>> You know, you really appreciate when you get to eat something that was alive just a few hours ago.

>> You can't not get excited.

>> That is the greatest smell.

>> I've never seen chicken cooked in this way.

>> Me neither.

>> Tikka masala.

Super delicious.

>> Very exciting.

>> Oh my gosh.

>> Love it.

>> They don't teach you this in cooking school.

(voices overlapping, music playing) >> That is what I'm talking about.

(birds squawking) ♪ ♪ >> The whole snakehead.

>> It cures any hangover any time.

>> Woohoo!

♪ ♪ (sniffing) ♪ ♪ >> So, we're here with my mom, in McCrady's kitchen, which is kind of cool.

We're going to cook a dish that is my favorite dish of all time.

If I had to pick one dish that made me the happiest, that I love to eat the most, it's her chicken and dumplings.

You can see it's an extremely complicated dish.

There are lots of components.

One, two, three, four.

Four components.

I've been trying to make it for the last 16 years the way she makes it, and I can't do it.

I gave up.

I actually gave up.

I'm not even going to try anymore, because I just can't do it.

Who taught you how to make chicken and dumplings?

>> My mom-- her grand.

I've got some really good memories of learning to do chicken and dumplings, because she started with the chicken-- chopping its head off.

>> We can get a live chicken.

>> That's okay.

I can probably describe it well enough.

>> So, we leave these on?

>> No.

>> No?

>> No!

>> You sure?

>> Yes!

>> There's a lot of delicious flavor in there.

You want to do the honors?

>> Sure.

>> I've always cooked with my mom.

And, when I was a kid, I was the student.

And I'm still the student, but I was just fascinated with watching her cook.

How long will that take?

>> Till I feel everything falls off the bone.

>> You can't give me a time?

>> About an hour.

>> Okay.

>> Then I went to culinary school.

I learned discipline and technique and foundation.

And then she hated cooking with me.

How do you know if it's done?

>> You can tell.

>> If it's starting to fall off the bone.

And this is way ready.

>> She would say, "I'm never going to cook with you again.

"You're no fun.

"You're worried about how clean the countertop is.

"We're supposed to be having fun.

"You're, like, you're not even smiling, you know?

What the hell's wrong with you?"

>> When I was doing chicken and dumplings, when Sean was growing up, he was always at my elbow, or never far away.

He'd be standing with his nose to the edge.

>> I'm still the same way.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> The first time I heard her say that, I thought... Wow, I thought you'd be proud of me.

Cutting this carrot perfectly, and keeping my station perfectly clean and my towel folded nice and tight over here.

But cooking's not about that for her.

What's your favorite part of the chicken?

>> The dark meat, the thigh.

And yours?

>> Neck meat.

>> That's what I thought.

>> Because it's... that's the darkest!

(Renee makes sound of disgust) Why is the neck meat gross?

Because you've wrang chicken necks before?

>> Yeah!

(chuckling) I know how that feels, turning in your hand.

>> See, look at that neck meat.

>> Yum.

(laughing) >> Cooking with her now is, we cook the dishes that I grew up cooking because I need to match them.

Every chance we get, we cook just good, old-fashioned hillbilly food.

And make a mess.

So, now, the part that has intimidated me my whole life and scared me to death and still haunts me-- sometimes I can't sleep at night because I can't do this-- but thank God you can.

Maybe you'll do it slow enough this time.

>> Don't blink.

Don't blink.

Okay, just basic ingredients: flour... >> Self-rising flour.

>> Yes.

>> Which you failed to tell me until today.

>> Sorry.

Okay, you need to...

I sort of eyeball it.

>> So, you're looking at the amount of liquid you have, which changes every time you cook the chicken.

>> Exactly.

>> And that determines how much flour you add.

>> How much, how many dumplings are going to fit in that pot.

Okay, buttermilk.

>> One of the things that drives me nuts about my mom, but also I love about my mom, is that she never measures anything and refuses to measure anything.

I've actually asked politely-- many, many times-- and it just doesn't work that way.

>> So, we're going to go with this today.

>> See, that to me looks super wet-- which is why I don't know how to make chicken and dumplings.

>> You see how it's boiling nicely?

You look for the biggest boil point in your kettle.

>> Oh, the biggest bubble?

