Happy Three Kings Day! If you’re not familiar with Three Kings Day, it’s also called the Epiphany and you can read about it here. To summarize though, Three Kings Day is the 12th day of Christmas and it’s when the three kings (or wise men) found Jesus and brought him the gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It’s a holiday celebrated by lots of different cultures, especially in Latin America.

To celebrate this year, I decided to have a dinner party for 10 people in our tiny apartment. I invited three of my former coworkers, their significant others, my parents, and my brother. It was a tight fit (Charlotte and Craig had to bring chairs and a table), it was a little hot (I had to open the sliding door), and we used every single dish we own – but it was a blast and I’m so glad to have thrown a little party to catch up with friends and family.

And boy did we cook up a storm! In truth, Ryan and my mom did most of the fancy cooking. Together we made sangria, coquito (a coconut drink I’ll post about later), green beans, arroz con gandules, a beautiful  beef tenderloin, cheesecake, and of course, flan. It was a big meal and pretty delicious. Most importantly, it was fun. It was wonderful having my friends together, and laughing, and chatting. It was a wonderful way to start the new year and celebrate the holiday.

My only regret, is that I took very few pictures. Sigh. I had fancy napkins, red and green place mats, a pretty Christmas tree, and gorgeous food. Seriously, Ryan made a beautiful 5.5 pound beef tenderloin and it was so tender and lovely. The only picture I have is when you see it on the table in the group shot, and the picture I took of my plate when I was 90% finished eating. I wish I had more photos of everything and everyone.

For today’s post, I wanted to highlight my mom’s flan.  If you’re not familiar with flan, it’s similar in flavor to a creme brulee but instead of a hard sugar topping, it has a gooey caramel topping. It’s a custard that’s sweet, silky, and a bit jiggly. In my mind, this is one of those “magic” recipes that seems hard to figure out. In part this is because her recipe is a stained and ripped piece of paper, there aren’t any instructions, and it is just a list of ingredients and their respective portions.

I also think it’s hard because in middle school my friend Lisa and I made one for Spanish class and we burnt it and didn’t even know it until we tasted it. But, upon watching my mom make this recipe, I’ve decided it is really about patience and confidence. You have to trust your eye and you can’t rush because this takes hours to make well.

Anyway, the work is worth it because it was a big hit. My friend Ashley was skeptical that she would like it, but then after a bite she let out a gleeful, “Ooo, I like flan!” And Craig was the “flan man” and served everyone’s portion with gusto. There was none left at the end of the night. So, I know that holidays are over and you might not have much use for another dessert recipe, but I think you should consider giving this one a try. It will change what you think about flan.

Note: Scroll all the way down for printer friendly, more condensed recipe without photos. 

Ingredients:

Double boiler

4 eggs

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup milk (you can use any kind of milk as long as it’s cow’s milk, soy milk does not work)

12oz can evaporated milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

4 tbsp sugar

Directions:

1. Fill the bottom of the double boiler with water. You want the water to be just at the level of the bottom of top of the double boiler (when the two pieces are fitted together). You don’t want the water to be too high, otherwise when you’re cooking steam can get trapped in the flan and ruin it. Heat the water on medium until it comes to a gentle boil.

2. In blender, mix the eggs, sugar (1 cup+1 tbsp), vanilla, evaporated milk, and milk.

3. On another burner, heat 4 tbsp of sugar in the top of the double boiler. This is how you’re making the caramel topping.

4. Stir the sugar regularly. You don’t have to stir it constantly and aggressively, but you need to stir it regularly so it doesn’t burn. Watch the sugar carefully, if it bubbles then you’ll need to start over. Ultimately you want to make a caramel that is light golden brown, not dark. This process can take about 20 minutes. I tell you this so you don’t worry if it’s taking a long time, but don’t wait 20 minutes if the caramel is looking pretty earlier.

4a. So, as you’re stirring, the sugar will start to get clumpy. Use your spoon to squish the clumps. Then it will start to turn light brown. Then it will glisten and liquefy. It will smell like a candy apple. If you feel it’s going too fast, lower the heat. Or, remove it from the heat, stir, and then put it back on the burner. Ultimately you will have a  gorgeous caramel sauce. It’s done when it’s beautiful brown and a dragging spoon leaves a trail behind it.  How the sugar transforms is amazing. Cooking and science are amazing.

