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Sweet and Tangy Fried Chicken

Source of Recipe

From "Fried Chicken" by Jessica Lang


Recipe Introduction

"Every now and then I land on a dish with a seemingly magical combination of spice, sugar, and zing�a dish where every bite ignites a spark of pure eating pleasure. I maintain that this is one of those dishes. When I want to bring a tangy, sour note to the flavor party, I like to serve the chicken with spicy pickled okra or pickled cherry peppers on the side. Look for sorghum flour in specialty grocery stores or gluten-free sections of larger markets."

List of Ingredients

◦ 4 cups apple juice
◦ ⅓ cup kosher salt
◦ 2 red chile peppers, sliced
◦ 1 white onion, sliced
◦ 2 cups ice
◦ 1 chicken (about 2 pounds, 12 ounces), cut into 10 pieces
◦ Lard, for frying
◦ 2 cups Southern self-rising flour, homemade or store-bought (such as White Lily brand)
◦ ⅔ cup sorghum flour
◦ 1 � teaspoons ground chipotle chile powder
◦ 1 teaspoon salt
◦ � teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
◦ 1 cup milk
◦ 1 egg


Recipe

To make the brine, in a small saucepan, combine the apple juice and kosher salt, bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the salt is completely dissolved. Add the chile peppers and onion. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the ice. Let the brine sit until cooled and the ice has melted, about 10 minutes.

Combine the brine and the chicken in a large bowl, submerging the meat. Cover and chill for 12 hours.

Remove the chicken from the brine and place on a paper towel-lined plate, discarding the brine. In a deep fryer or large, deep stockpot, heat the lard over medium-high heat to 365� F. It should be 3 inches deep when melted. Set a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.

In a bowl, whisk together the self-rising flour, sorghum flour, 1 teaspoon of the chile powder, the salt, and pepper and in a second bowl, the milk, egg, and remaining � teaspoon of chile powder.

Dredge each chicken piece in the flour, dip in the milk mixture, and dredge in the flour again. Once all of the pieces are coated, carefully place them in the hot oil. Depending on the size of your fryer, you may need to fry in two batches. Fry for 13 to 15 minutes, or until dark brown and juices run clear. Maintain a frying temperature of 325� to 340� F. Drain the chicken on the wire rack.

Serves 6






❧ Southern All-Purpose Flour:

"Store the flour in an airtight container. Check the expiration dates on both the cake flour and the all-purpose flour. Use the earliest date as your expiration date on your new batch of Southern flour."

◦ 1 cup cake flour
◦ � cup national brand all-purpose flour

Stir cake flour and all-purpose flour together.

Makes 1 cup