>> Yup.

>> So, you're like finding the boiling points, and that's where you drop in the dumpling.

>> Yes.

>> Okay, so we add the chicken?

>> Yes.

>> So, that's the tricky part?

>> That's the tricky part.

>> I'll just gently kind of move them.

>> You just sort of want to sink them in under there.

>> How do you know that these dumplings are done?

>> Well, you look to see how they formed.

>> Uh-huh.

You can feel them.

>> Separate dumplings, stiffness.

But you still want a little bounce to them.

>> A little spring?

>> Yup.

>> Let that warm.

♪ ♪ >> Looks like it's ready.

(Sean inhales) >> Let me smell.

We're sniffers, aren't we?

>> Now it's time to serve it.

What do you got to keep in mind?

>> You've got to get down to the chicken.

>> Uh-huh.

>> Take out the dumpling.

>> Oh, Lord.

Mmm.

>> Some people like more gravy.

>> What about you?

>> I'm a gravy and dumpling.

Leave the chicken.

>> You don't even care about the chicken?

I'm with you.

>> That's good.

>> Oh, wow.

♪ ♪ >> The traditional food culture is still practiced and alive in people's everyday lives.

♪ ♪ >> Netting puffin, which is what Jógvan Jón is doing, used to be of extreme importance for the people living on these islands.

Because of their remoteness, it was absolutely essential for people's survival during the winter season to use whatever nature could provide.

♪ ♪ One of the things that used to be abundant here were different seabirds, like puffins and shearwaters and fulmars.

It's almost like you kind of gently sets the bird down midair.

It looks very, very special.

Getting that close to the edge of a 400-feet cliff is pretty spectacular.

Today, very, very few people do this.

It has almost vanished.

Perhaps once a year, they will net ten puffins to keep these traditions alive.

A long time ago, to waste something would have been unthinkable for the people living in these marginal climates on the islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

Even today, the families here are so careful with the way they use things.

Do you know the origins of this recipe?

This is a very unique combination to the Faroe Islands, because of the sweet sort of cake batter inside of the cavity.

>> Maybe in the old days, we didn't have so much potatoes and such things, that the cake was like a supplement.

>> Ah, so that was the sort of carbohydrate part of the meal.

>> Yeah.

>> It's a very unusual combination.

>> Yeah.

>> But I really like it.

And it sounds kind of unbelievable almost when you hear this.

Now you're breaking the backbone of the bird.

And you dig it out of there.

>> Yeah, it's not so easy to make it.

>> So, this almost turns the bird into kind of a sausage skin, with meat already attached to the outside.

>> Yeah.

>> Did you learn this from your mother?

>> Yeah.

And she learned it from my grandmother.

>> I know that you guys don't do this as often anymore, so this must be a pretty special thing.

>> Yeah.

More to show the children so they and we can get a taste of it.

Because it's something that has been so important for the island and we don't know how it's going to be in the future.

So, I'd like them to know how to do it.

You never know.

I think it could come back.

When I was a child, we always think about the puffins, and it was quite a big part of the income of the farm.

>> Yeah-- let's say 30 years ago, how many puffins could you typically catch during a season?

>> It was different from year to year, but I would say... between 5,000 and 10,000 birds?

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

(eggs cracking) ♪ ♪ (whirring) >> It's fantastic to see cake batter made from eggs like these.

>> Yeah, it's a stronger color.

>> Yes: deeper, darker.

>> Mix it a bit.

(whirring) ♪ ♪ >> So, now the batter is finished, you put it into the birds, right?

>> Yeah.

>> Needles.

>> That looks nice, then.

>> We mustn't put too much in it, because they're going to be too full when they cook.

>> Explode?

>> Explode.

>> Like that?

And then they are ready to sew.

>> You said earlier that, typically, two birds like this would be one portion.

With the cake content inside, that's a pretty big portion.

>> Yeah.

>> But it really makes sense when you're here, because you need all of that energy to be able to do all of this physically hard work.

>> Yeah.

Often, when we have family and friends over, they'll say, "Eating now?

Again?"

>> It's really interesting, a dish like this has so perfectly adapted to the circumstances of the place where it was invented.

>> Yeah.

>> And then everything being boiled really efficiently in one pot.

>> Yeah.