5. When it’s done, take the caramel off the heat. Let it sit for a minute or two to thicken.

6. Pulse the custard mixture you have in the blender just to mix it up again.

7. Scoop 1/4 cup of the custard mixture. Put the cup against the side of the double boiler, and slowly, slowly pour the custard on top of the caramel. It will slowly seep out of the cup, down the side, and cover the caramel. Do this again for a second and third time. You’re doing this so that the caramel stays a topping and doesn’t leak into the custard layer.

8. After the second and third time, you can poor a little more quickly. But, still pour it gently against the side of the bowl. Don’t just plop it on!

9. Put the top of the double boiler on top of the bottom of the double boiler (over the bubbling water). If the water starts to bubble too fast, then lower the heat. The middle picture is bubbling too fast, the third picture is slower and gentler.

10. Let it cook until the custard sets and doesn’t wiggle much. To check this you remove the lid of the double boiler, and shake it gently. To get to the finished product takes a LONG time. About 1.5- 3 hours, but maybe more. As you cook, the water will evaporate. When it gets to 1/2 inch of water, add some more hot water and keep cooking.

11. Let cool for one hour.

12. Put it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

13. Take a pie plate. Put it over the flan and quickly and smoothly flip it. The flan will drop out onto the pie plate and be ready to serve. Take a spoon and scoop out any caramel left in the double boiler. Spoon that over the flan.

14. Serve and enjoy!

Messy level: This isn’t too crazy messy, but I think it deserves a three spoon rating. You have to use a blender, double boiler, and pie plate, so there’s a lot of dishes in the end. What’s good though, is that you have lots of time between steps so you can clean as you go and you aren’t left with a big pile at the end.

Flan

 

Print

Prep time

1 hour 30 mins

Cook time

3 hours

Total time

4 hours 30 mins

 

Author: Cooking is Messy

Serves: 12 servings

Ingredients

Custard

• 4 eggs
• ½ cup + 1 tablespoon/ 112 grams sugar
• ½ cup/ 120 ml whole milk (any cow's milk will work, soy won't!)
• 12oz/ 340 gram can evaporated milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Caramel

• 4 tbsp/ 50 grams sugar

Instructions

1. Fill the bottom of the double boiler with water. You want the water to be just at the level of the bottom of top of the double boiler (when the two pieces are fitted together). Heat the water on medium until it comes to a gentle boil. Let it gently boil while you do other steps.
2. In a blender combine the eggs, sugar, milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla. Set aside.
3. On another burner over low heat, heat the 4 tablespoons of sugar (for the caramel) in the top of the double boiler. Stir constantly!
4. Watch the sugar carefully so it does not come to a boil. The sugar will turn from white granules, to small rocks, to smooth liquid. When you have only 1-2 small tiny clumps but mostly liquid remove the heat. Continue stirring for another 30-60 second until you feel it thicken slightly and a spoon dragged through will leave a bit of trail.
5. Quickly re-blend the custard in the blender.
6. Using a ¼ measuring cup, fill it with custard. Press the cup against the side of your double boiler that has the caramel. Slowly pour the custard over the caramel. Going this slow means the custard will sit atop the caramel and not mix in.
7. Once the caramel is totally covered in a layer of custard you can start to pour faster. You can either continue with the measuring cup or you can lean the lip of the blender on the edge of the double boiler and slowly pour. Whatever you do, don't just plop the custard on!
8. Once the custard as been completely added, put the top of the boiler over the bottom with the boiling water. Cover with the lid.
9. Watch the water. If it's bubbling too fast lower the heat. You want it to be a continuous boil but not aggressive and bopping.
10. Cook until the flan wobbles slightly (like jello) when you gently shake the pan. This can take between 1.5 and 3 hours. Depends on the amount of water you have and how high the heat is. Check on the flan every 30-45 minutes. Check it by gently shaking the pan to test the wobble. Check it also by making sure you have at least ½ inch of water.
11. When finished cooking, remove the lid and the bottom of the double boiler. Let cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Wipe the lid dry so condensation won't ruin the flan.
12. Cover the flan with the lid and put in the fridge for at least one hour, but ideally until you're ready to serve.
13. Remove the lid, put a plate or pie plate over the double boiler. Holding them both firmly, quickly flip the double boiler over so the flan will fall out onto the plate.
14. Spoon out any caramel left behind in the double boiler.
15. Slice and serve

3.5.3208

The post Flan appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

[Note: some photos and recipe formatting updated in October 2016]

This apple pie is my favorite dish during the holidays. I will eat this pie for dessert, breakfast the next day, and then again for lunch if there’s any left. I want to make sure I get as much of it as possible so that when the slices run out, I have no regrets. I am jealously possessive of this pie in a way that goes against the holiday spirit.

