-Cook's Country celebrates the best of American home cooking.

Succulent tender pork.

The two sauces are perfect together.

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-Mm-mm!

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This is burger perfection.

-It's so good.

-You can taste the crunch -And share shortcuts to make low fuss, big flavor weeknight meals.

-It was really easy to make.

-High payoff.

-We find regional favorites, uncovering the people and history behind exceptional recipes.

-Those bell peppers remind you of being in the South.

-This is "Cook's Country."

Today on Cook's Country, Julia makes me tacos árabes.

Then she reviews ice cream scoops with Hannah, and I make Julia mini chocoflanes.

It's all coming up right here on "Cook's Country."

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♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Middle Eastern shawarma intersects with Pueblo, Mexico in the dish called tacos árabes.

Now the dish features sweet, succulent, juicy spiced pork, which sounds right up my alley.

-Mm-hmm.

-So Julia is here, and she's going to show us a great version we can make at home.

-Yeah.

That's right.

So when Middle Easterners move to Pueblo, Mexico, cuisines merged and we came out with this glorious recipe.

Now it's based on shawarma, which is usually lamb.

But in Mexico, lamb, not super popular.

Pork is everywhere.

-Yes.

-So pork was incorporated.

You're going to see a blend of flavors.

It's really quite magical.

-Okay.

-Now, two of the flavors that you see repeated through the recipe are cumin and coriander.

So we're going to start by toasting and grinding our own.

-Okay.

-This is a tablespoon of coriander seeds and a tablespoon of cumin seeds.

I'm just going to toast this in a small skillet.

It takes a couple of minutes.

-Okay.

-Oh, they've darkened a little bit in color.

You can actually see a little steam, smoke coming off.

-Yes, yes.

-That's how you know you're done.

I'm going to pour this right into a mortar and pestle.

Now, we don't need to grind this finely.

We just want to crack open the seeds and release the flavor.

Now moving on to the pork, the star of the show.

-Yes.

-Of course, we're using pork shoulder because it can braise for long periods of time, it has lots of flavor, it gets really nice and juicy.

-Definitely.

-This is a pork butt.

2 1/2 pound boneless pork butt roast.

What you want to do is slice it into small steaks.

That way, you get more surface area for flavor.

-Okay.

-So we're going to cut this into 1/2 inch-thick steaks.

♪♪ All right, I have a tablespoon of vegetable oil in this nice big Dutch oven.

Medium heat.

We're going to start by sauteing an onion that's sliced nice and thinly.

It takes about 7, 8 minutes.

-Okay.

♪♪ -Mm, those onions look perfect.

Now time to add some more aromatics, starting with two cloves of garlic sliced thin.

A tablespoon of kosher salt.

We have a tablespoon of Mexican oregano.

This is where things get interesting.

We're gonna add some warm spices.

This is a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

This is where the shawarma comes in.

-Yes.

-A teaspoon of ground nutmeg and a teaspoon of black pepper.

And we're also going to add the cumin and coriander that I toasted and ground.

All right.

Now we're just going to cook this for a minute.

Toast those spices that didn't get toasted.

Bloom them.

Bring out their flavor.

-It just takes a hot second.

-That smells amazing already.

-Doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-All right, so continuing on here, we're going to add some liquids.

I have a cup of water.

This is the braising liquid.

Now a lot of liquid is going to come out of the pork.

So you don't need to add much.

And 1/3 of a cup of fresh lime juice.

Believe it or not, we can just put the pork right into this.

-Oh, great.

-Yep.

-Ah.

-Yeah.

So we're just going to put the pork in, do as much of a single layer as you can.

It's not all going to fit in a single layer.

And that is okay.

I'm bringing it up to a simmer.

So I've cranked the heat.

Now we're going to put the lid on.

We're going to let it cook in the oven, middle rack, 300 degrees.

Not going the whole time.

Only about an hour.

The pork should still meet a little bit of resistance.

