Fried Chicken

** This blog was updated on April 2, with adjustments for quantities**

Fried chicken....mmm......most people love it. As Steve says, deep frying makes anything taste good. With all the fair fare you can get  these days  ....Deep Fried Butter,  Deep Fried Kool-Aid,  and check out this article on strange deep fried foods Odd Deep Fried Foods, he's not wrong. On our honeymoon in Italy  we ate at a restaurant (a famous one, I'll share another time :)) and we ordered deep-fried zucchini. I had never been a zucchini fan, but this made me one, and now I grill it on the barbecue all the time in the summer, and throw it in stirfries too. When was the last time you had stirfry, though, really, that's so 1990s!! (Yes, I am old).  It had to be deep-fried for me to try it again though.   And mmmm... Deep Fried Pickles (Cellarman's Ale House here in Midland makes the best garlic dip ever, to go with them), and Barb and I love them. She has a funny pic of us sharing one when we were ...slightly...into our cups on St. Paddy's Day two years ago, you know like Lady and the Tramp (lmao, ok, we joke about that too), but I'm not sharing it, lol.  Although I tried deep fried Mars Bar at a fair once, I was disappointed. It was sickly sweet.


Funnel cakes, on the other hand, bring them on. I first had them, as probably everyone from Ontario did, at Canada's Wonderland when I was a teenager, and man, how many times did I go there and spend half the day hunting for that tiny little, stuck-in-a-corner somewhere Funnel Cake Shack. Now you can get them at theme parks and fairs everywhere. I even bought a kit to make my own once. Ate too many. On our recent trip to Florida, we went back on our last morning to Epcot Centre, where Somer and I shared funnel cake with just powdered sugar, my favourite way, I don't like it getting all soggy with ice cream and strawberries, but I wouldn't turn that down either. Steve, Dylan and Aria had theirs with a giant slab of ice cream on it. Doesn't it look like a giant slab of butter?? hmmm...there's a thought.

Once in a while (maybe once a summer), my mum would take us to Kentucky Fried Chicken (or, to be all with-it and modern, KFC, as it is called now, although I don't think you can use the term with-it and be cool) which back then was not an eat-in restaurant. You went in, ordered your food and took it with you. We always went to Little Lake Park with it for a picnic, and it was always the best fried chicken ever. These days eating out is so common, it doesn't feel special anymore, (unless it's, you know, a really good restaurant), but back then it was such a treat for us. My brothers ate that fluorescent green coleslaw, (didn't it look radioactive? anyway, totally unappealing, and ugh what a weird aftertaste), and I stuck to macaroni salad. The fries were better back then, and the chicken too. We get it once in awhile, and I always regret it, because it is so greasy, and just doesn't taste the same as the old days. I get it hoping that it will, but it never does. However, I do love the gravy there, which apparently is made like gravy is supposed to be made, with the pan drippings. (I have to hope that it's not just from the deep fryer, but I am not going to think about it beyond this.) The fries now have that weird coating that is supposed to make them crispier to stand up to the globs of cheese curds and gravy for their poutine. Okay, that didn't sound appetizing, and I do like it, how about this.....golden french fries, smothered in ooey, gooey cheese, with a generous helping of rich, flavourful gravy.....in other words, a heart attack in a bowl. I don't care. I eat it about once a year, it's yummy, despite the fries. I think they have gotten a little better, but anyway. I really just mostly want to eat the skin. This wasn't supposed to be an advertisement for KFC, y'all wanna go get some now, dontcha??? Well DON'T because then you won't want to make this kick-butt recipe that I found, of all places, in a People online article. Apparently Lady Gaga ate this with waffles, which is some sort of trend with fried chicken that I just don't get, because do you need,or even want,  two superfilling foods side by side? No, you don't. (You can read the whole article here: People Magazine). 

Here is my result. I found it pretty tasty, although trying to flip bigger pieces ended up with the coating crumbling all over, the drumsticks turned out the best. Since it sat in the oven for a few minutes, definitely not a heavy greasy taste, but I cooked the chicken in sunflower oil, so it was nice and light anyway. Nice and peppery, and that little kick of hot sauce was definitely my favourite part, but it was subtle. If I make it again, I would add rosemary and sage, since the flavour was good, but a little plain. Served with my yummy mashed potatoes.

Give yourself some time to make this one though, since there are two separate marinades which both require overnight marinading. Okay, this recipe calls for one 3lb chicken, but I made about two chickens' worth, and the rest of the recipe seems to call for restaurant quantities of ingredients, so if you are making just one chicken's worth (@ ten pieces of thighs or drumsticks), use the {quantities in brackets}

Art Smith's Fried Chicken

1 3 lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces

Brine

• ¼ cup of kosher salt {2T salt}
• 6 cups of water  {3 cups water}

Mix well. Place chicken in brine and soak overnight.

Buttermilk and Hot Sauce Bath

• 4 cups of buttermilk {2 cups of buttermilk}
• ¼ cup of Louisiana Hot Sauce or any hot sauce of choice{2 T hot sauce, or more if desired}

Drain brined chicken well and place in buttermilk and hot sauce

Let marinate overnight.

Seasoning Dredge

• 6 cups of self-rising flour, White Lily {2 cups of flour}
• 4 tablespoons of garlic powder {1 1/2 T}
• 4 tablespoons of onion powder {1 1/2 T}
• 4 tablespoons of dried thyme {1 1/2 T}
• 4 tablespoons of fresh ground pepper {1 1/2 T}

• I would suggest also the same amounts of rosemary and sage, but they are not part of the original recipe. That is what I will try next time.

Mix well reserve

Egg bath

• 8 whole eggs, beaten well {2 whole eggs}
• 1 cup of ice water  {1/4 cup of water}

In cast iron skillet, pour quarter of an inch of canola oil using a thermometer. Bring up to 350 degrees and keep the temperature constant. Drain the excess buttermilk and hot sauce off the chicken and place in egg bath. Coat each piece well, then shake off excess. Dip into seasoning, dredge and then shake off excess. Place in pre-heated oil and fry dark pieces first, skin side down for 8 minutes per side until the interior temperature of the meat is 180 degrees.

Place on racks and reserve in 250 degree oven until time to serve. Fry white meat for 8 minutes per side until golden or until internal temperature reads 165 degrees

My recommendation: eat this with salad. Or eat salad for a week after. You'll probably want to anyway.