best fried chicken in the universe

The September 2008 Bon Appetit is shaping up to be the best cookbook I've ever purchased - what is this, my 6th recipe from that issue, and counting? They featured Thomas Keller's recipe for fried chicken, and the pictures of all these kids eating drumsticks had me thinking, I've got to try this. So I cross-referenced with my trusted resource, New Best Recipes, but for the most part followed Keller's recipe (scaled down to about 1/3 of the original - which called for 3 chickens!). Just like the rosemary garlic roast chicken I've blogged before, brining is the key. This is by far the BEST FRIED CHICKEN I have ever tasted.

Grocery list: (for the brine) 1/3 cup kosher salt, 3 T honey, 6 bay leaves, 10 unpeeled garlic cloves, 1 T whole peppercorns, 2 rosemary sprigs, 3 thyme sprigs, 3 parsley sprigs, zest & juice of 2 lemons, 1 3-pound chicken (or 3 pounds of chicken parts like thighs and drumsticks); (for frying) 2 cups AP flour, 2 T garlic powder, 2 T onion powder, 1.5 tsp paprika, 1.5 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp ground pepper, 1.5 T kosher salt, 2 c buttermilk, 4 cups peanut oil.



You have to start this recipe either the night before or early the morning of - in the 12-24 hours before dinner window. Put all the brining ingredients in a large bowl with 8 cups very hot tap water, and stir to dissolve the salt. Chill until the brine is cool or room temperature.



Rinse the chicken parts and submerge them in the brine. Cover with saran wrap and chill for at least 12 hours, and no more than 24 hours. About 2-3 hours before you start cooking dinner, drain the chicken and pat the pieces dry, removing any bits of herbs that stick to the skin.



Next, set up your assembly line. You'll need 1-2 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Mix all the dry ingredients for the coating in a bowl (flour + spices), and put the buttermilk in a bowl next to it.



Dip a piece of chicken in the flour mixture first, then in the buttermilk, then back in the flour mixture again. You want a pretty thick coat - don't shake off the excess - because some will fall off anyway during the drying process. Place the coated chicken pieces on the lined baking sheets and let stand to dry. The Keller recipe says they can dry at room temperature for 1-2 hours, but the New Best Recipe says to refrigerate them for a couple hours (your own comfort level with room temperature poultry is the determining factor I guess).



In a heavy skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat until it registers 320-330 degrees. The oil should be at least 1.5 inches deep. Add 4-6 pieces of chicken at a time, carefully lowering each piece into the hot oil with a slotted or wooden spoon. It's also safe to keep a splatter screen in the other hand, shielding you from the pan just in case. Fry for 7 minutes, then carefully turn each piece over and cook for another 6-7 minutes.



Transfer the chicken pieces to paper towels to drain, and sprinkle with more kosher salt. The New Best Recipe gives a helpful tip for placing the first batches of chicken in a warm oven on a cookie drying rack over a baking pan, so they stay warm and crispy (instead of on paper towels, where the crust can get soggy and stick to the paper towels).

beer battered fried shrimp

I never knew fried shrimp could be so easy... How have I not been making this for so many years? A actually didn't stop talking about these shrimp for 2 days - literally, each batch was gone after 5 minutes, and none ever made it to our plates. Next time I'll double (or triple) the shrimp.

Grocery list: bottle of beer, 2 cups flour, 1 pound shrimp (tails optional, but cleaned and deveined).



To make the beer batter, mix 1 bottle of beer with 2 cups flour and a generous pinch of kosher salt. Stir well till the consistency is like heavy cream. Heat vegetable oil a couple of inches thick in a large skillet till it shimmers. While the oil is heating, you can butterfly the shrimp so there's more surface area to catch the batter and get crispy (this is a Chef Sev secret techinque). Working with a handful at a time, coat the shrimp in batter then carefully transfer to the hot oil, and fry for 2-3 minutes per side.



When the shrimp are as crispy as you like, transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Season with a little more sea salt. I mixed up some tartar sauce as well (just 1/2 cup mayo and a few T of pickle relish, and the juice of half a lemon), but the shrimp would be fine with just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Enjoy while they're hot!

memorial day cookout: my favorite borrowed recipes

I'll take any excuse to grill burgers, and memorial day is no exception. I found several recipes from my favorite new food blogs, and decided to spice up my cookout routine - I'm so glad I did. The blue cheese and bacon potato salad is from the latest issue of Martha (which I accidentally receive at my house, since its former occupant was a subscriber). The burger recipe, which is unique more for the preparation method instead of the ingredients, comes from The Kitchn, an Apartment Therapy blog. And these onion rings, these most crispy-perfect-with-a-kick onion rings, are from Last Night's Dinner, quite possibly the world's prettiest food blog.

Grocery list: (for the burgers) 1/2 vidalia onion, 2 pounds ground beef, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper, a little leftover bacon grease, bacon, buns, any toppings you like; (for the potato salad) 1.5 pounds small red potatoes, 4 slices cooked bacon, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, 2 ounces blue cheese crumbles, chives, 1/2 cup buttermilk, olive oil; (for the onion rings) 1 large red onion, sriricha hot sauce (or other hot sauce), vegetable oil, salt, A/P flour.



Here's the original recipe from The Kitchn, which I followed almost exactly (other than substituting ground sirloin for ground chuck). I recommend spreading waxed paper and/or plastic wrap on the counter first, then shape the 2 pounds of beef into a long "snake". Form a deep trench in the middle, scattering the finely chopped onion into the well. Add about 10 dashes of worcestershire and soy sauces, a sprinkle of salt and garlic powder, and a generous amount of cracked pepper. If you have any leftover bacon grease (I don't serve burgers without bacon if I can help it), drizzle 1-2 T of this down the middle as well. Pinch off sections of the snake to form patties, and grill over medium heat till the burgers are as done as you like.



For the blue cheese potato salad, start with the dressing. Mix together 1/2 cup buttermilk with 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese (use a fork to break up the cheese thoroughly), then mix in 1 tsp dijon mustard, 1 T red wine vinegar, and 1-2 T olive oil. Slice the potatoes into halves or quarters (bite size pieces), then boil in salted water for about 12 minutes, until you can pierce easily with a fork. Drain and allow to cool. Toss the potatoes with the dressing, and refrigerate to cool Just before serving, stir in a handful of finely chopped chives to the dressing, and 4 slices of crumbled bacon. Season with salt and pepper.



Now comes my favorite part, those onion rings... The photos from the original recipe on Last Night's Dinner are much better, but I'll include mine so you can see how easy it is to replicate her masterpiece. Start by thinly slicing a red onion and separating into rings; place in a large bowl. Season with sea salt, and generously coat with sriricha hot sauce (side note - my little brother and I spent some time in Cambodia last year, and I swear this is the exact hot sauce that was served with every meal I had there). Toss to coat, and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes for the onions to release their juices.



Next, shake about 1/2 cup of AP flour into a large ziploc bag. Grab a handful of the onion rings, and squeeze out any excess water and hot sauce. Transfer to the bag, zip closed, and shake to coat. Heat about an inch deep vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet, until it shimmers (medium-high heat). Gently add a few onion rings at a time to the pan, and cook until golden and crispy.



Use a spider to carefully remove the rings to a paper-towel lined plate; season with a little more sea salt. As LND says on her blog, these are best served hot and fresh - this is so true (I couldn't help but eat approximately 1/3 of the batch before ever getting them to the table).