>> Just a little salt?

>> Yeah.

>> How long are these going to cook now?

>> For two hours or so.

>> Till they are kind of tender.

>> Yeah.

♪ ♪ >> Now they should be ready.

>> Wow, that looks fantastic.

So much fat has rendered out of the birds.

>> Yeah.

>> Floating on the surface here now, it's bright orange and it smells of shellfish.

So, how do you eat these?

>> We like it like this: filled with cake and potatoes.

We think that's a great meal.

>> It's quite a special thing these days.

>> Yeah, yeah.

This is special for us, yeah.

♪ ♪ (airplane taking off) (sitar playing) >> So I'm going to make chicken tikka masala.

It's one of your recipes.

Super delicious and it's really easy to make.

So, we're going to add the salt first.

>> You prepare the kabobs-- the "tikkas" first.

>> We're going to add the lemon juice next.

>> So, this is the first matter now: salt and lemon.

>> Right.

>> The second one is all the spices.

>> Okay.

So now I'm going to add all the spices.

And right here, I've got some of your lovely garam masala.

Little bit of this nice Kashmiri chili, which has got an amazing color.

>> That's the important part.

>> Little ginger, a little garlic in there.

And then I've got some cream.

>> That's right.

>> So, now I'm going to add the last ingredient, which is just a little bit of oil.

I suppose that just helps with the grilling, maybe.

>> Yeah.

It helps with the grilling.

>> I mean, this smells great.

And it's so fun.

Like, you can get your hands in there and just have some fun.

So I forgot my cumin, so I just shoved that in there.

>> That's okay.

>> So I'm just going to kind of chill that.

So I'm going to make the sauce.

I've got a nice hot pan.

I'm going to add the oil.

I'm going to add the onions.

We're just going to, like, brown those, get those nice and sweet.

So, while these are frying, I suppose we could do the skewers.

>> Yes, let's do that.

♪ ♪ Now, this is part of the tandoori family, because it's cooked in a tandoor normally, which is a very, very hot clay oven.

And most of India actually didn't know too much about this kind of cooking.

It came from the northwest in what is now Pakistan.

>> Okay, so I'm going to add my spices now.

Little bit of coriander, little bit of turmeric.

Okay, so I'm going to fry that for a second or two, and then I'm going to add the tomatoes.

>> Good, you can add the tomatoes.

Because you don't want the spices to burn.

>> Because they're already ground, right?

>> You have to cook this for a while until the tomatoes are really reduced and dark, and make a sauce.

>> Okay, so I'm going to let that fry, and we can go maybe grill the chicken.

>> Yeah.

>> Ooh, that looks good.

(sizzling) >> Smells good.

>> Yeah.

So the oil has started to come back out.

>> Yeah.

>> You think that's ready?

>> Yeah.

>> So should we start adding the yogurt?

So just a tablespoon at a time.

>> Yup.

I think they're ready to be turned over.

>> Ooh, that looks good.

(sizzling) I just, I love this color.

It's kind of making me go a little crazy.

>> Crazy hungry.

>> Yeah.

Crazy hungry.

Ooh, this one is great.

>> Yeah, that one is good.

>> And then we just pull it off the skewer.

>> Yeah.

>> Okay, so we just add this, then.

So I'm just going to bring this together a little bit.

>> Yeah, that looks lovely.

>> I'm going to add just a little coriander.

Just to layer the flavor, I think.

Oh, look.

This looks great.

>> Yummy, yummy, yummy.

>> This is pretty amazing.

Chicken tikka masala.

>> Thank you.

Very well done.

♪ ♪ >> So, now we're going to tie the chickens.

>> Okay.

>> What I want to do is have enough twine around it so I can hang it in all these different places.

You can hang it from here.

And then you can hang it from here.

And then you can hang it from here.

>> And so you want an even distribution all around the... >> Yeah.

>> I've never seen chicken cooked in this way.

>> Me neither.

>> See, I have a theory that I like as much skin... >> Yeah?

>> ...exposed to the heat as possible.

I'm a skin man.

>> Yeah.

>> I'm going to try to pull this guy over here, come across here, pull this guy over here, so hopefully, it will hang like this.

Almost like you were doing with the assador.

>> Yeah.

Like butterfly.

>> Yeah.

