America's Test Kitchen

-Today on "America's Test Kitchen," Julia makes Bridget New England clambake, Lan shares tips on how to up your grill game, and Keith grills up fresh cornbread with charred jalapeos and cheddar.

It's all coming up right here on "America's Test Kitchen."

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-Back in 2004, on this very show, Julia showed you how to make an indoor clambake.

Now, I didn't get to cook it with her, but I'm here now.

So, we're going to make a clambake together, and I heard that we're going outside.

-Luckily, this recipe is just as good.

So we have to prep everything before we head outside.

We're going to start with the corn.

So, we have four ears of corn.

For this recipe, we really tailored it so that everything can cook through before the charcoal dies out, and we're going to start with the corn.

And this method keeps it nice and juicy while it waits for everything else to cook.

And that means, believe it or not, we're going to brine the corn.

So, this is 4 quarts of water and 1/2 cup of table salt.

And what it does, like most brining, is it really seasons the corn, but the corn also absorbs some moisture so it stays good and juicy.

-Nice.

-Alright.

So, in goes the corn.

You want to brine it for at least 30 minutes, but you can do it for up to 8 hours in advance.

Now, moving on to the potatoes.

We have 1 pound of red potatoes here.

And if you can find these smaller potatoes, they're about an inch or two, they're ideal because you can just cut them in half, and you have a nice, flat side that sits on the grill and gets good grill marks.

-Nice.

-To make them easier to maneuver on the grill, we're going to skewer them.

Alrighty.

Now, we're going to brush them with a little bit of melted butter.

Hello.

-Mm-hmm!

-Mm-hmm.

Everything gets a little butter in this recipe.

Add a little salt and pepper, and we'll get both sides.

-I was going to ask.

-Mm-hmm.

Now, the other trick is to give these a head start in the microwave.

Get them cooking before they go on the grill.

That way, they'll be faster on the grill, saving the charcoal for everything.

But also, we can just focus on getting some good grill marks.

So, into the microwave these go, high power, 6 minutes.

I'm going to flip them over halfway through.

[ Microwave beeps ] Alright.

Hello, potatoes.

-[ Chuckles ] -Now, one little brush of butter again before we head outside never hurt anybody.

Alright, so, I'm going to put these on this sheet pan that we'll bring out to the grill with everything else.

Time for the star of the show, or at least, what I think is the star of the show.

-I'm already here.

-[ Laughs ] -Well, it's called a clambake, but really, the lobsters are the best part of this meal.

-Definitely.

-So, here, I have two lobsters, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds.

They've already been stunned and killed, which, you can find instructions for that on our website, or you can have the fishmonger do it for you.

-Great.

-Now, the one thing, to grill these really quickly, we're going to cut them in half.

And that exposes the tail meat so it can get some grill action.

It also makes it really easy to serve because it serves 4 people, everyone gets half a lobster.

-Nice.

-So... Right here, you'll see a little T in the shell.

-Yes.

-And you just want to put the tip of the knife there.

Now, sometimes, I put a towel over the tip of the knife just to protect my hands.

-Oh, yeah.

-You just want to swing the blade down through the tail, right through the center.

Perfect.

Okay, there's one.

Now, one last thing before we head out to the grill.

We're going to scrape out all the innards from the lobster.

Now, some of this is edible, like the tomalley, or if it has roe, but I've found that it makes a real mess on the grill when they're cut like this, so it's better just to clean it all out.

Alright, now, all these lobsters need is a little butter and a little salt and pepper.

And then, they are ready to see some action outside.

A little salt and pepper.

Alright, so, last thing we're going to do is we're going to crack a little spot in the claw.

That just helps the heat get into the claw so it cooks at the same rate.

-Okay.

-So, you want to use the back of the knife, not the front of the knife.

You just want to whack it.

There you go.

Kind of wiggle the knife a little bit.

Make a nice opening.

-Oh, yeah.

-Just like that.

So, this is all ready for the grill.

You can see I also have a pound of kielbasa.

-Yes.

-I left them in the full length.

So, we'll slice them before serving.

And also, the clams.

2 pounds of littleneck clams.

I gave them a good scrub because there's oftentimes a lot of grit stuck in the shells.

And that's pretty much it, we're ready for the grill, except for the corn -- has a few more minutes to brine.

After that, I'm just going to pat it dry, season it with a little pepper, and we can head outside.

