Serves 4
1 hour + overnight dry brining.
A LITTLE EFFORT
Double dredge = extra crisp coating.
Legendary chef Thomas Keller started the trend for double and triple dredging his fried chicken and who are we to argue? Try dry-brining overnight too for extra juicy meat.
Whole chicken thighs and drumsticks 1kg, skin trimmed
Groundnut oil for deep-frying
THE DRY BRINE
Lemon 1, zested
Bay leaves 4, sliced
Flat-leaf parsley a small bunch, chopped
Thyme a few sprigs, chopped
Garlic cloves 4, bruised
Black peppercorns 1 tbsp
Rock salt 50g
THE COATING MIX
Plain flour 250g
Garlic powder 2 tsp (try Keya available at gourmet stores)
Paprika 2 tsp (try Keya available at gourmet stores)
Allspice powder 1/2 tsp
Cayenne powder 1 tsp (try Keya available at gourmet stores)
Black pepper 1/2 tsp, ground
Thyme 1/2 tsp, chopped
Buttermilk 285ml.
- Mix all the dry brine ingredients in a bowl. Put the chicken pieces in a large freezer bag and add the brine mix. Toss to coat then put on the bottom shelf of the fridge and leave overnight.
- The next day, brush all the salt mix from the chicken and rinse under cold water. Pat dry with kitchen paper. Leave uncovered at room temperature for 1 hour to dry out and reach room temperature.
- Heat the oven to 190°C. Put a metal rack over a baking tray or shallow roasting tin. Mix all the dry coating ingredients in a large bowl. Put 1/3 of the coating mix in a shallow bowl. Pour the buttermilk into a second shallow bowl and put the rest of the mix in a third bowl. Line a large tray or platter with baking paper.
- Just before frying, dip the chicken pieces into the first bowl of flour coating, turning to coat and patting off the excess; dip them into the buttermilk, allowing the excess to run back into the bowl; then dip them into the second bowl of flour coating. Transfer to the baking paper-lined tray.
- When all the chicken is coated, heat 2cm oil in a deep non-stick frying pan until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Add the chicken in batches of 3-4 pieces and carefully fry on all sides until light golden (don’t let them get too dark as you are going to cook them further in the oven). Carefully transfer each piece to the roasting rack and tray. When all the pieces have had their initial frying, put in the oven on a low shelf for 15 minutes to finish cooking. Serve hot.
- PER SERVING 583 kcals, protein 43.5g, carbs 50g, fat 23.1g, sat fat 6.3g, fiber 2.8g, salt 2.7g.