>> I'm going to just salt them now.

♪ ♪ Let's hang the ladies.

>> Are they lady chickens?

>> I have no idea.

>> This is beautiful.

♪ ♪ >> I don't know if you've ever been to Chinatown... >> Yeah, you see the ducks like this.

>> Yeah, and I kind of want it to hang a little bit lower.

>> So, we're going to get this fire going now a bit more.

Wait a bit and see what happens with the heat.

Yours looks very handsome, I think.

>> She's not discreet.

>> They don't teach you this in cooking school.

>> They don't, no.

>> Oh, you're beautiful, young ladies.

>> I haven't felt this invigorated in years.

There might not be much left for the guests.

Francis is a beast.

You have to almost be cooking right next to him to see how complex it really is.

It's an incredible journey back to some kind of origin of what I do.

♪ ♪ >> This is really a first trial for a new technique, so it can seem very crude right now.

Some ordinary birchwood charcoal.

Because it's relatively slow-burning, and it doesn't give off too much smoky flavor.

I don't want this to be like a slowly smoked duck.

(hissing) I just want it to have a little bit of smoke.

So, this duck dish we're going to cook now is based on ideas from, like, several different places.

And the base of the dish is a French classical dish called canard à la ficelle, which is basically a duck, hung up in a string, in an open fireplace somewhere, and being tapped on the wing by everyone that passes by.

And then, the other part of it is Peter's inspiration from traveling in China, working, and eating the Chinese duck, but with all Peter's produce, so the duck and his birch sap syrup will be the main components of the dish.

So, I'm going to start with the glaze.

The base of it is going to be some of the tasty paste, which is basically beef stock and vegetables fermented with baker's yeast and then reduced until it's very, very savory.

So, this is Peter's birch sap syrup.

It's really different from, for example, maple syrup because it has a lot of acidity.

So, it's almost like kind of balsamic vinegar or something like that.

And that's because birch sap contains a lot of betulinic acid, so when it's reduced down, you have this really, really nicely balanced sweet and sour flavor.

Some rhubarb wine.

This is going to give a really nice acidity to the whole preparation.

Shallots and some garlic, just very finely grated.

I want little, tiny pieces kind of caramelized on the surface of the skin.

Yup.

So I'm just going to hang the bird.

And now I'm going to... like while this is heating up, I'm going to put this, the sauce, under the bird, and just sort of give it the first baste.

This... the idea as the acid cooks, the sauce is going to obviously reduce on the skin, but also there's going to be like meat juices and fat and stuff dripping down into this little pot, and eventually become part of the sauce.

And this is going to be pretty much all the seasoning of this dish, just the birch sap syrup and the tasty paste.

And it's pretty interesting because it's based mainly on products from Peter.

All the products that he makes for us, whether it's ducks, or really good quality wild mushrooms, or if it's birch sap syrup, or if it's, you know, dried lichens or whatever it might be, they all have kind of a distinct aroma that kind of relates them to each other.

You can feel like by how they smell and how they taste that they are from him.

So it's really, you know, like his terroir, the way he handles and treats things and the place in itself gives them a very, very particular character.

So I'm going to leave my brush here now and give it a kind of a first swirl.

♪ ♪ So this has been hanging now for an hour and a half, and it's actually already cooked, and it's gone much, much faster than I expected it to.

So we're going to take it down from here, and then bring the little sauce with us and just carve it.

But this smells so good right now.

Like it smells of Mr.

Duck, Peter's place.

It smells of, like, cooked bird and smells very kind of sweet and savory of the glaze, which has reduced down.

It looks very good.

Like really nice and juicy.

And nice and golden and crispy on the outside.

I think that next time we do this, I'm going to do it slower.

Like over lower heat and for a longer time.

Because it went so quickly today.

So this is like the kind of feeling of an ordinary roast bird.

But I would like it to be like the fat to be more rendered down and the meat to be not kind of pinkish, but more braised, actually.

I think that's going to be really nice.

This is, like, really good duck, very, very strong tasting, nice and compact, but not tough.

Fatty, crispy and like sweet, salty and very savory, and like sort of dark tasting.

So this is not at all perfect, but it's very, very good sort of step towards a dish, and it's very delicious.

♪ ♪ (sniffing)