Brined Fried Chicken ala Thomas Keller

Back a several moths ago, I watched Ina Gartens' Barefoot Contessa show. There was an episode about the famous Thomas Keller and his Lemon-Brined Fried Chicken Recipe. Although I am a huge fan of Keller, I wonder if I just dont share the palate of most people about this certain fried chicken. The recipe called for a bunch of ingredients on the brine, which did not sit well with me. I followed the recipe to the core, yet it has an after-taste that wasn't so palpable. Maybe it's the ingredients that I bought, we cant all grow them in our backyard in Napa like he does. So there's the negative review, now let us move on to the more positive side of his recipe. The brine idea made the chicken unbelievably moist. The chicken recipe is the epiphany of crunchy and juicy at the same time. Therefore, with a little tweaking here and there, I found a stable, go to recipe for a simple fried chicken recipe. I provided the original Thomas Keller recipe which I do recommend everyone to try. I strongly believe its the ingredients I used, or that I must've missed something...


INGREDIENTS 

Brine : 

1       Gallon   Water ( 16 cups)

2/3    Cups    Kosher Salt
1       Tbs      Peppercorn
5       Whole  Dried Bay Leaves
1       Whole   Organic Chicken 

With 1/2 a gallon of WATER, combine all the other ingredients except the chicken in a deep pot and simmer until all the salt is completely dissolve. Add the other half of the water. Let the infused water cool. 

When the infused water cool, submerge the CHICKEN. Making sure that the chicken is fully submerge. Refrigerate over night. 

Drain, and dry the CHICKEN with a paper towel. Cut the chicken and sprinkle some SALT & PEPPER. I prefer "drying" my chicken on a wire rack after using the paper towels. 

And here is where the genius of Thomas Keller comes. The chicken coating recipe is impeccable. Although I changed the quantity of the different ingredients, it's about the same.

Coating : 

2    Cups     All-Purpose Flour
4    Tbs       Garlic Powder
4    Tbs       Onion Powder
1    Tbs       Salt and Pepper (each)
1    Tsp       Cayenne Pepper
11/2 Cups   Buttermilk

Vegetable Oil for frying


Combine all the DRY ingredients. 

Dip the CHICKEN pieces into the BUTTERMILK, then dredge in the DRY ingredients. 

Place it back to the wire rack. For easy clean-up : place the wire rack over a baking sheet to catch all the flour droppings. 

I used a deep fryer, following Kellers temperature to 330'. This could also be done in an iron skillet ( preferably ), heating 1 inch of vegetable oil. 

Fry the chicken in 2-3 batches, turning once the side is golden brown. Checking with a meat thermometer. If you dont have a meat thermometer, insert a steak knife on the thickest part of the chicken, deep enough to hit the bone. If clear liquid runs, then the chicken is done. 

To be safe and make it a little more crunchy, I place the chicken back to the wire rack with the baking sheet under and place them in the oven heated to 300-330 for 20 minutes. 

Serve the chicken while hot. Click here for some side dish ideas.

Strawberry ShortCake Recipe

I dont quite know how to name this recipe. An idea of making some strawberry shortcake struck me, and then I found how inconvenient storing strawberry shortcakes in Tupperware's.  So I just came up with something that resembles something like strawberry shortcakes. However, it does taste like your ol' funnel cake down at the carnival. 


Ingredients : 

11/2      Cup   All-Purpose Flour
2         Tsp   Baking Powder
1         Tsp   Salt
1        Cup   Sugar
1/2     Cup   Butter
2        Med   Eggs
2        Tsp    Vanilla Extract
1/2     Cup   Milk
2        Tbs    Sour Cream

Preheat the oven to 350' and line a 9x9 cake tin with parchment paper.

Cream the BUTTER and SUGAR with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.

Add the EGG one at a time, followed by the VANILLA EXTRACT. 

Combine the FLOUR, BAKING POWDER, SALT in a separate bowl. 

Transfer half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. 

Add the MILK and SOUR CREAM. Finish with the remaining flour. 

Pour all in the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Checking by inserting a toothpick in the center: if it comes out clean and dry the cake is done.



While you're waiting for your cake to bake, place 1 pint of HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM on the freezer for 30 minutes. And prepare the strawberry preserves. 

INGREDIENTS for STRAWBERRY PRESERVE

2-3 Cups Fresh Strawberries 

1 Cup Sugar

 11/2 Cup Water

1 Tbs Vanilla Extract

1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice

Cut the STRAWBERRIES in quarters .

Place all the ingredients in a deep non-stick pan.

Set the fire to medium to medium high until boiling. 

Turn the fire to low, until barely simmering. Keep stirring and remove the foaming with a  strainer.

The key to making the strawberry preserve is to keep stirring and removing the foaming. Keep at it until  thick enough. A good indication  is the back of the spoon test. : Dip a spoon and if the syrup  stick to the back of the spoon  without being too runny  then youre all set.

Let cool to room temperature before spreading it on the cake. 

Once all the prepared ingredients are fully cooled to room temperature. Cut the cake horizontally in half. 

Prepare the heavy whipping cream by whisking until soft peaks forms.

Spread the Strawberry Preserve, then the whisked heavy cream, top it off with the other half of the cake. DONT PRESS DOWN! or all the heavy cream will just ooze out. 

Place the cake on the refrigerator for 30 mins. 

Serve with a dollop of whip cream on top wih freshly cut strawberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.