-Sounds great.

-Bridget, we are out at the grill and I've got this already heating up for us so we can just get cooking.

-Great.

-Now, what I have here is a full chimney, that's 6 quarts of charcoal, heated it up in a chimney and spread it evenly over the bottom so it's a nice, even heat.

And the goal here is to cook everything before the charcoal dies.

-Got it.

-So, before we get cooking, obviously, the old rigmarole of scraping it clean and oiling the grill.

Take a little vegetable oil, and a wad of paper towels, and long tongs so you don't burn your hand.

You just want to wipe the oil on.

Alright, so, now, we're going to grill this in two batches.

We're going to start with the sausage and the vegetables.

So, starting with the corn... There we go.

And the potatoes... and the sausage.

-Okay!

-And now, we're just going to cook this 10 to 16 minutes because we're going to pull things off as they finish cooking.

-Got it.

-Keep our eye on it.

Turn everything in a little bit.

-Okay.

-Now, these potatoes, how gorgeous are they?

-They look fantastic.

-They are completely done -- again, because we microwaved them.

So, we're not worried about cooking them through.

We just want the browning and the grill flavor.

-Mm-hmm.

-Alright.

And here's the brined corn.

It is nice and charred.

-Mmm!

Beautiful.

-Yeah.

I love that little bit of char.

Alright, and get the sausage off here.

So, now, coals are still hot, and it's time to cook the lobsters and the clams.

-Okay.

-Alright.

For the clams, I'm just going to put them right on.

And you know they're done when they pop open.

-That's right -It's really pretty obvious.

Alright, put those on that side.

And for the lobsters, I'm going to put them flesh side down to start.

-Okay.

-Alrighty.

Squeeze those in a bit.

Now, these cook anywhere from 8 to 14 minutes.

Again, pulling them off as the clams open.

The lobsters, we're going to cook them on both sides, and we're going to temp them, that's how we'll know they're done.

-Okay, great.

-One last thing.

We're going to cover this with foil just to keep them warm while the seafood cooks.

-Okay.

-Alright.

These lobsters have been on here for about 6 minutes, and you can see they're starting to curl and turn red around the edges.

So, we're going to take this and flip it over, so they're about halfway cooked through.

And notice I'm rearranging the orientation of the claws to make sure the heat really gets into that shell and cooks the meat.

-Got it.

-Alright, so, flip this one over.

Oh-ho-ho!

-Lovely.

-And we're going to take this opportunity while the flesh is exposed to brush it with a little more butter -- 'cause you can.

Just a tablespoon more.

Alright, so, just a couple more minutes.

The clams have started to open up.

It's time to get them off the grill.

Alright.

Put them right in the middle of this platter here.

But if you have a stubborn clam that refuses to open, cook it a bit longer.

Sometimes, you get a stubborn one.

If it just doesn't open, don't eat it.

Just throw it out.

-Okay.

-Now, for the lobsters.

You really want to temp the tail meat.

It should register 140.

That's how you know they're perfectly done.

-Got it.

-Alright, here we go.

Ooh, on the nose.

141.

There's the last little clam.

Dinner's done!

-It is perfect.

-It's pretty, isn't it?

-It sure is.

-Time to eat.

-Okay.

-What are you going to eat?

-Everything!

I want to take a big picture.

I mean, it looked great outside, but it's looking even better now.

-So, last few things here.

We're going to cut up the kielbasa so it's easier to eat.

Alright, and let's get the potatoes off their skewers.

Alright.

I'm going to give you a little of everything.

-Okay.

-Oh, let's get you a nice lobster half.

-Oh-ho-ho!

-Hello!

I love it when the kielbasa and the clams and the potatoes all mix together.

-Yes.

-That's the fun part.

Alright.

-You can pile it high, too.

Don't worry about it.

-Alright.

Obviously, we're going to serve it with a little lemon and more melted butter.

-Yes.

Spoon some over the lobster.

-I'm going to put a little lemon on my lobster.

Now, this, I mean, this is an all-in thing.

This is a roll up your sleeves, tie your hair back, and get in there sort of deal.

-Yeah.

-I'm going to start out with the potato.

-A little bit of char.

Well seasoned.

They've got that clam juice all over.

-Mmm!

-Perfectly done.

-Mm-hmm.

Alright.

-Mmm!

-I'm going to go in for the claw here.

-A little dippidy-doo.