Ooh, that's a hot pan.

12-inch nonstick skillet.

Just a teaspoon of oil.

And I'm going to add one sliced onion along with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

It's one of three toppings that we're going to make for these tacos.

We're going to cook this over medium high heat.

We want them to get charred and just a little bit softened.

We want a little bit of texture.

-Okay.

-I'm going to ask you to keep your eye on these.

-You got it.

Put me in, coach.

-While you cook that, I'm going to make one of the sauces.

This is the Mexican flavors coming in to the tacos.

And it uses an entire can of chipotles in adobo sauce.

-Holy moly.

-It is a spicy sauce.

The whole thing goes right in.

So to this we're going to add a little bit of water.

-Thank goodness.

-Just 1/4 cup of water.

We're gonna add some fresh lime juice.

This is 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice.

2 tablespoons of tomato paste.

Some more Mexican oregano.

This is a teaspoon Mexican oregano.

1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander.

Now I'm just going to put this on the blender.

Make it nice and smooth.

Doesn't take too long.

[ Whirring ] I'm going to set that aside until serving time.

-How are the onions looking?

-Those look like perfection.

I think you could turn the heat off.

-Okay.

-You can see they're charred, but they still have a little bit of structure.

One last thing we're going to add is a little bit of fresh minced time.

This is a teaspoon.

This is off the heat.

-Okay.

-Yep.

Just going to stir that in, and into the bowl they go.

We'll see them at the end when we're tasting.

All right.

So we got one sauce.

Yes.

-We've got the onions.

This is the last sauce.

And these are more of the Middle Eastern flavors.

And it starts off with toasted garlic.

So in this little skillet, 2 cloves of garlic.

We're just going to toast the garlic unpeeled for about six to eight minutes.

It'll get a little spotty brown.

Oh, that garlic looks good and toasty.

It's been about six minutes.

-Smells great.

-Mm-hmm.

I'm gonna dump it out onto this cutting board here.

Now I'm just going to peel the garlic.

And you can see some of that toasting went right through the skins.

-Yes.

-That's just a really good flavor.

-And it's completely different from chopping and sauteing garlic.

By doing this, you get that more roasty toasty flavor.

A little bit of steaming happens on the inside.

-Yeah.

It cooks the garlic just a little bit.

-Yeah.

-All right.

So now I'm just going to chop it up so we can add it to our next sauce.

I'm going to add this garlic to some yogurt.

This is 1 cup of Greek yogurt.

This is where the Middle Eastern is coming in.

We're going to stir in a few more flavorings.

This is 2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro.

A little bit of water.

This is just to help make it a little saucier, a little looser.

4 teaspoons of lime juice.

And 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.

I'm just going to stir this together.

Just going to add a little bit of salt and pepper.

A little pepper.

All right, that's it for the two sauces and the onions.

We're just waiting on the pork.

All right, Bridget.

Oh, if you wouldn't mind getting the oven door for me.

-You bet.

-All right.

Interesting smells.

-Aw!

It's the warm spices coming out of there.

And that little bit of lime juice, too.

-Oh, so good.

-Yes.

-This took about an hour, and these aren't fall apart tender.

There is just a little bit of resistance to them.

And half way through cooking, I flipped each piece over.

So I'm just going to take them out of this braising pot.

All right, now what I'm going to do is bring this braising liquid back up to a simmer.

Because there's so much flavor in that liquid, we're going to reduce it down to a syrup and then paint all the pieces of pork with it.

It just gets better and better.

-Mm-hmm, and this takes about 12 to 15 minutes.

That has reduced so nicely.

You can see it's nice and thick.

And if I drag the spatula across the bottom of the pot, it leaves a little bit of a trail.

All right, I'm going to turn the heat off.

Now we're going to add the pork back to this reduced sauce.

Any juices.

You just really want to coat the pork with as much of that sauce as possible.

I'm going to start to lay these pieces of pork right on this wire rack, set over a rimmed baking sheet that's lined with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.

