Crispy skin Chinese-style chicken.
(air whooshes)
The trick to making the crispy skin chicken itself
is a 24-hour process.
It's not difficult.
And basically, you loosen all of its skin.
So start a day ahead, four-pound chicken.
Over here, I have a round tablespoon of that Sichuan pepper,
and then I've added five-spice powder.
Then we're gonna add to that about
a tablespoon of salt as well.
Then we're going to use about a teaspoon each per bird
of ginger, garlic, and anise, which is like fennel,
but a little bit more licoricey, or fennel pollen.
Or, if you really love that flavor,
you could do a little combo of the two.
We mix this together,
(fork clinks)
and we save a little of this combo
for the cavity of the bird, okay?
And we're going to take about two-thirds of it
and add it to the marinade that's going to go
all over the bird before we put it in the fridge overnight.
So we've got about two-thirds here,
and we reserved a little there.
So I have light blue agave here, or you can use honey,
about a quarter cup of that, the spice blend
we just did together, and then equal amounts,
so about a tablespoon or a little more,
a good fat splash, of light soy sauce and black vinegar.
But if you can't get it, no biggie,
just use a little rice wine vinegar.
And again, it was a fat splash, but equal amounts.
And combine this.
Now, we're going to take, this is a beer can chicken tray.
If you don't have this apparatus, you can simply
take a tin can, a 14-ouncer, take the paper off of it,
throw it through the dishwasher,
give it a little soak in hot water,
and take an oven-safe tray or plate
and put the bird upside down on the can.
Here, I just took this tray, but it has holes in the bottom,
so I put it on a larger baking sheet,
cleared room in the lowest part of the refrigerator,
and then we're going to take the additional spice
that we just mixed, pour it into the cavity.
Then we're going to take the bird,
turn him right side up.
Then we're going to get that going all over the bird!
(audience applauds and cheers)
(laughing) Whoo!
You look mighty good!
Okay, now, you put this in the fridge,
remember, uncovered, and let it kind of cure
in that beautiful marinade overnight.
(water runs) The next day,
you pat it dry, pat off a little of the excess marinade,
and you make a setup like this.
Foil-lined tray for easy cleanup,
a wire rack inserted inside of that.
Tie your bird together, or at least the legs together.
And to the skin, add a little baking powder.
It makes a super crispy, tight skin in the endgame.
Fight before it goes into a hot oven,
we're gonna do 450 for about 20 minutes,
and then we're gonna knock it way back and let it finish
cooking through until its juices run clear.
(can sprays) We're gonna hit it
with just a little bit of non-aerosol cooking spray.
Canola oil, olive oil, it doesn't really matter.
We're gonna throw this guy in.
(air whooshes)
The sauce is just these three things
that we've been using for the entire menu.
So for the sprinkle, guys,
we're going to take some salt and flavor it for the table.
About a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon
of your Sichuan pepper, or the pepper blend with Sichuan
included in it if you can't find straight Sichuan pepper,
and about the same amount of garlic.
So it's about a scant tablespoon of each.
And a little sugar.
It really adds something to have
a balance in there of a little bit of sugar.
Mix this all together.
And then the only other thing I put out with this chicken,
some celery and leafy celery tops and more scallion.
That's what I kind of garnish the chicken with.
You got your crispy skin chicken
with your sugary, garlicky, salty, spicy sprinkle,
your special sauce.
When you pass the chicken at the table,
top it with some scallions and celery tops.
(audience cheers and claps) (chimes twinkle)
(chimes twinkle)