-That lobster is so good.

Hard shell, so it's nice and sweet.

-Mmm.

Very sweet.

-Just a hint of the grill.

That's good Kielbasa.

-Mmm!

-And the corn.

-Oh, yeah.

Mmm.

-Not dried out because of that brine.

What better to wash it all down with than some of your beer?

-Cheers to you.

Thank you so much for showing this great clambake.

-Oh, I'm glad you liked it.

-Glad I got to cook it with you this time.

And if you want to make this clambake at home, it takes a little planning and a little prep.

Here's how to do it.

Microwave skewered potatoes until they're just beginning to soften, grill the potatoes, corn, and sausage first, then, finally, grill the clams and lobster until they're just cooked through.

So, from "America's Test Kitchen" to you, it's Julia's own New England clambake.

Alright, got to bring this a little closer here.

-I'm going in for the knuckle meat.

It's my favorite.

-Knuckle meat.

-Mm-hmm.

-I've been called worse.

-[ Laughs ] -Whether you use a charcoal grill or a gas grill, I've got some best practices that are going to make that grilling experience better for you.

Before you start grilling, you really want to make sure your grill is clean.

If you have a gas grill, that means checking over the cooking surface, but you also want to go below.

Beneath the cooking box of your grill is a little pan that catches any grease that gets rendered out during cooking.

You really want to make sure that this is empty before you turn on your grill.

If you have a charcoal grill, checking to make sure it's clean means pulling off your cooking grate and having a peek at the bottom of the kettle.

You want to make sure there isn't ash down here, and especially, you don't want to see any grease.

Underneath this grill... is a little basket that catches the ashes, and you just want to make sure that that's empty.

Overflowing catches, that's not a good thing, either.

When I use a charcoal grill, I like to preheat my briquettes in a chimney starter.

I think it's a really quick and efficient way to get the briquettes going.

The key to using a chimney starter is to have the right amount of fuel.

I like to use two full-size sheets of newspaper.

I just crumple it up and place it in the lower chamber.

When you have too much newsprint under there, it actually blocks the airflow, and I find that I have to keep lighting the newspaper to get it to catch.

On the other hand, when there isn't enough newspaper in that lower chamber, the paper catches, but you don't get a sustained flame, and so the briquettes don't ignite.

It's going to take about 25 minutes for a full chimney of briquettes to be ready, and when they are, you can just empty them out onto the surface, arrange the coals the way your recipe directs, and then pop the cooking grill in place.

At this point, cover the grill and give it 5 minutes.

Now, to preheat a gas grill, you just want to flip all of your burners up to high and then close the lid.

Gas grills take about 15 minutes to fully preheat, so make sure you remember that before you start cooking.

Preheating does two things for you.

One, it gets those grates really hot, and it means that any food that is stuck there from the previous time the grill was used, it's really easy to scrape that stuff off at this point.

The other thing you get is minimal sticking.

Food is just less prone to sticking when the grill grates are properly preheated.

Now, during cooking, the thing you have to remember is to manage the heat properly.

On charcoal, you do this with the lid.

I find that, for most recipes, I can leave the lid off.

The coals are going to radiate enough heat to get me all the color, and browning, and charring that I'm looking for.

Really, the only time I want this grill covered is when I'm trying to mimic the effects of an oven when I'm grill roasting.

Then, I want to trap heat so that there is heat surrounding the food, instead of just coming up from the bottom where the coals are.

It's a little bit different on gas.

On a gas grill, I want this covered pretty much the entire time.

These work a little bit like the oven in your kitchen, and it's all about trapping heat the entire time.

So, if you want your times to work out the way the recipe says, keep the lid down.

The last thing you need to know is, when you're done grilling, you want to pop that lid down one more time and let that cooking grate heat up again.

It's going to make cleaning off any food that's stuck on really easy, and you'll be thanking yourself the next time you go to use your grill -- and maybe me.

-People who love to grill cook all manner of things outside, including baked goods, which I think is super cool.

And today, Keith's going to show us how to make cornbread on the grill from start to finish.

-Yeah.

It's super impressive to make cornbread on the grill.

You usually think of doing that in the oven, but what the grill allows us to do is to char some ingredients that will go into that cornbread.

We're going to work with jalapeos and corn today, that's going to add a ton of complexity to that cornbread.

But first, we have to look at our grill.

So, we've been preheating a gas grill for 15 minutes.