-Thank you.

-We have the little pieces here at the end, and these juices are not going to waste.

I'm going to spoon them over the top of all the pork.

Yep, there's just so much flavor in this pot.

Can't let that go to waste.

Now to get them a little crisp around the edges, which is traditional, so usually this kind of meat is cooked on a trompo.

It's a rotating rotisserie, like you'd see in a shawarma place.

-Got it.

-And it gets crispy on the outside.

So to replicate that, we're going to run this under the broiler for about five minutes.

-Okay.

-Oh, Bridget, look at this!

Oh, would you get that door for me?

-You bet.

-Look at that.

-I love my name being said when you open the door.

Yes.

"Oh, Bridget" is right.

-Oh, isn't that amazing?

-That is gorgeous.

-I know.

They're obviously ripping hot.

We want to let them cool off for about five minutes, but then we can chop them up and make tacos.

-All right.

-Bridget, this pork is rested, and it's taco time.

The only thing you want to do is you want to slice the pork into nice, thin pieces that fit inside a taco, about 1/8 of an inch thick.

So as thin as you can.

This pork really is just falling apart underneath the weight of my knife.

All right, I'm just going to put this all on a nice big platter.

And here are the onions that we cooked earlier.

Going to add them to the plate.

There we go.

Oh, yeah.

And a few limes and a little cilantro.

I mean, if you wanted to make a nice platter, if you're having a dinner party, this is how I'd do it.

And of course, we have the two sauces, the chipotle sauce, the Greek yogurt sauce.

A little extra cilantro.

And here, we have some pita.

This is actually served with a bread called pan árabe, which is an Arabic style bread.

It's kind of a cross between a pita and a tortilla.

Pitas are kind of the closest you can get.

Tortilla would also work.

-Much more available.

-Yeah.

-Got it.

-Dish it up there, Sally.

-Get some onions on there.

We're going to do some cooling Greek yogurt sauce.

-Mm-hmm.

-For this chipotle sauce, this is what I found I do.

I kind of tuck just a little bit under, just a little bit.

A little extra cilantro if you're in the game.

And a final squeeze.

Fresh lime juice over the top.

-Yes.

-Oh, yeah.

-Mmm!

-It's good all together.

Go in there with a fork and get one piece of pork.

-All right.

-Just to get that flavor.

-I get one piece of pork.

-It's the coriander and cumin, it's pretty mild.

A little bit of lime.

-The best part of this pork, of course the warm spices are in there... -Mm-hmm.

-...but pork butt, when it cooks down like that, it's just self-basting with its own beautiful juices.

-Mm.

It's good, right?

A little bit of heat.

Chipotle, of course, is a smoked jalapeno.

So it's got that smokiness in the adobo sauce.

-That is a balanced heat, but it's there.

I love everything about this.

That beautiful succulent, tender pork.

The two sauces are perfect together.

They really complete each other like you and me.

And of course, the lime that permeates through at every single step.

This was so much fun to make with you.

So thank you so much.

-I'm so glad you liked it.

-If you'd like to make this great taco dish, it starts by braising pork with onion, toasted spices, and lime juice.

Coat the pork with the reduced braising liquid before broiling.

And serve with pitas, a chipotle chili sauce, and cilantro yogurt.

So from "Cook's Country", an amazing dish from Puebla, Mexico, tacos árabes.

This is... It gets better and better.

-I'm trying to keep up with you.

♪♪ -Scooping ice cream shouldn't be a chore.

It should be fun and easy.

And Hannah's here to tell us which tool is perfect for the job.

-First thing I'll say, is not this one.

-[ Laughs ] I've done that.

-This is too sharp.

and digs into your hands.

-And you can bend them if it's not quality flatware.

-Truly, truly.

Exactly.

So this will work in a pinch, but I think an ice cream scoop is a small investment.

We tested seven scoops priced from $10 to $24, and we tried them on really firm ice cream, really dense, you know, light and airy.

