Chef Sara Moulton Answers Your Cooking Questions

Terri Covington: Good Morning, I want to know the correct temp to remove chicken from the heat. My temperature chart states 185. I heard this on "GMA" that 160 is the temp to remove chicken from the grill. I just want to make sure the poultry is done and still moist. Thanks

Sara's Answer:

Terri,

165 is the temperature recommended by the USDA. If you remove the chicken from the grill at that temperature and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving it, the chicken should be both safe to eat and juicy. All protein needs resting time after cooking, the juices need to redistribute before you cut into it. If you don't let it rest, much of the juice will come streaming out, making the chicken taste dry.

Debbie Madsen: Can you make flank steak any other way besides grilling it?

Sara's Answer:

Debbie,

You can slice it very thin (freeze it for 30 minutes before slicing and then slice it at an angle against the grain) and use it for stir fry. You can butterfly it, pound it, stuff it, roll it and bake it. You could even cut it into 1-inch cubes, freeze for 30 minutes and then pulse in a food processor to make "ground" beef for hamburgers.

Lisa DiTore: I love making peach blueberry pie this time of year. My problem is that they're always runny. I usually use flour mixed into the sugar but recently tried tapioca flour. That only was a little better. Since I usually use more fruit than the recipe calls for, I'm not sure how to adjust the sugar/flour ratio. And I'd also like to know how much tapioca flour I'd use to substitute for AP flour

Sara's Answer:

Lisa,

I went to Cook's Illustrated, online, to research the answer. The folks at Cook's Illustrated are great at getting to the bottom of all sorts of culinary dilemmas. Here is what they recommend:

"To our tastes, a good fruit pie filling is firm, with a little bit of juice. Our general rule of thumb is to add 3-4 tablespoons of instant tapioca for 6 cups of juicy fruit, which works out to a generous, rounded 1 1/2 teaspoons per cup of fruit. If your fruit is a little less juicy, use a scant 1 1/2 teaspoons per cup. These amounts are a good starting point from which you can adjust the thickening to your tastes, though keep in mind that fruit is not created equal in terms of inherent thickening ability or quality. For instance, local berries at the height of their season are juicier and might require more thickening than their out-of-season, imported counterparts. Personal tastes also come to bear in thickening fruit pies. Some people like a truly set, gelatinous filling whereas others prefer juicier versions."

For more great recipes from Sara check out her website or follow her on Twitter: @saramoulton