Life’s no picnic — until you add fried chicken. Whip up a batch according to Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based chef Andrea Reusing’s recipe, which she’s shared with us from her new book, Cooking in the Moment.
Fried Chicken
Serves four
Ingredients
1 3½-4 lb. chicken, rinsed, dried, trimmed, and cut into ten pieces
2 c. buttermilk
2 tbsp. kosher salt
2 c. all-purpose flour
1¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Lard or expeller-pressed vegetable oil for frying
1. Put the chicken, buttermilk, and 1 tbsp. salt into a large bowl. Stir well and refrigerate overnight.
2. In a colander, drain chicken and let it come to room temperature.
3. In a large bowl, mix together flour, remaining salt, and pepper.
4. Fill two large cast-iron skillets (or other deep, heavy saute pans) with lard (or oil) about 1 inch deep. Heat over medium high to 325°.
5. Starting with the dark meat, lightly coat one piece of chicken at a time in flour mixture, brushing off excess flour. (Avoid pressing the flour into the chicken.) Gently lay floured chicken in oil. Don’t move it at all for the first few minutes, so it doesn’t stick.
6. Repeat with the remaining dark meat, then move on to the white, ideally cooking the two in separate pans. Once a pan is about three-quarters full, reduce heat to low and partially cover.
7. Watch chicken closely, turning the pieces with tongs as needed for even cooking and rotating the pan itself on the burner. As the first side turns deep golden brown (8-10 minutes), turn the pieces over and continue to cook until the they are evenly crispy (another 8-10 minutes). The dark meat will take a little longer than the white.
8. Transfer the chicken to a clean brown paper bag to drain. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Cooking in the Moment is available online at amazon.com, $20. For more information, go to andreareusing.com.
Photo: John Kerncik / Courtesy of Random House
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