For my first adventure, I chose the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. Invited our book club friends for last Friday night. Good thing I read the whole recipe a few days ahead of time. I sort of knew that I had to brine the chicken. Did not know that I had to brine it for 12 hours or that the brine is not just salt & water, but a whole recipe of its own. H-m-m-m. A little more complicated than I thought, but ok. I agreed to follow all instructions exactly when I signed on for this project. Just added another day to my timetable.
Day 1: Put my brine with lemons, garlic, fresh herbs, & kosher salt on to boil. Smelled heavenly. Tom, I think it's ok if I call him Tom, says "whenever possible, buy the chickens whole & cut them up yourself." The instructions are pretty clear & are illustrated, so in spite of my ugly previous experience with cutting up chickens, I decided to do it. When I was through, my kitchen still looked like a CSI episode, but in only about an hour as opposed to an entire afternoon like last time; & some of the pieces were identifiable. Progress of a sort. Had to let the brine cool & then chill it. Just before bed at 11:00 pm, we got the chickens all settled in the brine in the refrigerator for a 12 hour nap.
Day 2: Rinsed, dried, & refrigerated the chicken at the 12 hour mark. Tom said not to go more than 12 hours or the chicken would be too salty. I was rushing like a lunatic to get the chicken out at exactly 12 hours. It's chicken, not Cinderella. In my mind, 12 hours & one minute would turn the chicken into a salt lick. I need to relax. I was mixing the seasonings & flour & setting up the "dipping station" when our friend Richard arrived early. Word to the wise: don't arrive early for a party at my house, because you will be put to work. I immediately dubbed him sous chef & assigned him to dredging station #2. I had dredging station #1 & the buttermilk dipping station. The frying took longer than I expected, & we had some trouble keeping the oil at the right temperature.
We finally managed to get all 8 of us & the food together in the same location & had a great dinner. I made potatoes au gratin & biscuits & peas. Paula made roasted vegetables. Deb & Addie brought some nice wine. For dessert we had Millie's lemon drops, Paula's cookies, & my mini cheesecakes. Everything was delicious. The chicken coating was crispy & spicy. The meat itself was infused with the herbs & lemons of the brine.
I'll definitely make this chicken again. Things I'd change: Tom does say "whenever possible" regarding cutting up the chickens. I will move that step into the Not Possible column & buy the chickens cut up. I might invest in a deep fryer. Keeping the oil temperature consistent was a major issue on my flat top electric stove. Things I wouldn't: On Sunday we went for a drive. We ended up in a Williams-Sonoma store. There by a deep fryer (the $400 one) was a display of Ad Hoc Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tenders kits. It's a fabric bag with everything you need to make the buttermilk coating. Easier, maybe. Then I thought about the heavenly smell of the brine...the lemons, the fresh herbs, the garlic. Mixing the spices with the flour. The cold, fresh buttermilk. Examined the bag. Nope, none of that is in there. In some other form maybe, but not the real thing. So, no, thanks. I didn't see the time, the effort, the music, or the love on the label, either.
Day 1: Put my brine with lemons, garlic, fresh herbs, & kosher salt on to boil. Smelled heavenly. Tom, I think it's ok if I call him Tom, says "whenever possible, buy the chickens whole & cut them up yourself." The instructions are pretty clear & are illustrated, so in spite of my ugly previous experience with cutting up chickens, I decided to do it. When I was through, my kitchen still looked like a CSI episode, but in only about an hour as opposed to an entire afternoon like last time; & some of the pieces were identifiable. Progress of a sort. Had to let the brine cool & then chill it. Just before bed at 11:00 pm, we got the chickens all settled in the brine in the refrigerator for a 12 hour nap.
Day 2: Rinsed, dried, & refrigerated the chicken at the 12 hour mark. Tom said not to go more than 12 hours or the chicken would be too salty. I was rushing like a lunatic to get the chicken out at exactly 12 hours. It's chicken, not Cinderella. In my mind, 12 hours & one minute would turn the chicken into a salt lick. I need to relax. I was mixing the seasonings & flour & setting up the "dipping station" when our friend Richard arrived early. Word to the wise: don't arrive early for a party at my house, because you will be put to work. I immediately dubbed him sous chef & assigned him to dredging station #2. I had dredging station #1 & the buttermilk dipping station. The frying took longer than I expected, & we had some trouble keeping the oil at the right temperature.
We finally managed to get all 8 of us & the food together in the same location & had a great dinner. I made potatoes au gratin & biscuits & peas. Paula made roasted vegetables. Deb & Addie brought some nice wine. For dessert we had Millie's lemon drops, Paula's cookies, & my mini cheesecakes. Everything was delicious. The chicken coating was crispy & spicy. The meat itself was infused with the herbs & lemons of the brine.
I'll definitely make this chicken again. Things I'd change: Tom does say "whenever possible" regarding cutting up the chickens. I will move that step into the Not Possible column & buy the chickens cut up. I might invest in a deep fryer. Keeping the oil temperature consistent was a major issue on my flat top electric stove. Things I wouldn't: On Sunday we went for a drive. We ended up in a Williams-Sonoma store. There by a deep fryer (the $400 one) was a display of Ad Hoc Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tenders kits. It's a fabric bag with everything you need to make the buttermilk coating. Easier, maybe. Then I thought about the heavenly smell of the brine...the lemons, the fresh herbs, the garlic. Mixing the spices with the flour. The cold, fresh buttermilk. Examined the bag. Nope, none of that is in there. In some other form maybe, but not the real thing. So, no, thanks. I didn't see the time, the effort, the music, or the love on the label, either.
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