Arts & Culture

AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN FROM COOK'S ILLUSTRATED: Best Barbecued Chicken & Cornbread

By Jennifer Robinson / Web Producer

Published July 1, 2014 at 12:44 PM PDT

Airs Saturday, July 5, 2014 at 2 p.m. on KPBS TV

Christopher Kimball and the cast of the Daytime Emmy-nominated AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN use a common-sense, practical approach to solve everyday cooking problems and help viewers save time and money. Kimball and test kitchen cooks Bridget Lancaster, Julia Collin Davison, Rebecca Hays, Bryan Roof and Dan Souza reveal the basics of home cooking while preparing dozens of tried-and-true recipes, including beef burgundy, lemon chiffon pie, pepper-crusted beef tenderloin roast, New England lobster roll, French-style pork stew, no-knead brioche, oven-steamed mussels, grilled glazed baby back ribs, chocolate tart and more.

The cast of AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN: Jack Bishop, Adam Reid, host Christopher Kimball, Julia Collin Davison and Bridget Lancaster.

The popular segments viewers love and trust also return. The Tasting Lab's Jack Bishop challenges Kimball to taste-test supermarket staples before revealing AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN'S top recommendations for BBQ sauce, chicken broth, coffee, hummus, bacon and other foods. Adam Ried, the test kitchen’s resident equipment expert, takes Kimball through the unbiased results for cookware, charcoal grills, pepper grinders, chef's knives and other kitchen items.

This season also features gadget reviews with Lisa McManus, "Man on the Street" discoveries with "Doc" Willoughby and visits with nationally known chefs.

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"Best Barbecued Chicken And Cornbread" - Test cook Julia Collin Davison shows host Christopher Kimball how to make the ultimate Sweet and Tangy Barbecued Chicken.

Next, tasting expert Jack Bishop challenges Chris to a tasting of BBQ sauce. And finally, test cook Bridget Lancaster uncovers the secrets to making Fresh Corn Cornbread.

Episodes from past seasons are now available for online viewing. AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN is on Facebook, and you can follow @TestKitchen on Twitter.

Indirect cooking is key, as it provides a hotter side for briefly searing the parts and a cooler side for them to cook through gently. Lining up the fattier leg quarters closer to the coals and the leaner white meat farther from the heat, as well as adding a water pan underneath the cooler side, helped the dark and white pieces cook slowly and evenly. Applying a simple spice rub along with the salt deeply seasoned the meat and also helped it retain moisture, while brushing on a homemade sauce in stages allowed it to cling nicely to the skin and also develop layers of tangy-sweet flavor.

Through trial and error, we've developed some great techniques over the years to help you barbecue successfully.

Want to cook like the professionals at AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN? Now you can. Learn about our new online Cooking School and discover how you can become a better cook with help from Bridget Lancaster and the Cooking School crew.

We know how frustrating it can be when things go wrong in the kitchen. That's why every single recipe in our books has been tested not once, not twice, but often as many as 20, 30, or even 40 times. And then, just to make absolutely sure, we often test our recipes using cheap cookware, mediocre stovetops, and the wrong ingredients. All of this work results, we hope, in a simple promise: Our recipes work the first time and every time. Please visit our websites: http://www.americastestkitchen.com/ http://www.cooksillustrated.com/ http://www.cookscountrytv.com/

AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN FROM COOK'S ILLUSTRATED: Best Barbecued Chicken & Cornbread

Airs Saturday, July 5, 2014 at 2 p.m. on KPBS TV

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