Before we do any cooking, I'm just going to take a grill brush.

-That's a hot grill.

-It is a hot grill, isn't it?

-[ Chuckles ] Yes.

-And I'm just going to take this grill brush, get any food that was left over from last night's fish off there, and then I'm going to take some tongs and a paper towel and I'm going to dip this in some oil... and I'm just going to brush our grill grates.

Now, this does a couple of things.

It will get all the stuff that we just scraped off the grill.

It will also season the grill.

So, if you're cooking something that sticks, the oil is a nice barrier.

That looks good.

So, what we want to do with our setup is we want to have a grilling zone right here, which, I'll keep that burner on high.

And then, we're going to have a baking zone over here where we're actually going to put the cornbread to bake.

What we're looking for is a grill temperature about 400 to 450 degrees.

For our vegetables that we're adding to the cornbread, I have 4 jalapeos... ...and I also have 2 ears of corn which I've husked and taken the silk off.

So, we're going to close the grill lid.

We want to capture that heat in there when we're grilling and we're going to char those vegetables.

I'm going to go in there every couple minutes and turn them.

The jalapeos will take 7 to 10 minutes, the corn will take a little longer, 10 to 12 minutes.

-Okay.

-It's been 8 minutes, so I want to check on our vegetables, see how they're doing.

So, the jalapeos have some nice char, so I'm just going to put those on our cutting board, and then, let's check on our corn.

So, the corn needs another couple minutes to char on this side right here, so I'm just going to roll that over like that.

Close the lid, go for another couple of minutes.

-Okay.

-It's been a couple more minutes and I think our corn is ready to take off the grill.

-Mmm.

Looks good enough to eat!

-Perfect.

Got some nice charring on there.

We'll let that cool and I'll handle those in a minute.

Now, for our cornbread, we're going to use a cast iron skillet.

I have a 10-inch cast iron skillet here.

Cast iron is really nice because it will moderate the heat on the grill.

-Oh, right.

-So, it will keep it from getting too hot, too cold.

It will hold on to a lot of heat, and it will allow it to bake from the bottom and the top evenly.

So, I'm just going to put that over the hot heat.

Now, I have another flavor-building technique for our cornbread.

-Cool.

-So, I have 2 1/4 cups of cornmeal here.

What I'm going to do, I'm going to empty that into our pan.

-Oh, I see what you're doing there.

-We're going to toast it.

It's going to add a nice nutty flavor, kind of a popcorn-y flavor, which is really nice.

So, I'm just going to stir this pretty frequently, I don't want this to burn or anything, and that's going to take about 5 minutes to toast.

So, while that's toasting, I'm going to leave the lid open.

I've burned that before, so I just want that reminder of having that cornbread over here.

So, now, we can focus on our vegetables.

So, I'm just going to take our corn... and you can take the corn off a couple different ways.

You can hold it up like this and cut down.

I've found a much easier way is to leave it on the cutting board like this, take your chef's knife, and just cut along one side, turn it over, and then you have a nice, flat surface that doesn't roll around.

Okay, now for our jalapeos, we're not going to use the seeds.

We just want that outer part.

It will add plenty of spice, but you'll also get those nice grassy flavors.

-Mm-hmm.

-Lovely.

So, I'm just going to take it, and again, cut down one edge, cutting around those seeds, like that.

And then, I'm going to take that and just cut it like that.

And then, I'm just going to finely chop these.

So, I'm just going to finish up with our jalapeos and our cornmeal will be ready, and then, we can build our cornbread.

-Okay.

-We've been keeping an eye on our cornmeal, stirring it occasionally.

-It smells delicious.

It doesn't look very different.

-No, I mean, it's not going to toast and get, like, a really dark color.

It's more that fragrance, that's what you're looking for.

-Okay.

-So I'm just going to take this and I'm going to pull this off the grill and put this into our mixing bowl.

Now, I'm going to put the cast iron back on the hot side.

I'm going to close our grill because we want that pan to be hot when we put the batter in.

So, that will keep it nice and warm over here.

So, we have our cornmeal, and to that, I'm going to add 1 tablespoon of sugar, I also have a teaspoon of baking powder, a teaspoon of baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.

And I'm just going to whisk that into our cornmeal like that.

That is all whisked together, and now, we can focus on our wet ingredients.

We're going to mix everything in one bowl.

