Guest-Worthy Recipe: Chef Ricardo Camacho

Who: Chef Ricardo Camacho

Instagram: @Riccy_Ardo + @AnejoNYC

Chef Camacho’s Guest-Worthy Recipe: Crispy Chicken with beet molé

Why?

“A twist on a classic Mexican mole sauce, beet-based molé brightens up this crispy chicken recipe and is a unique and tasty way to incorporate the nutritious root vegetable into your dinner.”

Ingredients:

For the beet molé

2 large red beets, roasted, peeled and diced

2 Tbsp golden raisins

2 Tbsp dried sour cherries,

3 oz Mexican chocolate

2 oz white chocolate

2 Tbsp white sesame seeds

1 Tbsp coriander seed

5 cloves garlic, sliced

1 tsp cumin seed

1 c white onion, diced

1/2 tsp ground canela (Mexican cinnamon),

1 c chicken stock

1 clove

2 oz Ancho chile, blanched and deseeded

chipolte morita, Blanched and deseeded

1/4 c vegetable oil

For the crispy chicken

2 whole chickens

1/4 c vegetable oil

2 Tbsp soft butter

3 sprigs thyme

3 smashed garlic cloves

1/2 shallot

4 Tbsp kosher salt

Cracked black pepper

Directions:

For the beet molé

Toast each spice individually until fragrant.

Add oil to a medium size sauce pot then add garlic and onion.

Cook until onions are translucent. Make sure your fire is low during this step so that they cook without acquiring any color.

Add all remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat until the stock is reduced by half.

Take contents and place in a blender.

Puree in two batches until smooth and set aside. Serve with chicken.

For the crispy chicken

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Take a sharp knife and separate one side of the chicken from the breast bone. Repeat on the other side. Make sure to keep the skin intact. Remove the wing and drumstick. Flip over the side that you removed. Using the tip of your blade, find the thigh bone and work your way around it, eventually removing it completely. Now you should have a full breast and thigh both de boned and connected by its skin.

Season both sides with salt and pepper and place in a hot pan with oil, skin side down. Continue to cook the chicken over medium high heat until the skin is a crisped golden brown.

Flip the chicken over to the meat side and place in the oven until the breast meat reaches and internal temperature of 156 degrees.

Remove chicken from the oven and put back on a high burner.

Add butter, garlic, thyme, and shallot, once the butter has melted and begins to foam use a spoon to baste the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 162 degrees.

Place chicken skin side up on a cooling rack and let it rest for three minutes before slicing.

Garnish with pistachios and red vein sorrel.