There's a huge range, right?

Even just in vanilla ice cream.

We also tried chunky stuff with mix-ins, sorbets.

We were looking for something that was comfortable, easy to use, and made nice, perfect spheres.

So let's get into what did not work.

-Okay.

-The first thing are the handles.

That was the issue with the spoon.

It really cut into your hands, right?

So let's look over here.

This one right here from Rösle, this brand.

Go ahead and hold that right there.

-Oh, it's small.

That's a small diameter.

-It's too small.

Yeah, you really need something to grip so you can get the force from your arm into the head.

Go ahead and pick up this Zyliss right there, that handle.

-It feels pretty good.

--Yeah.

That's not bad, right?

-Yeah.

There's a nice resting spot for my thumb.

-It's also smooth.

There are no weird bumps or grooves.

It's nice and generic, which means all different people can use it several different ways, making it really comfortable.

-Gotcha.

-That said, the head on the Zyliss model right here, that little shovel scooper thing, we did not love that.

-Really?

-Yeah.

No.

Let's see why we didn't love it.

-Okay.

-We have some nice vanilla ice cream right here.

Thawed to perfection.

Go ahead and serve.

Oops.

-[ Laughs ] -Okay.

It's like a little runway for it, right?

It just kind of...whoo!

It shot off the edge.

-It really just shot out there.

-It is one of the problems.

It's not cupping and holding it as much.

It's like a slide at the water park.

It just slid right into the bowl.

-Gotcha.

Okay.

-Let's get over here and try this one right here.

Go ahead and take another scoop from that one.

-Oh!

Look at that picture perfect scoop.

-Right.

-This is a dream.

-The shape of that bowl is perfect.

It doesn't release it off the edge.

It tucks it back into itself and makes perfect spheres.

Pick up this model right here from OXO.

-Okay.

-Go ahead and take a scoop on there, and you'll recognize... -Yeah, it has a little... -...the mechanism.

It has an expulsion mechanism right here.

We found in testing that complicated scoops like this, these actually both happen to be OXO.

This is a portioned scoop.

That have these extra metal levers to toss out the ice cream.

For ice cream, they do not work okay?

For, you know, portioning cookies, muffins, cupcakes, portion scoops are great.

For ice cream, it was too finicky, and they can't withstand the strength of ice cream over time.

-So it seems like this classic style, which has a nice bowl of a shape.

It has a good handle, pretty straightforward.

-There's a reason that most scoop shops in the country stock this very model.

-Hannah, this is very cool.

There you have it.

The winner is the Zeroll 2-ounce original ice cream scoop for about $24.

♪♪ Chocoflanes is a popular Mexican dessert that pairs a creamy vanilla flan with a decadent chocolate cake, and there's a little magic in the middle because they switch positions while it bakes in the oven.

And the magic is why Bridget's here.

You're the magician.

-Well, today, there is going to be magic, but we're making little cakes today.

-Oh.

-Yeah, so it's sometimes called, instead of a magic cake, it's called an impossible cake.

Or in this case, pastelitos impossibles.

-Oh, because they're little.

-They're little cakes.

But it still has three components.

It has the flan that you mentioned and that fudgy, almost brownie-like cake.

-Yeah.

-But we can't forget the caramel.

And we'll get to that in just a second.

But let's get started on the cake.

-Okay.

-All right.

I've got some bittersweet chocolate chips here.

This is 1/3 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips.

And we're going to add a little bit of whole milk there.

That's 1/4 cup of whole milk and 1/4 cup of Dutch-processed cocoa powder.

So I'm going to turn the heat to low and just mix this a little bit just to get it started.

And then we're going to cook this over low and whisking it every once in a while until the mixture is just nice and smooth and the chocolate's completely melted.

I'm going to hand off this to you in just a second, but let's talk about the topping.

-Yes.

-So this is 6 tablespoons of cajeta, which is a reduced and sweetened goat's milk.