When I was a kid, my mom would make an apple pie for me and a pumpkin pie for my brother. Dessert time would come around and she would ask, “what do you want?” Sometimes, Eric said apple and I would boil with rage. That was my pie and he was doing this on purpose to infuriate me because he knew I wasn’t going to eat his pumpkin pie. I have no evidence to prove this is true, but it’s how I felt at the time.

I love this pie so much, that in college my mom would make one pie for the holiday meal and one pie for me to take back to my dorm.

Last year, we hosted Thanksgiving for Ryan’s family and I just had to make this pie. It would not be Thanksgiving otherwise. I had helped my mom make this pie before, but usually I just mixed the apples and sugar. Then, I’d eat the apple slices until she told me to stop. Last year was my first year doing it by myself. So the week before, my mom helped me make the crust. The day before, Ryan and I had an apple coring-peeling, slicing sweatshop where we produced a giant mountain of apple slices. All was going well…until it wasn’t.

2012 Thanksgiving pie that I burnt (this is before I tried to fix it)

I made the rookie mistake of not checking on the pie. When I finally took it out of the oven, the crust was a little bit burnt. I was hysterical and inconsolable.

“I’ve ruined dessert!” I cried to Ryan.

No he assured me, I hadn’t. The pie would still be good (and it was). And even if it wasn’t, Ryan’s mom brought a pumpkin pie and I had made cupcakes, so there was still plenty for dessert. But even so, I was disappointed that I’d burnt my pie. So I called my mom to whine some more.

“Mom! I’ve ruined dessert!” I moaned, while Ryan stood nearby shaking his head.

She was sympathetic and then came up with the brilliant idea of scraping off the burnt part, adding new crumbs, and then when I reheated it the new crumbs would cook to the perfect brown. I wasn’t able to remove all of the dark spots, but her scrape and re-apply method really worked out (so keep that in mind if yours gets too dark).

My mom’s well loved, ripped, and beat-up cookbook

Anyway, Thanksgiving arrived and the pie was devoured. I felt pleased with myself not only for making the pie, but being adult enough to share it with others.

This year, I’ll be eating my mom’s pie. But I made my own a few days early so I could be sure get enough (and so not have to share too much).

This recipe is adapted from my mom’s recipe, which is adapted from the oldest and most beat-up Betty Crocker cookbook. That book is so old, I have no recollection of the cover ever being attached to it.

[Update: Hi all! I’ve added the easier to read and print format of the recipe below. Keep scrolling if you want to see the original writing with step by step photos.]

Apple Pie with a Crumb Top

 

Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Author: Cooking is Messy

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

Pie crust

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup+ 1 tablespoon shortening (or butter, or ⅓ cup lard)
• cup of cold water (you won’t need it all)

Apple filling

• 8 medium sized apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (Gala or McIntosh are recommended)
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Crumb topping

• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 stick cold butter

Instructions

1. Put a small cup of water in the freezer.
2. Start with the pie crust! In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt.
3. Cut the shortening into the flour until you have what looks like pieces the size of small peas. To do this, use 2 butter knives and cut through using an "x" motion or use a dough blender.
4. Take the water out of the freezer. Add 1 tablespoon to the flour. Mix it into the flour with a fork. Keep adding 1 tablespoon and mixing with a fork until a dough forms and it isn’t sticking to the side of the bowl. For me this can sometimes be up to 5 tablespoons.
5. Gather the dough into a ball and put it on a well-floured counter. Roll out the dough until it’s about 2″ larger than the size of a 9" pie plate.
6. To get the crust in the pan, I find it easiest to fold the dough into quarters and place it into your pie plate. Gently unfold the crust and press it into place on the pie pan.
7. Gently pull off dough that is overhanging the edge of the pie pan. If you’re feeling fancy, roll the excess crust into snakes, put it on the crust on the rim of the pie plate, and them crimp it to make a pretty edge.
8. Put the crust in the fridge while you work on your filling.
9. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C.
10. If you haven't already peel, core, and cut your apples into thin half-moon sized slices.
11. In a large bowl mix the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the cut apples into this mix and stir it all together. Snack on a few apples, it's worth it.
12. Take the pie crust out of the fridge, put in the apple filling that you just made.
13. Now for the crumb topping! In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of flour and ½ cup of brown sugar. Cut in 1 stick of cold butter (just like you did earlier with the shortening). You should have some big peas and some little pea sizes. Sprinkle this generously over the top of your pie filling.
14. Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet. This is important for two reasons. 1. It makes it easier to take in and out of the oven. And 2, it will catch any juices that drip out of the pie and so your oven won't fill with burning sugar smoke.
15. Put the pie in the oven for about 30-35 minutes.
16. Cover the pie with tin foil. This is to keep the exterior color golden brown while the interior continues to bake.
17. Cook for 15-20 more minutes (so a total of 45-50 minutes). The pie is done when you can easily stick a knife through the pie and it meets little resistance from the apples.
18. Let cool then serve!

