Category Archives: fried chicken

Sort of Tyler Florence’s fried chicken

31 Tuesday May 2011

Posted by in fried chicken

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A few years ago, on a lovely Saturday morning,  I was indulging in my biggest addiction (The Food Network) and Tyler Florence came on.  It really does not hurt that he is pretty easy on the eyes but MAN, he can also cook.  I made it right away and we rounded some friends up for dinner that very night.
When I asked my father-in-law what he would like to have for his birthday dinner he mentioned fried chicken and I was happy to oblige.
I’ve played with the recipe since but it wouldn’t be right to fail to mention where it was originally from.  Do yourself a favour and make an obscene amount of this chicken and either have 20 people over (like we did on Saturday) or freeze it and have it on those hot summer days when moving around is like treading water.
I was a little worried about eating this recipe again because I made it one day when I was pregnant and had to instantly get it OUT OF THE HOUSE.  Those of you who have experienced morning/all day sickness will understand the urgency of getting some smells away from you as quickly as possible. 
I’m happy to say that not only did I like it again but so did the baby.
1)  One night take; three chickens and divide them up (you can use already jointed chicken pieces but whole chickens were on sale so that is what I used) into 10 pieces each (thighs, legs, wings, breasts in two pieces etc.).  Place in a large pot with enough water to cover them and four tablespoons of salt.  I actually just took the whole chickens from the freezer and immersed them in water and salt.  Let sit overnight, covered, in the fridge.
2)  The next day drain off the brine and place enough buttermilk to cover the chicken (note:  I never have buttermilk so just sour regular milk with a T. of vinegar).  I used (for my three chickens) 1 litre of soymilk (soured with a tablespoon of vinegar), 2 T. of hot sauce, 1 T. of juniper berries, 2 garlic cloves finely chopped and 2 stalks of rosemary.  Let sit in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.  I did this overnight because it was a Friday and honestly, deep frying when you are tired is not something I would highly recommend.
I’ve added the note that I used soy milk as I realize I haven’t mentioned for quite some time that dairy and I don’t get along very well.  I have Chron’s/colitis so I use soy, rice or goat’s milk products in all of my recipes and Earth balance margarine for anything needing butter.  No one seems to complain.

3) Take regular flour and season with 2 T. rosemary, black pepper and 1 tsp. granulated garlic.

4) Get a cauldron of oil (I like to use canola) heating with a sprig of rosemary and a clove of garlic.  It is hot enough to fry the chicken when you place a wooden spoon in the oil and it bubbles around it.

5)  Grab a piece of the chicken and dip into the seasoned flour, dip it back into the buttermilk and then BACK into the flour.  This double dipping method gives you an incredible coating.

6)  Fry until just golden and drain on a tea towel.  Don’t worry about the chicken actually being cooked.
7)  Place on a baking tray and bake in a moderate oven (330) until crispy and the chicken is cooked through.

Great hot or cold and even great the day after.  My photo isn’t great as “my helper” wanted to press the button.
I thought we would have lots of leftovers but gladly there were only a few pieces.  We served everything with; spring vegetables in a vinaigrette, a big green salad, rolls and potato salad ( my sister-in-law makes the very best potato salad).
The night started the evening off with marinated cheese bites and tortilla chips with salsa and quacamole (thanks MIM!) and ended with mini chocolate cupcakes (that same great Olive Oil recipe) topped with whipping cream and cherries cooked with a bit of sugar, cornstarch and kirsch.
More than the food though…everyone got together and we laughed until we hurt.  That’s what a birthday is all about.
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Friday’s dinner

14 Friday May 2010

Posted by in bacon burgers, fried chicken

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Last night’s dinner

Gotta say, the garlic chicken was nothing to write home about. It smelled amazing while it was cooking but was mediocre at best.

Here is a MUCH better recipe and I pulled this out of the freezer to make-up for the garlic recipe. I originally saw it on Tyler Florence’s show “The Ultimate” (the food is good and he’s not hard on the eyes either) and have now made it many times. I like to use the drumsticks and boneless chicken thighs for this recipe. I’m not fond of frying (messy) so when I do fry I make an enormous amount and freeze the majority after we gorge ourselves. Just heat it up in the oven to make it crispy again. I tend to freeze four or five pieces together and just take out what I need at the time. Don’t skip the brining stage as you get really moist and seasoned chicken out of it.

Ingredients
1 (3 to 4 pound) chicken, cut up into 10 pieces
Kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons cayenne
Freshly ground black pepper
1 quart (if you don’t have it then just sour the milk with a bit of vinegar)
2 tablespoons hot chili sauce (recommended: Srirachi)
Peanut oil, for frying
(I’ve used canola and the taste is still great-I tend to not use peanut oil if I’m freezing something as I might forget and serve it to someone who is allergic to nuts-I trip to the hospital is not what I like to pair meals with)
1/4 bunch fresh thyme
3 big sprigs fresh rosemary
1/4 bunch fresh sage
1/2 head garlic, smashed, husk still attached
Lemon wedges, for serving
Directions
Put the chicken pieces into a large bowl. Cover the chicken with water by 1 inch; add 1 tablespoon of salt for each quart of water used. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

In a large shallow platter, mix the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne until well blended; season generously with salt and pepper. In another platter combine the buttermilk and hot sauce with a fork and season with salt and pepper.

Drain the chicken and pat it dry. Dredge the pieces, a few at a time, in the flour mixture,

then dip them into the buttermilk; dredge them again in the seasoned flour. Set aside and let the chicken rest while you prepare the oil.

Put about 3 inches of oil into a large deep pot; it should not come up more than half way. Add the thyme, rosemary, sage, and garlic to the cool oil and heat over medium-high heat until the oil registers 350 to 365 degrees F on one of those clip-on deep-fry thermometers. The herbs and garlic will perfume the oil with their flavor as the oil comes up to temperature.

Once the oil has reached 350 to 365 degrees F, working in batches, carefully add the chicken pieces 3 or 4 at a time. Fry, turning the pieces once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 12 minutes. Total cooking time should be about 30 minutes. When the chicken is done, take a big skimmer and remove the chicken pieces and herbs from the pot, shaking off as much oil as you can, and lay it on a tea towel or brown paper bag to soak up the oil. Sprinkle all over with more salt and a dusting of cracked black pepper. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Once all the chicken is fried, scatter the fried herbs and garlic over the top. Serve hot, with big lemon wedges.

Tonight’s dinner
Today is the day of a thousand errands so bbq hamburgers are going to be quick but tasty. A nice little twiest to them is to add bacon bits to the burger mixture before cooking them and I’m just going to put them on a nice crunchy baguette. Bacon makes everything better.

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