Fried chicken is one of the few fried foods that tastes just as good served at room temperature as it does when it's served hot enough to burn your fingers. This recipe has been specially engineered to be made in advance. It’s seasoned assertively, so the flavors won’t dull as it cools. But the real key is double-dipping the chicken in the flour mixture before you fry it, making for an extra-crunchy crust that holds up all afternoon.

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INGREDIENTS

FOR THE MARINADE:

1 quart buttermilk

2 torn bay leaves

2 thinly sliced shallots

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons cracked black pepper

1 tablespoon honey

12 drumsticks, about 2½ to 3 pounds chicken

FOR THE COATING:

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cayenne

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon good chile power such as chipotle powder

 Corn, grapeseed or vegetable oil, for frying

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PREPARATION

Step 1

Make the marinade: Whisk together all the marinade ingredients, except the chicken, and place in a large bowl or plastic bag. Submerge the chicken in the marinade, cover bowl or seal bag, and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or, better, overnight.

Step 2

Make the coating: In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cayenne, salt and chile powder. Place a paper bag inside another paper bag (to prevent seepage, use large bags or several small ones) and transfer the flour mixture into it. This is so you can shake the chicken pieces. (You can also just mix flour in a bowl and dredge the chicken parts in it, or use a heavy-duty plastic zipper bag for shaking.)

Step 3

Take a piece of chicken out of the marinade and place it in the bag with the flour mixture. Close the bag and shake it so the chicken is fully coated. (Or, if you are using a bowl, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture.) Remove and place on a plate or sheet pan. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces, one by one. Let chicken rest for 30 minutes so it can come to room temperature. Reserve the coating mixture.

Step 4

In a large Dutch oven or heavy skillet with a lid, heat the oil until it reaches 350 degrees. Just before frying, shake the chicken pieces in the coating mixture once again, one by one.

Step 5

Fry the chicken for 6 minutes, covered, then uncover the pot and flip the chicken with tongs. Continue frying for about another 6 minutes, or until the coating is dark golden brown and the juices run clear when the meat is pricked with a fork.

Step 6

Place chicken on a wire rack set over a paper-towel-lined baking sheet to drain and cool. Serve within 8 hours, but it's best to serve within 4 hours and leave the chicken at room temperature, rather than chilling it.

Source

John Currence, of City Grocery in Oxford, Miss., spent a long time in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit, and was justly celebrated for his hard work there helping to rebuild a cathedral of Southern fried chicken, Willie Mae’s Scotch House. In his 2013 cookbook, “Pickles, Pigs and Whiskey,” Currence paid tribute to the wet batter used on Willie Mae’s legendary dish. But for the purpose of weekend chicken warriors we have omitted it in our adaptation of his homage,

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INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BRINE:

5 cups Coca-Cola

1 tablespoon kosher salt

10 sprigs fresh thyme

4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

4 teaspoons mild hot sauce like Crystal, Texas Pete or Cholula

8 to 12 chicken thighs, preferably free-range, organic

FOR THE SEASONED FLOUR:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

1 ½ teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

FOR THE FRYING:

3 cups peanut oil

1 cup lard, optional, or replace with peanut oil

FOR SERVING:

 Hot sauce

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PREPARATION

Step 1

Make the brine: Combine cola, salt, thyme, garlic and hot sauce in a large metal bowl and stir until the salt has dissolved. Add the chicken thighs, cover and refrigerate 3 to 5 hours.

Step 2

Make the seasoned flour: In a wide, shallow bowl or pan, combine the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne.

Step 3

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put the peanut oil in a large heavy-bottom pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until it reaches 375 degrees on a candy thermometer. While the oil heats, remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry. Dredge the thighs in the flour and shake to remove excess.

Step 4

Working in batches of 2 or 3 at a time, carefully lower thighs into the hot oil. The oil temperature will plummet when the cold chicken goes into the pan; turn up the heat and carefully monitor the temperature. Cook for a little more than 3 minutes on one side, a little more than 3 minutes on the other, and then a final 3 minutes on the first side. Remove to a wire rack or paper towel to drain.

Step 5

The juices should run clear when the chicken is poked with a knife. If necessary, transfer the browned chicken to a baking sheet and bake until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees on a instant-read thermometer. Serve hot or at room temperature with hot sauce.

Source

“Grinding” may sound ominous, conjuring visions of a big old hand-cranked piece of steel clamped to the kitchen counter, but in fact it’s not that difficult. As the grinder was an innovation in its day, the food processor has taken over.

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INGREDIENTS

1 ½ to 2 pounds not-too-lean sirloin, in chunks

½ white onion, peeled and in chunks, optional

 Salt and pepper to taste

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PREPARATION

Step 1

Start a charcoal or wood fire or preheat a gas grill. Or, on stove top, heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat for 3 or 4 minutes.

Step 2

Put meat and onion in a food processor, in batches if necessary, and pulse until coarsely ground: finer than chopped, but not much. Put it in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Taste, then add more seasoning if necessary. (If desired, cook a teaspoon of meat in a pan before tasting.) Handling meat as little as possible to avoid compressing it, shape it lightly into 4 or more burgers.

Step 3

Fire is hot enough when you can barely stand to hold your hand 3 or 4 inches over rack for a few seconds. Grill burgers about 3 minutes a side for very rare, and another minute a side for each increasing stage of doneness, but no more than 10 minutes total unless you like hockey pucks. (Timing on stove top is the same.)

Step 4

Serve on buns, toast or hard rolls, garnished as you like.

Source

In this recipe, Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock call for an overnight brine for the chicken and a further buttermilk bath that should last for 8 to 12 hours. That’s a lot of unattended prep time before you get around to frying them in a slurry of lard and butter flavored with country ham.

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INGREDIENTS

1 3-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
¼ cup kosher salt
4 cups buttermilk
1 pound lard
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup country ham pieces or 1 thick slice country ham cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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PREPARATION

Step 1

The night before serving: Place chicken in a large bowl and set aside. In a large pitcher, combine kosher salt with 6 cups of water and stir until the salt has dissolved. Pour salted water over chicken pieces until they are submerged. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Step 2

In the morning, drain chicken pieces and rinse chicken and bowl. Return chicken to bowl and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.

Step 3

About 1¼ hours before serving, combine the lard, butter and ham in a large heavy skillet. Cook over low heat, skimming as needed, until ham is lightly browned, 30 to 45 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove ham and brown bits from fat. Increase heat to medium high to heat the fat to 335 degrees.

Step 4

In a shallow bowl combine flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper; mix well. Dredge chicken pieces thoroughly in flour mixture, then pat well to remove excess flour. Working in batches (do not crowd pan), place chicken pieces skin side down in fat. Cook 8 to 10 minutes on each side, until chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Drain on crumpled paper towels. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold.


Source

Chocolate chunks help give these nutty treats their rustic and irregular shape. You can find them in the baking aisle of the supermarket or chop up a bar of chocolate yourself

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ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
• ----------------------------------------------------------------
• directions

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt togethe

In another medium bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter together with an electric mixer. Add the sugars, and mix again until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix again until well blended. Add the flour mixture, and mix on low speed until combined. Stir in the chocolate chunks. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop to drop the dough onto the prepared sheets, about 2 inches apart. Gently press the dough with your hands. Bake in the oven until the edges of the cookies look lightly browned, 12-14 minutes

.Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack

.Repeat with any remaining dough