It wouldn’t be a collection of recipes without a listing for Fried Chicken. This is another one that I’ve been working on my entire life. First off, what makes good fried chicken? Also we are talking about traditional bone-in skin on eight-piece.
Why it works: Hydrophobic starches like corn, potato, or rice starch tend to be crunchier when fried, but do not brown like ap flour. This works to this recipes advantage as larger pieces of fried chicken This recipe uses both AP and Potato flour to
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Ingredients:
Chicken Breading
8 cups water
3/4 cup kosher salt
3 tablespoons sorghum syrup, preferably Muddy Pond
One 3- to 3 1/2-pound chicken
Instructions:
To brine the chicken: Put the water in a pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the stove, add the salt and sorghum syrup, and stir until completely dissolved. Pour the brine into a nonreactive heatproof container large enough to hold the chicken, cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate until completely cold.
Cut the chicken into 8 pieces: 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings, and 2 breasts. Cut the skin away from the backbone, transfer the skin to a container, cover, and refrigerate. Rinse the chicken pieces with cold water, then place in the chilled brine, cover, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or overnight.
While the chicken is in the brine, make the breading:
Place the bay leaves, sage, ginger, coriander, summer savory, paprika, nutmeg, cayenne, cardamom, and cloves in a blender and blend to a fine powder. Combine the blended spice powder, flour, salt, black pepper, and white pepper in a bowl and stir to combine well. Cover and set aside at room temperature.
After the chicken has brined, make an ice bath with equal parts ice and water in a large bowl. Place the chicken in the ice bath for 5 minutes. (The ice will help pull out impurities.) Remove the chicken, lightly rinse it under cold water, and pat it dry. Pour half the breading into a large container, add the chicken, and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to overnight. Cover the remaining breading and set aside.
The next day, fry the chicken: Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. Fill a deep fryer with canola oil according to the manufacturer’s directions and heat the oil to 325°F. Alternatively, fill a deep heavy pot half full with canola oil and heat the oil over medium heat to 325°F.
Combine the reserved chicken skins, the lard, bacon fat, and country ham scraps in a small saucepan and let the fats infuse over low heat while you fry the chicken. Put the remaining breading in a large bowl.
Remove the chicken from the chilled breading and toss it lightly in the fresh breading. Working in batches to avoid crowding, fry the breasts for 6 minutes, then turn them over and fry until deep brown and crispy, about 6 minutes more. Transfer the breasts to the prepared baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Return the oil to 325°F and fry the thighs for 2 minutes. Add the drumsticks and wings and fry for another minute, turning the pieces over halfway through.
Strain the infused fats through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl and stir in the butter until melted.
To serve: Put the fried chicken in a large bowl, drizzle with the infused fats, and toss to coat.
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