3.5.3208

Pie Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup+ 1 tbsp shortening (or butter, or 1/3 cup lard)

cup of cold water (you won’t need it all)

Filling:

8 medium sized apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (I used a mix of Gala, Fuji and Cameo)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Crumb topping:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 stick cold butter

Directions:

1. Put a small cup of water in the freezer.

2. We’re making the pie crust first. In a large bowl, mix the 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp salt.

3. Cut the shortening into the flour until you have what looks like pieces the size of small peas. (Cut the shortening/lard/butter using 2 butter knives or with a dough blender)

4. Take the water out of the freezer. Add 1 tbsp to the flour. Mix it into the flour with a fork. Keep adding 1 tbsp and mixing with a fork until a dough forms and it isn’t sticking to the side of the bowl. For me this was almost 5 tbsp, but the recipe book says it should be 2-3 tbsp.

5. Gather the dough into a ball and put it on a well-floured counter. Roll out the dough until it’s about 2″ larger than the size of your pie plate.

6. To get the crust in the pan, I find it easiest to fold the dough into quarters and place it into your pie plate. Gently unfold the crust and press it into place on the pie pan.

7. Gently pull off dough that is overhanging the edge of the pie pan. If you’re feeling fancy, roll the excess crust into snakes, put it on the crust on the rim of the pie plate, and them crimp it to make a pretty edge. I used a spoon and pinched a little point to make it look pretty.

8. Put the crust in the fridge while you work on your filling. Now preheat the oven to 425°.

9. Peel, core, and cut your apples. This year instead of an apple-prep sweat shop, I used what I call an “apple crank.” It does all three jobs in one, all you have to do is turn the handle and it pushes the apple through the corer, peeler, and slicer. I think it’s awesome, and I felt like it made good slices. After cranking, I cut the apple in half so I had half-moon slices. This is a divergence from my mom, who likes her slices even thinner, so she cuts the apples by hand.

10. In a large bowl mix the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Mix that with your cut apples. Mix until everything is coated. This is MY FAVORITE PART. I love eating the apple slices, so be sure to save yourself a few to snack on.

11. Take the pie crust out of the fridge, put in the apple filling that you just made.

12. Now for the crumb topping! In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Cut in 1 stick of cold butter. You should have some big peas and some little pea sizes. Sprinkle this generously over the top of your pie filling.

13. Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet. It makes it easier to take in and out of the oven. Then, put the pie in the oven for about 30-35 minutes. If at this point it is your desired golden brown, put a tin foil cover gently over your pie.

14. Cook for 15-20 more minutes (so a total of 45-50 minutes). The pie is done when you can easily stick a knife through the pie and it meets little resistance from the apples.

15. Serve with vanilla ice cream!

Messy level: This is pretty messy because there are so many steps. The crust can stick to the counter and tear which can be mess number one. I feel like the apple-crank really keeps the mess down when making the filling because it makes preparing the apples most efficient. Still, the sink was filled with ribbons of apple peel. And finally, a crumb top is just asking for me to drop things everywhere. However, it’s worth it. It makes the kitchen smell and feel festive.

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And she’d look at me, in the smug way parents do when they know better, and she’d say, “yeah, I said the same thing to my mom when I was a kid.”

But then, the other day I had a craving for that very sandwich.

It’s definitely a sign of getting older when you realize you’re like your parents. I mean I’m not exactly like my parents but it’s sort of weird to notice the habits I have because of them. Both my brother and I hoard napkins in the glove compartment of our cars just like our father does. Because you just never know when you’ll need a ton of napkins while driving.  And I see my parents sometimes in the way I say a word, or the way my brother makes a gesture. As I’m saying something or doing something, I get this wave over me of, “whoa, that’s Mom.” or “whoa, that’s Papa.”

