Fried chicken at home is one of the easiest and most satisfying dishes and my last venture occurred  late December when I shared Art Smith’s (of Oprah fame) fried chicken recipe. At the time of posting that recipe it was the best fried chicken recipe I had ever tried at home – until this one. The new “go-to recipe” for fried chicken is Tyler Florence’s.

It seems that many blogs with a bent towards SEO optimization have relied on “catch words” to drive traffic to their recipes with “best ever” or “greatest” recipe proclamations. This fried chicken recipe comes from Tyler’s Ultimate TV series and like most of the dishes he presented – they were slightly over the top, comforting dishes that definitely were worthy of “ultimate” status.

I present to you Tyler’s fried chicken recipe, similar to Art Smith’s but different and in my opinion, better: both recipes brine the chicken pieces, both use a similar seasoning for the flour, both use buttermilk and both fry the chicken in shallow oil for about 7 minutes a side. Paula (Dragon’s Kitchen) and I once again fried chicken together and we agreed that: where the two recipes differ is subtle yet very important with the two resulting fried chicken: Art Smith also has the chicken soaking in buttermilk then the chicken is dredged in seasoned flour followed by another dredging of flour before hitting the hot oil for frying.

The result garners crisp, flavourful fried chicken but it’s a little thick for my tastes. Now take the Tyler Florence recipe: after he brines the chicken they get dredged in seasoned flour, dunked in butter milk once and then there’s a second dredging of seasoned flour – less buttermilk and less flour  clinging to the chicken. The coating on the chicken leaves a thinner crust without sacrificing crunch, flavour or juicyness.

The fried chicken still gets fried for 7 minutes/side, the coating holds up well to the time in the hot oil and you’ll get a lovely golden, crispy skin. Manna from the southern US! Where Tyler’s recipe is a little off is in placing the fresh herbs in the oil while frying the chicken. The result was blackened herbs that did little to flavour the oil and definitely not for use as a garnish. I recommend frying bunches of herbs after the chicken and placing on top as crisp garnish.

If you want to add your own touch to the dish, choose your favourite herbs & spices in the flour mix: could be lemon-pepper, oregano, sage, Old Bay, paprika or Szechuan peppercorns, pinch of curry blend or cumin. Your choice of hot sauces abound but my fave is Sriracha. This Ultimate Fried Chicken was accompanied by some corn bread from another Food Network star, Ina Garten. It is my favourite cornbread recipe with its balance of sweet and savory.

Ultimate Fried Chicken by Tyler Florence

(serves 4)

1 whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces

Brine

cold water

1/4 cup salt

Seasoned flour

3 cups all-purpose flour

2-3 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. garlic powder

2 Tbsp. onion powder

2 Tbsp. sweet paprika

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried sage

 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

approx. 2 cups buttermilk

2-3 Tbsp. Sriracha (or your favourite hot sauce)

oil for frying

handful of fresh thyme, fresh sage and rosemary

1. Place your chicken pieces in a bowl and enough enough water to cover by 1/2 inch. Remove chicken pieces and add salt and stir until dissolved. Now add back the chicken, coveer and place in your fridge overnight.
2. The next day, drain your chicken and pat-dry. In a large bowl add the flour and seasonings and stir with a fork. In another bowl add the buttermilk and Sriracha and stir until blended.
3. Dredge your chicken in the flour then dip in the buttermilk and dip once again in the flour then reserve while you heat your oil. Add about 1 1/2 inches of oil in a deep skillet or cast iron pan and bring up to a temperature of 350F.
4. Gently place about 3-4 pieces of chicken into the hot oil and fry for about 7 minutes per side then reserve on a cooling rack (important to do this so that the coating doesn’t soften). Fry the remaining pieces of chicken in batches and finally fry-off your fresh herbs until just crisp and serve alongside/on top of your fried chicken with some lemon wedges.
5. Ina Garten’s cornbread is a perfect accompaniment to this southern fried delight.

Next up: may try Thomas Keller’s fried chicken recipe from his Ad Hoc book.

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© 2012, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

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My approach to cooking to seek genuine recipes that come from folks who know about a particular cuisine and in this instance I’m the wisdom of Art Smith, one-time chef to Oprah Winfrey. At Table 52, Art Smith’s restaurant in Chicago, he serves his fried chicken only on Sunday’s for his Southern Brunch.

Art Smith’s Fried Chicken is first placed in a brine solution over night then place in a buttermilk/Tabasco  for a day then, it’s dredged in flour and buttermilk twice, giving you lots of that delicious crispy skin and juicy, succulent chicken meat underneath. This isn’t health food but it’s delicious and everyone should make and offer it on occasion for family or friends.

Brining is a method of making meat (often poultry or pork) moister by soaking it in a basic solution of water and salt (sugar and other flavourings may be added) then the meat is cooked. I was first introduced to brining when I heard about how this method will guarantee my roast turkey will turn out moist & juicy each and every time. Chicken is moister than turkey so you know how the results are going to be here!

