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Perfect burgers depend on the right meat. Here’s a pro tip

Sometimes simple is best, and for quick weeknight burgers or a backyard barbecue for a crowd, store-bought ground beef is certainly convenient. But with so many options available in supermarkets, we knew we would need to find the right cut of beef with the ideal amount of fat to produce tender, juicy burgers. Generically labeled "ground beef" can be a combination of different cuts with little beefy flavor that yields fatty, greasy, or mushy burgers. Hoping for better luck with singular cuts of meat, we tested ground sirloin, round, and chuck. Ground sirloin left us with dry burgers ...

Zucchini or summer squash makes for a colorful pasta dish

A combination of pasta and summer squash results in a light, flavorful dish that's full of color. We decided against peeling the squash, as the skin helped to keep the pieces intact throughout the cooking process. Because summer squash contains so much liquid, we salted and drained it to keep our sauce from ending up watery and bland. The salted squash also browned beautifully; just 5 minutes in a hot skillet gave a light char to each batch. To accompany the squash, we chose halved grape tomatoes, fresh basil, and pine nuts. We finished the sauce with balsamic vinegar to give it a ...

Buttermilk and salt key to this crispy oven-fried chicken

Soaking chicken in seasoned buttermilk guarantees that your crispy chicken will come out of the oven moist and juicy on the inside. Salt doesn't just enhance flavor_when you soak meat in a salty solution (a brine), the salt reshapes protein molecules and helps them hold onto moisture when the meat is cooked. Buttermilk contains lactic acid, which is a mild acid that gently breaks down some proteins and makes chicken more tender. Follow this recipe with your kids. CRISPY OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN Servings: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours Prepare Ingredients: 2 ...

A foolproof way to make chicken drumsticks ultra-tender

With their built-in handles and small size, economical chicken drumsticks are tailor-made for a cookout. So we decided to devise a foolproof way to roast them on the grill to ultra-tender perfection with nicely browned skin and wonderfully juicy meat. We usually don't brine fattier dark meat, but since we were roasting the drumsticks for a fairly long time in the grill's dry heat we brined them first in salt water to help them retain their juices as well as to season them. A light coating of spice rub also upped their flavor. We set up a half-grill fire with two zones: On the cooler ...

To make these tacos, which way will you cook the bacon?

When making these delicious breakfast tacos, there are two ways to cook bacon. One is the oven, the best way to cook bacon for a crowd. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 F. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange strips of bacon (as much as 1 pound) on foil (slices can overlap slightly). Place baking sheet in oven and bake until bacon is browned and crispy, 10 to 15 minutes. Baking sheet (and grease) will be very hot! Carefully transfer bacon to plate lined with paper towels to drain. Then there's the stovetop: Place 4 strips of bacon in 12-inch ...

For moist grilled pork skewers, turn to country-style ribs

For grilled pork skewers that were moist and flavorful, we turned to boneless country-style ribs, which are quick-cooking and tender, yet have enough fat to keep them from drying out. The flavorful North African-inspired seasonings of garlic, lemon, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, and cinnamon did double duty, first in a marinade and later in a basting sauce. As a base for the relish, we grilled onions alongside the pork. We mixed the grilled onions with a zesty combination of olives, capers, balsamic vinegar, and parsley for a bright, potent sauce that perfectly complemented the ...