Photo by Marcella Treybig Photography

It’s not a bad thing, it’s just surprising to realize. And in fact, it’s comforting knowing I have my family with me even when they are far away. And I’m lucky to be like my parents, and especially like my mom. She’s freaking awesome. She recently won Scientist of the Year from HENAAC, which is super impressive and cool. And in general, she’s always been so loving and energetic and encouraging of everything I do. The picture I’ve posted of her is from my wedding. It’s my favorite.

Now, I’m sure my mom would rather I honor her with a splashier recipe, because she makes excellent apple pie and also a chocolate chip cheesecake. But this is the recipe that is just my mom’s and no one else’s.

Mom’s sandwich is well-known between Papa, Eric, and me because of the unusual combination of ingredients – cinnamon raisin bread, raspberry jam, and cheddar cheese. Yes, I know it sounds off-putting, but somehow it works. Toasted bread provides a light crunch, the jam is sweet and tangy, and the cheese is sharp and creamy. Surprisingly, the flavors meld together and it becomes a very satisfying breakfast. When I told Ryan about it, he wrinkled his nose a bit and gave me a look that said, “are you sure that tastes good?” And I can’t blame him for thinking that.

So it’s tradition. My grandmother weirded out my mom, my mom weirded out me, and I intend to weird out future generations, who will then ultimately crave the sandwich themselves.

Ingredients:

2 slices cinnamon raisin toast

Raspberry Jam

Sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Toast the bread to your liking. (I like a light toast, and also my bread was too tall for the toaster).

2. Slather one side of each piece of bread with the raspberry jam. Put on as much or as little jam as you like.

3. Cut big hunks of cheese and put them on top of the jam on one of the slices of bread. My mom recommends using huge hunks of cheese. Don’t skimp on this step!

4. Put the other piece of bread on top, jam side down. Cut in half. Eat it and be surprised.

Messy level:

This is the least messy thing I’ve ever posted about.  At least I think so. You can make this in 3 minutes and clean up so easily. It’s awesome and filling, and that’s sometimes hard to do at breakfast time.

The post Annabelle’s Breakfast Sandwich appeared first on Cooking is Messy.

Now not only was I going to make an extensive new meal, I didn’t even have all the ingredients. When I got home I put my stuff down and then walked to the grocery store. And then, after looking around a bit, walked to another grocery store because I didn’t like how expensive things were at the first place.  At 7:30pm my mom called me to ask how it was going. I had called her earlier in the evening to ask for the recipe. This recipe is actually my grandmother’s, and it’s one that my mom recently started making again. My grandmother was a great cook and made most things from scratch. My memories of her are often in the kitchen cooking us up something warm and delicious. And so, my mom was passing on the recipe to me. It has been over two hours since I had called her, so it’s understandable she expected me to be done.

“No, I’m just about to start frying,” I told her.

“Oh,” she sounded a little worried, “You’re going to be eating late.”

But actually, once I got myself going it went pretty smoothly and we ate about 8:15pm. And let me tell you it was delicious! Crispy, flavorful, and oh so amazingly juicy. I was so excited. And Ryan was pretty impressed. Both of us had the wide-eyed look of surprise that this came out as good as chicken we’d had at many restaurants. So, I’m going to share with you my grandma’s chicken recipe. I did also make cornbread, but I’m not going to provide the recipe because I didn’t think it was delicious enough to share. I will however share a picture because I think it looked cool. I don’t know why, but I felt like making it in the skillet was more special than using a regular pan.

But back to the chicken. To make the fried chicken I used my deep-fryer. People always seem a little mystified and curious about the deep-fryer so I thought I’d first explain how it works.  First, with a deep-fryer you’re going to have to buy a lot of oil. It’s a little gross, but get over it. The good thing is, if you feel comfortable you can reuse your oil. You can reuse the oil if you a.) strain it after each use (I use cheese cloth and a fine strainer) and b.) it’s still close to the original color from when you bought it. Do not reuse your oil if a.) you used it for raw meat b.) it’s become a dark color c.) it’s getting old and bad. Ryan and I were having burning eyes from the deep fryer and I did some research about that. If it’s burning your eyes it because the oil is getting old or is burnt and it’s just not good anymore.