Super tangy, as you know.

It's just super rich.

It's the perfect kind of tangy counterpart to the sweet cake.

If you can't find cajeta, you can just use regular caramel sauce at your supermarket.

-Okay.

-But I do need to get this a little bit warmed up so it's a bit pourable.

So I'm going to microwave it for anywhere between 15 seconds to a minute, just until it's warmed and nicely spoonable.

All right.

You can see this is nice.

It's much looser than before.

All right, so I've got my ramekins here.

These are 8-ounce ramekins.

You need six of them.

Been sprayed with some vegetable oil spray.

I'm going to divide the cajeta just amongst the ramekins, about a tablespoon per cup.

If you wouldn't mind, while I'm dolloping just kind of rotating the cup around there.

-Actually, it's just sliding around.

-Oh, there you go.

So that looks good.

I'm going to take that whisk over here because I'm going to need it to put together the dry ingredients.

I've got 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 5 tablespoons of all purpose flour.

-Ooh, more sugar than flour.

-Yeah.

-I like this cake.

-It's a good cake.

We've got a little bit of baking soda.

That's 1/8 of a teaspoon.

That's just going to help with leavening a little bit.

And 1/8 of a teaspoon of salt.

Whisk this together.

Now back to our chocolate mixture.

We're going to add a few liquid ingredients here.

2 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1 egg.

Quickly whisk that in.

And if you wouldn't mind putting that vanilla in for me, that's 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Now we're going to add that flour mixture right in here.

I'm going to switch over to my spatula here.

Goes right in.

All right, let's move on down here.

What will I do with this spatula?

We want to divide this evenly.

And that works out to about 3 tablespoons, scant tablespoons.

So this is about a 3-tablespoon measure.

-Mm-hmm.

-So I'm just going to get it a little under, and I can always go back and add more.

It's time for flan.

-Okay.

-Easy, easy, easy flan.

It couldn't be simpler to put together.

I've got some evaporated milk.

We're going to use our blender as our mixer.

And this is a cup of evaporated milk.

We're going to add a second milk.

So this is sweetened condensed milk.

-Oh, yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

-That's the good stuff.

-That is the good stuff.

And that is another cup.

This is 3 ounces of softened cream cheese, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

And for something like this, it pays to use the good stuff because we're talking custard here.

-That's right.

-And 1/8 of a teaspoon of table salt.

Now I am going to put the lid on, and I'm going to blend this just for about 30 seconds until it's nice and smooth.

I'll probably need to go in there and scrape down the sides a couple times.

[ Whirring ] So now just to make sure that there aren't any little lumps left in there, I'm going to pour this through a fine mesh strainer right into... You can use a bowl.

I'm using a measuring cup here.

Yeah, it did a pretty good job.

-There's nothing in that strainer.

-All right, let's come on down here.

I'm gonna get this boiling again because we're going to need that water in just a moment.

Now I want to divide this evenly amongst the six ramekins.

And it's a good idea to get it pretty close to each little ramekin as you go.

That looks great.

-Mm-hmm.

-Now we're going to use a water bath here.

I'm going to remove one of these because I know myself.

-A-ha!

That's clever.

-Yeah.

Using a water bath because, you know, it's a custard.

It's a baked custard.

-Yeah.

-And this is really going to help to temper and even out the heat, so we don't end up with scrambled eggs.

Nobody wants that.

So you want to fill this up about half way up the sides.

So I'm getting close there.

So just added that one right back in.

And there we go.

All right.

Scooch these back out, nice and even.

And then I've got a piece of foil over there.

-Yep.

Looks like it's greased.

-It's been sprayed with some vegetable oil cooking spray.

I'm just going to wrap this up nice and tight.

Yeah, we definitely want to trap that steam in there.

-Mm-hmm.

-So this is going to go into a 325-degree oven.

Nice low, moderate heat.

And it's going to stay in there until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of these comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.