The second step in Art Smith’s Fried Chicken is to allow the brined chicken to then soak in buttermilk that’s been spiked with some Tabasco sauce. I used my favoured hot sauce, Sriracha and I got the heat I wanted plus more flavour. The enzymes in buttermilk tenderize meat and don’t think that the buttermilk is going to get dumped – no, NO! You see, during the third step in making the best fried chicken ever is to remove the chicken pieces from the buttermilk then dredge it in an Old Bay seasoned flour then dunk the chicken once more in the reserved buttermilk and finally dredge one more time in the flour.

My previous attempts at homemade fried chicken failed because they were dredged in flour just once and what I ended up getting was either a fried chicken with a coating that looked unappetizing and burnt or just golden but the chicken meat inside was not fully cooked. I’m convinced the double coating of buttermilk and seasoned flour protects allow the coating and chicken meat to endure the 12 minutes cooking time in the fry pan.

The flour here is seasoned with Old Bay seasoning, a mixture that’s often used for seafood boils in the South and now very popular throughout Canada and the US. Old Bay is named after Chesapeake Bay where this seasoning mix was born. Many fish mongers now sell it, many grocery stores and high-end food shops will also sell it. There’s always mail-order and you could always mix your own batch of Old Bay seasoning. Everyone should add Old Bay into their pantry and everyone should make Art Smith’s Fried Chicken.

On the day I first sunk my teeth into this dish from the heavens, I collaborated with Paula of Dragon’s Kitchen to make a southern-style dinner. We settled on the fried chicken, some macaroni & cheese, cheddar & chive biscuits and collard greens with smoked turkey or ham hocks. Collards are a loose large leafed plant with long stalks that belong to the broccoli and cabbage family. The collard greens were a dish I thought of including after having this delicious side dish while having lunch in Harlem, New York at Sylvia’s, Queen of Soul Food.

Collard greens are not difficult to prepare but they do require some time: cut the stalks off (I discarded them) then soak and rinse them free of any dirt/grit then add them into a large pot with some diced onions, garlic, stock (or bouillon cubes with hot water) plus a leg or thigh or smoked turkey or a smoked ham hock. The collards are then simmered until tender, taking on the flavours of the melting onions, garlic and smoked meat. A fantastic side dish that/s perfect for fried chicken.

The other key to perfect fried chicken is to shallow-fry them. I used a heavy-bottom Dutch oven to fry them and when one says shallow-fry, you’re talking about frying in about 1-inch of oil. The chicken is fried in batches and for about 6 minutes /side. You’ll see the flour coating turn a lovely golden-brown and after making this fried chicken a few times, I can say with confidence that the chicken is also cooked through! Don’t you feel like fried chicken tonight?

Art Smith’s Fried Chicken

(serves 4)

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces (thighs, legs, wings, backs), trimmed of any excess skin

1/2 cup salt

enough water to cover chicken by 1 inch

enough buttermilk to just cover chicken (approx. 4 cups)

2 tablespoons Tobasco (I used Sriracha sauce)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil, for frying

1. In a pot, dissolve 1/2 cup of the salt in the water. Submerge the chicken in the brine; refrigerate overnight.
2. Drain and rinse the chicken. Rinse out the pot. Add the buttermilk and hot sauce (to taste), submerge the chicken in the buttermilk and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
3. In a shallow bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, Old Bay, cayenne, black pepper and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. Run your fingers down each piece of chicken to remove excess buttermilk then dredge in the flour. Dip the chicken back into the buttermilk and coat again in the flour.
4. Meanwhile, in a large cast-iron skillet, heat 1 inch of vegetable oil to 350-365°. Fry the chicken in batches until golden and cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in a pre-heated 250F oven until ready to serve.

Collard Greens

(for 4)

1 bunch of collard greens

2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil

1 large onion, peeled & sliced

2-3 cloves of garlic, smashed

1 smoked turkey leg or ham hock

chicken stock (or 1/2 tsp. of chicken bouillon (cube) + hot water)

1. Lop-off the stalks from the collard greens and discard then place the leafy greens in a your sink and fill with water. Allow to soak for a few minutes then drain. Repeat until sand/grit is removed.
2. Now add the olive oil/butter into a large pot and add the onions, garlic, smoked meat sweat for 6-7 minutes. Slice/chop your collards and add into the pot and cover. The steam will render the water in the collards and after about 5 minutes, stir and cover and steam for another 5 minutes. Now add enough stock (or water plus seasoning) to just cover the collard greens and simmer on medium heat with the lid ajar for about 30-40 minutes or until fork tender. Remove the smoked meat and cut up and stir-in. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and serve as a side with your fried chicken along with some macaroni & cheese and biscuits.

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© 2011, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

The post Art Smith’s Fried Chicken appeared first on Kalofagas - Greek Food & Beyond.