Popular Mechanics - USA (2020-05)

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4 May/June 2020

Alexander George

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Matt Allyn Features Director;

Brian Dalek Director of Content

Operations; Leah Flickinger

Director of Content Creation; Lou

Mazzante Test Director; Suzanne

Perreault Editorial Operations

Director; Jesse Southerland

Creative Director

DESIGN + PHOTO

Amy Wolff Photo Director; Colin

McSherry Senior Art Director; Alyse

Markel Art Director; Eleni Dimou

Senior Designer; Kory Kennedy, Ash

Bartholomew Digital Designers;

Kristen Parker Photo Editor; John

Hamilton Associate Photo Editor

EDITORIAL

Molly Ritterbeck Health & Fitness

Director; Bette Canter, Darren

Orf Deputy Editors; Ty l e r D a s w i c k ,

Taylor Rojek Associate Features

Editors; Andrew Daniels How-To

Editor; Courtney Linder Senior

News Editor; Hailey Middlebrook,

Jordan Smith Editors; Danielle

Zickl Health & Fitness Editor;

Jennifer Leman News Editor;

Daisy Hernandez, Paige Szmodis

Associate News Editors; Katie Fogel

Social Media Editor; Drew Dawson

Gear & News Editor; Jessica Coulon

Assistant Editor; Leah Campano

Editorial Planning Associate; Amber

Joglar Administrative Assistant

Kit Fox Special Projects Director;

Caroline Dorey-Stein Assistant

Special Projects Editor

TEST TEAM

Will Egensteiner, Jennifer Sherry

Associate Test Directors; Dan Roe

Te s t M a n a ge r ; Jeff Dengate, Matt

Phillips Senior Test Editors; Roy

Berendsohn, Adrienne Donica,

Brad Ford, Amanda Furrer, Bobby

Lea, Riley Missel, Morgan Petruny

Test Editors; Lakota Gambill,

Trevo r Ra a b Photographers; Joël

Nankman Logistician

VIDEO

Josh Wolff Director; Jimmy

Cavalieri Production Manager; Pat

Heine, David Monk Producers

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Joe Pappalardo, Kyle Mizokami,

Caroline Delbert, Daniel Dubno,

Wylie Dufresne, David Owen,

Richard Romanski, James

Schadewald, Joseph Truini,

Nicholas Wicks

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Bill Strickland

Popular Mechanics International

Kim St. Clair Bodden Russia, South

Africa  •   SVP/International Editorial

Director

Editorial Offices

3939 West Drive

Center Valley, PA 18034

HOW TO REACH US: Customer

Care Visit Online POPCustServ@

CDSFulfillment.com; Phone 800-

333-4948; Mail Customer Care

Service Dept. Popular Mechanics, PO

Box 6000, Harlan, IA 51593-0128.

LICENSING AND REPRINTS:

Contact Wyndell Hamilton, Wright’s

Media, at 877-652-5295 ext. 102 or

[email protected].

ISSUE 2, 2020

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

1

// EXPERT HACKS, GEAR RECS & LIFE-TESTED WISDOM FROM OUR STAFF //

My Pop Life

Once smuggled an

entire rotisserie

chicken into a

movie theater.

Associate Features

Editor

TYLER DASWICK

W

CURRENT

PASSION PROJECT

I’m teaching myself to

cook, but I’d rather impro-

vise than follow a recipe.

My strangest successes so

far: cayenne caramel

popcorn, raspberry black-

bean chili, and Mortal

Kombat Chicken.

PRODUCTS I’M USING RIGHT NOW

Wüsthof 8-inch

Cook’s Knife

Delicate enough

for dicing but

strong enough to

pulverize spices

and butcher meat.

1

Lodge 101⁄4-inch

Cast Iron Skillet

It’s the only cooking

vessel you need.

I’ve used mine for

steak, fish, and

giant pancakes.

2

The Flavor Bible

Instead of recipes,

this provides an

index of flavor

combinations.

It renders other

cookbooks obsolete.

Kuchenprofi

12-inch Tweezers

Don’t call these fussy

until you’ve used them

to pinch eggshells

from a bowl. Tongs

are for apes.

34

The Best Money

I Ever Spent

My Epson Home Cinema 1060

projector. It’s versatile, fun to

use, and more attractive than

a gaudy big-screen TV.

The Best Thing I Have on My Desk

A cactus. I grew up in Phoenix, a
world away from our offices in
New York and PA, so this little guy
reminds me of home.

My Favorite App

The AMC Theatres

app. I see a movie every

week, so the subscription

plan saves me tons of

money, and the rewards

program gives me free

popcorn.

Mortal Kombat

Chicken in 3 Steps

1 / Lay a whole chicken—

innards removed—on a cutting

board, breast-side down.

2 / Cut down both sides of the

backbone from neck to tail

to pull out the spine—finish

him!—then f lip the bird over

and press down on the breast-

bone until the ribcage breaks

and the bird lies f lat—fatality!

3 / Season it on all sides with

salt and lay it in a cast-iron

skillet, breast-side up. Cook on

the top rack of a 425°F oven for

65 minutes, rotating the skil-

let halfway after 30 minutes.

When the bird’s done, let it

rest (in peace) for 15 minutes

before eating.

@tylerdaswick