Home Cooked Fried Chicken and the Brine Process | The Lost Posts…

Note to reader on “The Lost Posts”;  This is a series of blog posts that I either started, or took photos with full intentions of blogging, and then life took over and I never got around to it. I actually wrote this particular post on my way to Atlanta in February 2015 – it’s taken me a year to publish.

I just love fried chicken. I know what you’re thinking. How very truly stereotypical. I mean I can live without chicken. If I were on a desert island (yes, sometimes I do think about this) and I had a choice of fish or chicken for the rest of my life, I would choose fish every time. Especially if seafood is thrown into that category. The options for fish outweigh chicken so much. There are so many types, ways to cook it and it never gets boring.

But chicken is SO good. I seriously don’t understand how vegetarians can give it up! Similar thoughts on bacon. How can you resist that smell? I do have a guilty secret of fancying KFC every once in awhile. Don’t worry I don’t succumb!!!!* I feel very bad afterwards – like I’ve been unfaithful to my health. However this is why I like to try my hand at fast food every so often. It’s much more satisfying when you’ve prepared it from start to finish. Something like KFC style fried chicken takes SO LONG to make. I’ve made it before and it took a good few hours. But it looks so good, and tastes so damn good.

My latest attempt was recreating a recipe I’d found on Spoon Fork Bacon (guess you can figure out what drew me to that blog) for chicken and waffles. Something I’ve been dying to try FOREVER. I’ve been to New York twice and never had it – nonsense!!! Well as I write this I am on my way to Atlanta, Florida and New York and I’m DETERMINED to have it this time!!!!

Anyway back to Spoon to Fork Bacon. The method for making the fried chicken appealed to me. Firstly, they brine the chicken – supposedly makes the chicken more tender. I brined my chicken the first time I made fried chicken, but I used buttermilk. The chicken was good but I can’t really say YES YES YES that brine nailed the flavour. Spoon Fork Bacon recommended a brine made of water, salt, lemons, honey, garlic, herbs and a bay leaf. You simmer the water, honey and salt. Take off the heat, add the herbs and smashed garlic, ice cubes, cool completely and add the chicken. It’s recommended to leave it overnight. I can honestly say I much prefer this method of brining compared to buttermilk. The flavour penetrated the chicken more and smelt so fragrant. I could definitely taste it in the chicken. I’ve since brined my chicken this way for a pulled chicken recipe I made on my birthday for friends. Again, although I slow cooked the chicken in a delicious soy, hoisin and plum marinade, I think the brining had a lot to offer to the end flavour.

Anyway back to that chicken. Here are some photos of the results of my 2 hours of labour in the kitchen. The key was brining and the conveyer belt process of coating and frying.

FLOUR | BUTTERMILK | FLOUR | BUTTERMILK | FLOUR | FRY. (I MAY have been singing “burn baby burn” as I was doing the above. Thankfully I didn’t burn the chicken.

Don’t forget the all important head scarf!

Brine with chicken pieces soaking

Seasoning for the chicken

Chicken ready to be fried

Chicken coated and ready to be fried

Chicken pieces deep frying

Home-made Fried Chicken

You can see some of the pieces (far left) are a bit darker – slightly over cooked or perhaps oil was too high. Either way this was a learning process and practice makes perfect – the taste was amazing.

Also, as mentioned – I was on a mission to find fried chicken and waffles when I went to Atlanta. It wasn’t hard! Below is a photo of what I ate when I went to Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles.

 

Gladys Knight’s Signature Chicken & Waffles

*sometimes I succumb. Don’t judge.