America’s Test Kitchen roasted some 40 chickens to find a foolproof recipe for roast chicken – and this is an example of just one of the exhaustive testing methods conducted on each and every recipe featured in BEST CHICKEN RECIPES – making it the best. Chapters divided by type of chicken – roasted and baked, fried, or stir-fried for example – make it easy to locate dishes by method, while a peppering of color photos and clear step-by-step ‘how to’ explanations make for an exceptionally easy presentation. Highly recommended: any general-interest library catering to any level of home cook needs this.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

You’ll never think of chicken as bland or boring again! Each of these recipies is carefully tested and bound to make you enthusiastic again about this often-overlooked main dinner course. From soups to slow cooker recipies, this oversize book has everything. I like the informative “Chicken 101″ section nearly as well as the wonderful recipies. There are drawings that illustrate some of the preparation steps, and a few color photos as well. There are even cooking tips for other foods, like the one that cleverly tells how to peel boiled eggs quickly. Includes index and conversion chart.

If I didn’t own so many Cook’s Illustrated books, this book would be five stars. Because I own the other books, I’ve seen many of the recipes before. Repeats aside, this is still a wonderful book to own. There are a range of recipes from beginner to more advanced, all presented in an easy to understand format.

The Chicken 101 section is extremely helpful. It has step-by-steps for butchering, brining, etc. I wish they would’ve included instructions for trussing.

There are some hidden gems in the book like a primer on gas griling. As with all CI books, there are some best equipment and ingredient recommendations sprinkled throughout. The recipes are solid and almost fail-proof. I love the CI method: provide all the background info on the recipe and then a straight-forward recipe.

The book covers everything from chicken as appetizers to leftover chicken recipes. Cool chapters are Express Lane Chicken and Chicken Dinners for Two.