That's going to take anywhere from 35 to 40 minutes.

♪♪ -I'm waiting for the magic trick.

-I know, I know.

Well, let me take off the foil.

-Dun dun dun dun dun!

Dun dun dun!

-Chocolate's on top.

-Chocolate's on top.

Abracadabra!

-[ Laughs ] -Only one way to know if they're done.

And let's take a toothpick just into the cake part.

It should come out with just a few crumbs attached.

-All right.

-I do want to get these out of our water bath.

A couple different tools you can use.

I've got a whole display of tools.

So this is just a pair of tongs.

And we put some rubber bands on them to grip.

So you can use that to go in there and grip.

And it's just a nice little hold on your ramekins.

-I love that tip.

-Yes.

-Alternately, if you don't feel like putting rubber bands on your tongs, then you can use a pair of tongs, but with a spatula underneath.

-Mm, nice and secure to steady it.

So we're going to let them cool for an hour.

They'll just be warm, but you can actually make these up to four days in advance and store them in the fridge.

And we've got instructions for make ahead as well as how to reheat them on our website.

-Very cool.

-You have waited long enough.

-Thank you for noticing.

-An hour is long enough for you.

All right.

So, ready for the unmolding?

-Yes.

-All right.

-It's the best part.

-These have cooled down just a bit, so I'm going to take a paring knife, just run it around the outside, but you can see.

-It's spinning.

-They get a little loose in there, which is a good thing.

-Nice.

-All right.

So now I'm going to unmold it.

So the best way to do this is to take your plate and put it upside down.

-Mm-hmm.

-And then make sure it's centered.

-Presto change-o.

-Flip it over just like that.

Presto change-o, a magic flan.

-Oh!

-Oh, that's so pretty.

But we can't leave this cajeta behind.

Look at this.

Oh, yeah.

Let's just drizzle that.

-So good.

-All over.

The next step in our magic trick is making these disappear.

-I'm really good at that part.

-[ Laughs ] All right, so that's for you.

-Thank you.

-All right.

What do you think?

-I think I'm ready to eat it.

-Mmm.

So good.

You have the custard, but then you have that sort of really brownie chewy layer at the bottom, and then the cajeta, which is sweet, but has that tart finish that really ties it together.

-Also had the cream cheese in the flan itself.

-That's right.

I actually don't taste the cream cheese.

-No.

-It's just the flan is nice and set up, and it's not too sweet.

Mmm!

-And this is just the right temperature for it, too, just slightly warm.

-Mm-hmm.

-And it's not too sweet.

You can taste the vanilla.

You can taste the chocolate, you can taste the cajeta.

And you can go back for more.

-Mm-hmm.

Bridget, this is fantastic.

-Thank you so much.

-If you want to make this magical dessert, start by spreading a thin layer of cajeta over the bottom of each ramekin.

Layer in the chocolate cake batter, followed by the flan.

Then cook it in a water bath.

From "Cook's Country", a spectacular recipe for mini chocoflanes.

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

-Every week we compile our favorite recipes, product reviews, and more into e-mail newsletters that we send directly to your inbox.

From dinner tonight menus to vegetarian cooking, equipment recommendations, and more.

You can sign up for free at CooksCountry.com/Inbox.

-Our digital membership gives you access to everything "Cook's Country" and "America's Test Kitchen" all in one place.

From this season's rigorously tested recipes developed by our kitchen of test cooks to equipment reviews for kitchen essentials and more, you can find the inspiration and information you need to help you cook your best.

A one-year introductory digital membership is available for a special rate of $49.95 for our public television viewers.

To sign up, visit AmericasTestKitchen.com/ Membership.

-Funding for this program has been provided by the following... -Monument Grills Denali 605Pro, made for the family cookout and weeknight dinner.

With 900 square inches of cooking space, several accessories, and Bluetooth capabilities, it's designed with the host in mind.

Monument Grills -- the Everybody, Everywhere Grill.

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♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