So, for dairy, I'm going to add 1 1/2 cups of sour cream.

So, quite a bit of sour cream here.

-Yeah.

-Richness.

Little subtle tang at the end.

It's going to be really nice with that.

I have 1/2 cup of whole milk.

And then, 1/4 cup of melted unsalted butter.

And I'm also going to add 1/4 quarter cup of oil.

I like the combination of oil and butter here.

The butter, of course, adds flavor, but I find that the oil adds a little bit more moistness, especially once the cornbread is cooled down a little bit because that oil stays liquid at cooler temperatures, whereas butter would set up and make for a firmer, less tender, less moist cake.

-Interesting.

So, it's like a trio of fats.

You have the sour cream, the butter, and the oil.

-Yeah, it's going to be pretty rich.

And then, I have 2 large eggs.

That looks pretty good.

Now, I'm going to take our vegetables, our jalapeo and our corn, add that back to the batter.

-Mmm.

-And one last item.

I have 1 1/2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese here.

-Yum!

-So, I'm just going to make sure that everything is distributed.

Kind of breaking anything apart so I don't have big chunks of corn or jalapeo.

Okay.

That is our batter.

So, now, back over on our grill.

Our pan has been keeping hot.

-Looks hot.

-And I have 1 tablespoon of melted butter here.

I'm going to add that and just brush it around with a brush and make sure I get up on the edges so nothing sticks.

-Okay.

Obviously, that little bit of dust left from the cornmeal, that's fine?

-Not a problem.

Not a problem.

Set that aside.

I'll come over here, add our batter.

And I'll just smooth that top a little bit.

And then, I have one last addition.

I have another 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese that's going to toast and brown on the top and give us a nice kind of grilled cheese flavor.

And that's that.

So, now, we don't want to leave it on the hot side.

We need to bring it over to our cool side so it acts like an oven.

So, I'm just going to slide this over to the cool side.

Tuck it back there, close the lid, and let that bake.

We're going to bake it anywhere from 20 to 35 minutes.

-Okay.

-Kind of a wide time range, but grills vary from grill to grill.

Some are hotter, some are cooler.

So, we want to start checking at 20, but it might take 35 minutes depending on your grill.

-Gotcha.

And you're obviously going to rotate it halfway through cooking.

-Exactly.

We want to make sure that we're getting both sides evenly.

So, it's been about half an hour.

We should check on our cornbread.

I have a toothpick here.

-Mmm!

That looks delicious!

-Looks delicious, right?

That cheese is melted.

Looks great.

So, I'm just going to take the toothpick and put it in the center.

-Oh, coming out nice and clean.

-Nice and clean.

I'm also going to check around the edges.

Perfect.

That is done.

So, I'll take this off.

Close our grill.

I'm going to let this sit on the wire rack for 30 minutes.

If we cut into that right now, it's going to crumble all over the place, so we want to let that solidify, come together.

It will take about 30 minutes.

-Okay.

-Cornbread is cooled and it's time to eat.

-Alright!

-So, I'm just going to take a paring knife, score the top.

And then, once you make that score, I can cut through the crust on the bottom like that.

Alright.

One last cut to get through that.

-Oh, look at that!

-Beautiful, isn't it?

-And it's baked nice and even all the way through.

-Yeah.

Dig in.

-I can't wait to dig into this.

I mean, look at that crust on the bottom.

-Mmm.

-Alright.

Mmm.

Mm-hmm!

-You get the jalapeos first.

A little bit of spice.

I mean, we left some seeds in there, but it's not unbearably spicy.

I love it.

-That is delicious.

It has so much flavor, because the toasted corn comes through, but also, the toasted cornmeal, it kind of kicks everything up a notch.

It just has this nuanced, toasted grill flavor.

-Yeah, I love the pops of that charred corn.

Delicious.

-Keith, this is fantastic!

-I'm glad you enjoyed it.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-So, if you want to give grilled cornbread a try, start by grilling the corn and toasting the cornmeal, enrich the batter with sour cream, butter, and vegetable oil, and bake it in a cast iron skillet right on the grill for about half an hour.

From "America's Test kitchen," a very cool recipe for grilled fresh corn cornbread with charred jalapeos and cheddar.

You can find this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with our product reviews and select episodes, at our website, americastestkitchen.com/tv.

I love that you can just hang outside and bake cornbread.

-Yeah.

Maybe a beer.

-Yeah!

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