Bobby Flay's Throwdown! (11 page)

Whisk together the honey, Tabasco, and salt to taste in a bowl. Serve with the chicken.

SERVES 4

1.
Put the chicken in a large baking dish and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

2.
In a large cast-iron skillet, heat enough oil to come about halfway up the pieces of chicken to 325°F. Put the flour in a large, sturdy plastic bag. Add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat; shake off any excess flour. Working in batches, add the chicken pieces to the hot oil and fry, turning the chicken and adjusting the heat as necessary, until the skin is golden and a meat thermometer inserted into the chicken registers 160°F, 20 to 25 minutes.

Name: Keith Young
Hometown: Freeport, Long Island, New York
Occupation: Firefighter

I turned up the heat with New York City firefighter Keith Young. Keith thought that he was showing off his firehouse favorite chicken cacciatore for the Food Network special “Real Men Cook,” but I had some thing else in mi nd.

At 6 feet 6 inches and 250 pounds, Keith Young was an impressive opponent. This member of Ladder 158 in Brooklyn is also a volunteer firefighter in the Long Island town of Freeport, where he lives with his wife and children. Just like fighting fire, food is a passion for Keith. Before he joined the FDNY, Keith earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the prestigious Johnson & Wales culinary school and worked in a half dozen restaurants from New York to Lake Tahoe. His previous career has served him and his coworkers well—they are guaranteed an outstanding meal when he’s in the kitchen, and he’s freed from dish-washing duty. In 2003 Keith published
Cooking with the Firehouse Chef,
a cookbook full of his favorite recipes and anecdotes from one of the “hottest” kitchens in the world. That book led to television appearances from the
Today
show, to Wayne Brady, and of course, to Food Network.

Keith needs to do more than make food that’s deliciously satisfying; he also has to be frugal because there is no such thing as a free meal at the firehouse. Firefighters pay for their own meals, and Keith has become the master of cooking on a tight budget; typically each meal costs no more than $8.00 a head. This Throwdown brought me a challenge of my own: I had to work within the same budget of $280 for 35 people. I enlisted NYC firefighter and award-winning chef Tom Sullivan to help me keep my wallet in check. With his help and his calculator, I met my goal and filled my shopping carts with bread, pasta, chicken, and produce for $273.21. (By the way, Keith had me beat on that one—his total came to $270.78.)

Before I could surprise Keith and the troops at the New York City Fire Museum, I went to the test kitchen. It had been years since I had prepared chicken cacciatore (Italian translation: hunter’s-style chicken) and I wasn’t about to mess with a classic. My strategy was to stay true to the integrity of the dish. Stephanie and Miriam battled with me to add fresh rosemary and thyme, something I thought could overpower the dish, but in the end, I went along with them. I learned long ago that sometimes it’s easier just to give in (especially to those two!).

My version is quite similar to Keith’s: full of sliced peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, chicken stock, and wine. Capers add a bit of briny flavor, red pepper flakes bring heat, and a touch of honey curbs the natural acidity of the tomatoes. Keith uses white wine in his dish because he thinks it goes well with the chicken’s white meat; I opted for a red wine, which I felt paired well with the tomatoes. He also flours his chicken, which I didn’t do, to give it a great crust and to help thicken the sauce. I browned my chicken slowly, rendering the fat and crisping its exterior, while allowing the sauce to thicken naturally, reducing it over high heat on the stove once the chicken was done.

As I prepared to Issue my challenge, I had to wonder…could I beat the heat or would I go up in flames? Keith had none of my qualms. Upon tasting my dish, which he likened to a Bolognese, he said that he liked it but was still confident that he would smoke me. The judges enjoyed both dishes; each sauce’s consistency was excellent and they loved our presentations. But there was just one dish that brought Grandma to mind and reminded them of a classic chicken cacciatore—and that was Keith’s.

He watches our backs and keeps his crew going strong so that they can do the same. No question about it, Keith Young is a guy who deserves the win.