Description

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If you are like most people, you eat a lot of chicken. But chances are you haven’t had chicken like Matt Horn’s chicken. Now you can! Learn how to make the best chicken on the planet, from a true master of the art, in this fun and inspiring book.

Celebrated chef Matt Horn spent years perfecting his chicken recipes before he opened his widely acclaimed mecca for chicken cookery, Kowbird, in Oakland, California. Even to this day, he continues to experiment with different cuts of chicken, with a host of sauces and spice mixtures that bring out the best flavors in chicken, and with all sorts of cooking techniques that make this popular food explode with flavor on the palate. In the richly photographed pages of Kowbird, he shares his hard-won wisdom and his brilliantly creative culinary wizardry, elevating the humble bird to its rightful place at the center of the plate—and as the star of the meal.

Matt gives you 65 recipes packed with flavor and creativity for everything from comforting weekday dinners to spectacular weekend feasts. It’s time to set aside the tired old chicken spaghetti, chicken parmesan, and unadorned chicken cutlets and dig into:
 

• Zingy Chile-Crisp-Rubbed Grilled Chicken Breasts
• Chicken-Fried Chicken, Matt’s signature Southern-inflected riff on chicken-fried steak
• California Wings, which you dip in a zesty mash of garlic, avocado, onion, and lemon
• Matt’s best-in-class version of Nashville Hot Chicken
• And much more deliciousness

With recipes for grilling, smoking, sautéing, brazing, baking, broiling, pan-frying, deep-frying, and more, this is a book that takes chicken to delectable places you’ve never dreamed of before.

About the Author

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Matt Horn is the chef and creative force behind Horn Hospitality, whose first two restaurants were Horn Barbecue and chicken-centered Kowbird in Oakland, California, expanding thereafter to include a second outpost of Horn Barbecue in Napa, California, Matty’s Burgers in downtown San Francisco, and a second outpost of Kowbird in Las Vegas. He was honored in 2021 as one of Food & Wine magazine’s ten “Best New Chefs in America.” In addition, Horn Barbecue earned the Michelin “Bib Gourmand” and “New Discovery” designations in 2021 and was renewed as a Bib Gourmand for 2022 and 2023. It also was named to Esquire’s 2021 list of the “Best New Restaurants in America.” Matt has earned hundreds of accolades from the New York Times, Sunset magazine, Forbes, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other outlets. His first book, Horn Barbecue, is a finalist for an International Association of Culinary Professional (IACP) Cookbook Award. Matt’s charitable arm, the Horn Initiative, has provided thousands of free meals to needy people in and around Oakland. He lives with his wife, daughter, and son in the San Francisco Bay area.

Praise For…

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"I read every page of Kowbird and when I reached the end I thought, 'I'm finally seeing the proud bird crowned with time-honored recipes, as penned by Chef Matt Horn.' Kowbird lifts fowl cookery to majestic heights, and it does so in the most noble terms. Chef Horn, you get the Prince family nod, sir!"—Kim Prince, chef/owner of Hotville Chicken, Los Angeles, formerly of Prince's Hot Chicken Shack, Nas

"Kowbird shows how high Matt Horn's pedigree and passions as a chef have ascended. Matt is the champion of America's most sought after center-of-plate protein—chicken. This book honors him in a fun and delicious way, at the same time revealing his love for culture and community."—Erick Williams, James Beard Award-winning chef/owner of Virtue, Chicago

“Matt Horn’s Kowbird masterfully combines innovative and classic chicken recipes, catering to all skill levels with its blend of culinary finesse, practical tips, and captivating narratives. More than just a recipe book, its stunning photography complements an insightful exploration into the culture and history of chicken cooking.”—Alice Waters, chef/owner of Chez Panisse, Berkeley, and author of The Art of Simple Food

“Matt Horn is an old soul. His flavors match his passion for refined, classic Americana. Eating at one of his restaurants is like listening to Coltrane. It’s a vibe. It grabs you by the heart and won’t let go. If it’s his world-class Horn Barbecue or his insanely delicious Kowbird, it’s always the best thing I’ve ever tasted.” —Tyler Florence, Food Network star and author of Dinner at My Place

“Matt Horn does in this book what he did so well in Horn Barbecue, his debut book. He treats the reader like a very smart student. He goes over the basics slowly enough so as to educate the uninitiated, but not so slowly as to bore the more experienced reader. He also provides details and insights that he has gained from hours spent practicing his craft. Between these covers, he takes us through many of the chicken’s culinary permutations—fried, jambalayed, Bourbon-glazed, and dumpling’ed. In clear prose he has made these recipes easy to follow, yet full of soul and flavor. I’m confident that if you follow these recipes you’ll have folks lined up, if not down the block as at Kowbird and Matt’s other restaurants, then at least at the stove begging for seconds.”
 —From the Foreword by Lolis Eric Elie, author of Smokestack Lightning