Rosemary-Brined Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Source of Recipe
From "Food52: Genius Recipes" by Kristen Miglore
Recipe Introduction
"If you love fried chicken but would sooner wait for a road trip to Mississippi than get frying yourself, what you need is a recipe that won't fail you, comes together swiftly, and is more than worth what little trouble it asks of you. Here, you'll brine the chicken, which is extra insurance for keeping the meat flavorful and moist, and it will take you 15 minutes to go from chicken in grocery bag to chicken brining in the fridge. How? Namely, how do four cloves of garlic and a whole sliced onion go into a pot over medium-high heat with 1 teaspoon of oil and quickly sweat into a soft puddle, without browning (or burning)? The answer: a lot of salt. It instantly goes to work on the onions, drawing out their moisture, which pools in the bottom of the pot and helps it all quickly cook down in its own juices. Then you toss in rosemary branches and finish it off with water and lemon. Boil, ice bath, throw your chicken in it. The next day (or even just a few hours later), you'll pull your chicken out of the brine, which will smell confusingly delicious, and you'll start dredging and frying. The seasoned flour and buttermilk crust is one of those shaggy, crunchy affairs that you'd normally want to steal off other people's drumsticks and leave them the meat lingering on the bone. But remember that brine: As intoxicating as it smelled before cooking, it will smelland tasteeven more richly of rosemary and lemon, the salt having drawn it into the flesh. The meat is so juicy, the crust is so proudly crusty, you can fry it ahead and leave it in the oven until company arrives. (Have you ever tried to deep-fry chicken while guests are standing around drinking? They ask an awful lot of questions.) Best keep them away till the big reveal."
List of Ingredients
Brine:
◦ 1 small onion, thinly sliced
◦ 4 cloves garlic, smashed with the flat side of a knife
◦ 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
◦ 3 tablespoons kosher salt
◦ 5 to 6 branches rosemary, each 4 to 5 inches long
◦ 4 cups water
◦ 1 lemon, halved
◦ 8 chicken legs, drumsticks and thighs separated
◦ 8 chicken wings, wing tips removed
◦ 3 cups all-purpose flour
◦ 3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
◦ 3 tablespoons sweet paprika
◦ 2 tablespoons fine sea salt
◦ 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
◦ 2 tablespoons baking powder
◦ 2 cups buttermilk
◦ Neutral, high-heat oil for deep-frying (such as canola)
◦ Rosemary sprigs (to deep fry) and lemon zest, for garnish
Recipe
To make the brine, in a saucepan over medium-high heat, saut the onion and garlic in the oil until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the kosher salt after the onion and garlic have cooked for 30 seconds or so. Add the rosemary and cook to heat it, 30 seconds or so. Add the water and lemon, squeezing the juice into the water and removing any seeds. Bring the water to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and allow the brine to cool. Refrigerate until chilled. To speed this process up, chill over an ice bath, stirring.
Place all the chicken pieces in a large, sturdy plastic bag. Set the bag in a large bowl for support. Pour the cooled brine and aromatics into the bag. Seal the bag so that you remove as much air as possible and the chicken is submerged in the brine. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, and up to 24 hours, agitating the bag occasionally to redistribute the brine and the chicken.
Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse under cold water, pat dry, and set on a rack or on paper towels. The chicken can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before you cook it, or it can be cooked immediately. Ideally, it should be refrigerated, uncovered, for a day to dry out the skin, but Ruhlman says he usually can't wait to start cooking.
Combine the flour, black pepper, paprika, sea salt, cayenne, and baking powder in a bowl. Whisk to distribute the ingredients. Divide this mixture between two bowls. Pour the buttermilk into a third bowl. Set a rack on a baking sheet. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour, shake off the excess, and set the dusted pieces on the rack. Dip the pieces in the buttermilk, then dredge them aggressively in the second bowl of seasoned flour and return them to the rack.
Heat the oil in a large, high-sided pot (Ruhlman recommends filling it no more than one-third full with oil) for deep-frying to 350 F. Add as many chicken pieces as you can without crowding the pan. Cook the chicken, turning the pieces occasionally, until they are golden brown and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes depending on their size. Remove to a clean rack and allow them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Fry the rosemary sprigs. When ready to serve, garnish with lemon zest and fried rosemary sprigs.
Serves 6 to 8
❧ Genius Tip:
Happily, this is a great make-ahead dish; the chicken will keep well for a couple of hours. Fry it early, then keep it on a rack in a 250 F oven until you need it. If you have a convection oven, use that feature to keep the crust crisp.
"This is the best fried chicken, ever. There, I said it. If it's not, then I want to try yours." Mark Ruhlman
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