Southern Fried Friends

Fried chicken is one of my all time favorite Southern dishes but certainly one of those dishes I don’t eat or cook very often (or ever cook) because of the obvious time commitment it takes and because of the caloric density.  I love it though, and the best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten was last year at the Sunday Supper event at Euphoria.  The Sunday Supper event rounds out a fabulous weekend of lots of eating, drinking and working but is overall one of the best events of the weekend.  A time for those of us involved with the event to celebrate and relax with our peers.  Chef Joseph Lenn of Blackberry Farm fame served up the most amazingly flavorful, juicy and crispy fried chicken I’ve ever had and all for 150 dinner guests.  Pretty amazing.  

Really excited to eat fried chicken at Euphoria's Sunday Supper

Since our anniversary weekend in June I have been on the hunt for fried chicken.  We dined around Asheville for the weekend, finishing up with brunch at the Blackbird restaurant, which is a new spot, located in the bottom of the Aloft hotel.  I always check out restaurant menus online before we go eat anywhere because I have such a hard time deciding what to eat, so it helps me get some ideas in my head of what I want.  Well, I checked out the brunch menu for the Blackbird and decided on the fried chicken with biscuits and gravy.  When we arrived at the restaurant, looked over the brunch menu there was no fried chicken to be found.  I asked our server about the fried chicken, and he apologized, but there was no fried chicken on the brunch menu today.  I settled on the fried shrimp po’ boy instead, which was delicious, it just didn’t satisfy my craving.  For two months I couldn’t get fried chicken out of my head, and I finally decided I would make my own.  It has been a while since our supper club gals have gotten together, so I decided to invite them over to catch up over a fried chicken dinner.  Growing up my mother and grandmother used a simpler preparation of dredging the chicken in flour before placing it in the hot oil resulting in a lighter crust.  I knew that brining would create the result I was looking for and decided to give it a try instead.  I adapted a recipe from a recent issue of Saveur magazine to make it my own, and it is the best fried chicken I’ve ever made.  Make and enjoy with friends!

Crispy Fried Friend Chicken

½ cup kosher salt

2 Tbsp whole black peppercorns

4 Tbsp honey or agave nectar

2 Tbsp sugar

15 allspice berries

8 bay leaves

6 sprigs parsley

12 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

Zest and juice of 1-2 lemons

12 cups of water

2-3 ½ to 4-pound chicken cut up or 12-16 pieces of bone in chicken pieces

4 cups of flour or soy flour

4 cups of buttermilk

2 Tbsp Hungarian paprika

2 tsp granulated garlic

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 Tbsp kosher salt

Canola oil

Cast iron skillet

1.     Bring water, salt, peppercorns, honey, sugar, allspice berries, and the zest and lemon juice to a boil until salt is dissolved.  Remove allspice berries and allow to cool completely.  If you need to speed up the cooling process, add some ice cubes to the liquid.

2.     Add chicken pieces, bay leaves and herbs to a brining bag as well as the cool brining liquid and brine 12-24 hours in the refrigerator.

3.     Remove chicken pieces from brining bag.  Pat dry and place on a large platter.  Blend spice mix together and sprinkle over chicken pieces. Meanwhile heat enough canola oil to about 1/3 of the way up a cast iron skillet to 325 degrees and set up breading station with buttermilk and flour.

4.     Dip chicken pieces into buttermilk then flour, shaking off the excess.  Carefully place chicken pieces into the hot oil, working away from you and making sure not to crowd the pan so not to drop the oil temperature.

5.     Fry chicken pieces until golden brown, about 6 minutes per side and drain on a paper towel.  Work in batches until all the chicken pieces are done.

6.     Best served with traditional Southern sides and friends with healthy appetites.

Serves 12-16 people

Wine Pairing Suggestions:

Sokol Blosser Pinot Gris Willamette Valley, OR 2012

Dirty & Rowdy Skin and Concrete Egg Fermented Semillon Yountville, Napa Valley, CA 2012

Robert Sinskey Vin Gris of Pinot Noir Carneros, CA 2012

If fried chicken at home isn’t your thing here are a few places to check out here in town and other spots:

Bacon Bros Public House Greenville, SC-Buttermilk fried “Hot Chicken”

Soby’s New South Cuisine Greenville, SC-Crispy Fried Chicken

Price’s Chicken Coop Charlotte, NC-Nationally recognized fried chicken!

Blackberry Farm Walland, TN-Spend a weekend away in luxury accommodations tucked in the picturesque Great Smoky Mountains.  This might be the most expensive fried chicken you’ll ever have! 

(Note: I haven’t been here but it’s on my bucket list)