#Hot chicken takeover strongsville full#

Firstly it makes a rather rich traditional food much lighter. I particularly love Youvetsi with chicken for three reasons. Altogether it whispers one word to me вЂ“ home.

Whether meat or chicken, it is enveloped in the sweet tomatoey luxuriousness of the orzo and topped with melted cheese.

#Hot chicken takeover strongsville full#

If it sits for too long or is reheated, half of its magic is lost!ДЇor me Youvetsi is a delicious, comforting dish full of warmth and emotion. When it comes out of the oven it will still have some extra juice, but by the time it is served at the table youвЂ™ll see that it has already been absorbed by the orzo. I have perfected my recipe for Chicken Youvetsi after years of fine-tuning how I make it, and one of the major tips is that it should be served no more than 15 minutes after leaving the oven.

While I love Youvetsi, I rarely order it in restaurants or tavernas because it is generally pre-cooked and re-heated, thereby causing the orzo to be overcooked and sloppy, and the sauce to have dried up. However, this recipe has evolved and now chicken is often used as an alternative, and even fish in some places. The original traditional version is for lamb or goat, baked with orzo pasta in a special earthenware dish known as a Youvetsi. I cooked them a Chicken Youvetsi that had them asking for more! I have even made it abroad for family and friends who asked me to cook Greek food for them. ItвЂ™s a dish I cook a lot and I almost always serve it when I have guests from abroad who want to taste something typically homemade and Greek. Make sure itвЂ™s at 350вЏ or let it come back to that temperature before frying the next batch.Youvetsi is perhaps the epitome of Greek comfort food. Once a batch of chicken is done, check the temperature of the oil again.If you try to cook too many pieces of chicken at once, youвЂ™ll end up dropping the temperature of the oil too fast and the chicken will come out greasy and heavy. Fry the chicken in batches, making sure there is room for the chicken to float around. If it browns in about 45 seconds, itвЂ™s at the right temperature. If you donвЂ™t have a thermometer, drop a 1-inch cube of bread in the oil. Any lower and the chicken will absorb oil and taste greasy and heavy. Any hotter and the chicken will burn on the outside before it cooks all the way to the inside. You want your oil to be at a steady 350вЏ. Use an instant read thermometer or deep frying/candy thermometer.If you drop the chicken from a distance, the oil will splatter up and potentially hit and burn you! This way the chicken will slide into the oil effortlessly. Use tongs and hold onto the chicken until half of it is immersed in the hot oil, then let go. Never drop the chicken into the hot oil from a distance. When deep frying, slide the chicken into the hot oil.The rest time for the coating also helps the crust adhere to the chicken. Let the chicken sit for a little bit after you coat it.Just make sure to use a pan that is at least 3 inches tall because hot oil might slosh or bubble over lower sided pans. You can use any large heavy skillet or Dutch oven you have on hand. The cast iron will retain heat as you fry multiple batches of chicken. I prefer to use a heavy cast iron skillet.