Early on in the pandemic. I started to explore monthly international snack subscriptions to stave off boredom and to try to add a little excitement to my year when traveling just wasn’t an option. At this point I’ve done Universal Yums and SnackCrate, deciding to stick it out with SnackCrate longer term as I found more variety in their snacks. In April I received a box for Ukraine and decided to make the recipe in the box for Chicken Kiev.

Seeing the sheer amount of butter and oil required to make this (essentially, this could rival county fairs for the heart palpitations I was already feeling) I decided to cut it by 1/3 (which was still a lot) but in the end it felt savory enough that I didn’t think I was really missing out. To be honest, I’m not a big fried food person (which has served me well over the years, with the exception of a good fried chicken sandwich…damn I love those) and in the end, this dish didn’t really win me over. I didn’t manage to keep the chicken bundles as tight as they should be so the end result looing a little like a fried chicken monster mouth. In addition to the simple recipe included in the Ukraine SnackCrate, I also consulted this recipe from Alton Brown: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chicken-kiev-recipe-1952333

Overall Level of Effort: 2

Skill Level: Intermediate

Would Make It Again? No

Additional Notes: I put this as an “Intermediate” level because I think the rolling of the chicken and getting it to stay together in a way that is true to the recipe can be pretty tricky. And I think whenever there is this much oil/butter involved you have to be a bit better skilled as to not burn yourself or damage surrounding cabinetry.