But, when you have new fresh oil it’s so easy to use. The deep fryer has six main parts. There’s the basket, the heating element & control panel, the lid, the breakaway cord (for safety), the oil container (the black inside part), and what the manufacturer calls the “stainless steel body” or the silver part that holds the oil container. So the oil container goes into the body, then the heating element fits on top of that.

You fill the container with oil until the oil level is somewhere between the max and min lines. You can kind of see the level markers in the bottom right picture. Also in the bottom right picture you can sort of see the “spout” in the corner that makes it easy to pour out the oil. Seriously cleaning is really easy because the pieces come apart so quickly. Anyway, you use the control panel (which is attached to the heat element) to set the temperature. Once it’s ready it beeps and you lower the basket with your food into the oil. It will sizzle and pop, but with the lid it’s all contained! Nothing is getting on your counter, on your clothes, or your face. You can also peek through the window to make sure your food is cooking properly. For real, it’s greatness. When your food is done, you can lift the basket up a level so it can drain the food over the oil. Simple! I’ll admit since there are so many parts, cleaning takes a bit and when drying the pieces take up my whole counter. But for cooking it could not be easier. There is really no crazy popping, splatting, or smoking mess that there used to be. Finally, the deep fryer is fun. People who come over always seem a bit impressed. So invite some people over and make them some chicken.

And one more thing, I’m sorry there aren’t more pictures. I really thought I was taking action shots, but I only took pictures of the finished product. But that’ll be enough to win you over I think.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken cut into parts. Alternatively, you can always just do drumsticks, or wings, or whatever you fancy

Adobo (You could also make your own spice blend)

Canola Oil

Flour

2- 3 Egg Whites

Directions:

1. Make sure the chicken is full defrosted. Don’t rush this step, let it really thaw.

2. Pat the chicken dry.

3. Put oil in deep-fryer and set to 350°. If using a skillet, heat about an 1″ of oil on high heat. You can use a cooking thermometer to check the temperature. Also, you can check if it’s hot by flicking a drop of water on the oil. If it pops vigorously then it’s ready to go. Skillet frying is somewhat harder though because it’s more challenging to regulate the temperature. When you put food in the oil, the temperature drops and it’s hard to get it back where you need it. The deep-fryer can maintain the heat evenly throughout.

4. Season generously with adobo. If you haven’t had adobo before, it’s just salt, garlic, oregano and turmeric. Sometimes I add pepper and onion powder too. If you don’t have adobo, you can make do with the spices you have. Now, seasoning is a practice makes perfect thing. You want to season it a lot so in the end your skin has good flavor. But don’t go crazy thickly coating every side because then it will come out salty. Season it so it looks like a lot but it’s not a thick layer. Sorry that’s not more clear.

5. The number of egg whites is arbitrary, you just need enough so that each piece of chicken can be coated. I cooked 9 pieces of chicken, and two were very large so I used 3 egg whites. Anyway, take your egg whites and gently beat until a little bit foamy.

6. Take a paper bag or gallon-size plastic bag and put some flour in it. Again, it doesn’t matter how much flour, but you need enough to coat the chicken.

7. Take a piece of chicken, coat it in the egg whites.

8. After you’ve dipped the chicken in the egg whites put it in the bag of flour. Hold the bag closed and shake it so that flour covers the entire chicken. I wish I had taken a video of this because I think this part is fun. Depending on size, you can probably fit 2-3 pieces of chicken in the bag at one time.

9. Shake off any excess flour.

10. Put the coated chicken in the basket and lower it into the oil. If using a skillet, put the chicken directly in the oil. The skin will tighten a bit and start to crisp up.

11. Fry for about 15-20 minutes depending on size of the chicken. Turn about half way through is the chicken isn’t fully submerged in the oil. You’ll know the chicken is done when a.) the skin is crispy and golden brown b.) the internal temperature is 165°.

12. Eat this deliciously decadent at chicken goodness. Seriously, you bite into it and there’s a satisfying crunch followed by plump and juicy chicken. Make this recipe!

Messy Level: This definitely has potential to be less messy, but for now I have to give it 4 spoons. Coating raw meat in three different things makes a mess. It created an awkward breaded coating on my hands. And it led to clumpy spills on the counter. Also the oil afterward is really gross because it’s got lots of crispy bits in it. The meal is worth it, and actually it’s quick to put together, but it’s a messy process. At the end of cooking I told Ryan, “well I’ve used everything in the kitchen and it’s all dirty.” And part of that was because I made more than just the chicken, but ultimately my kitchen was still a disaster zone.

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