese because it's wonderful.
It ties it all together.
-And it's cheese.
-It's cheese.
So, we're using 4 ounces of Monterey Jack here.
-Nice melting cheese.
-Yep.
Really, you want melting and mild.
I'm going to transfer this to a 400 degrees oven and cook until the cheese is melted and just beginning to brown.
Takes about 20 to 25 minutes.
-Mmm!
-Whoa!
-Does that look good!
-Yeah, that looks good... -Alright, so we're going to let this rest for about 5 minutes before we can dig in.
You can tell that it's bubbling and really hot.
-5 minutes, okay.
-Alright, are you ready to try this?
-Very much so.
-And it looks perfect.
We've got melted cheese, some of it's starting to brown.
Everything is gelled together... -Yes!
-...in this beautiful way.
-Oh, that looks gorgeous!
-Beautiful.
-You still have your neat, tidy layers.
-Yep, and that egg does really help get it out of the pan there.
Obviously, adds some nice richness.
-Yeah!
Alright.
-Let's dig in.
[ Blows ] Mmm.
-It's that sweet-savory combo that gets me every time.
-Every time.
Oh, it's so good.
Those plantains, they were perfectly ripe... -Yes.
-...really, really sweet.
-They have the beautiful crust on them, but they're pillowy soft.
-Mm-hmm.
-Mmm!
-And I think the best part, in my mind, the alcaparrado that's in there.
-It's an explosion of flavor with every bite.
-It really is.
-It's gorgeous.
Thanks, Dan.
-You're welcome.
-Well, you've got to try this pastelón and it starts with frying planks of plantain until they're golden brown; create a picadillo with lean ground beef, alcaparrado, and sofrito; and then pour eggs over that first layer of plantains, for more structure.
Bake it all until it's beautifully browned and bubbly.
So, from "America's Test Kitchen," the outstanding pastelón.
You can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with product reviews and select episodes and those are all on our website, americastestkitchen.com/tv.
Mmm mmm mmm!
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