Time To Celebrate FRIED CHICKEN!
I’ve eaten chicken in so many ways: brined, grilled, baked and simmered in soup…but nothing beats a piece of “fried chicken” hot from the deep fryer and coated with a mix of tasty herbs and spices!
Thomas Keller’s Famous Fried Chicken!
Legendary Chef Thomas Keller, whose 3-Michelin Star restaurant The French Laundry is located in California’s Napa Valley, has some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten.
And the best part? He served at this casual restaurant right down the street from The French Laundry, called Ad Hoc.
Here’s what Food And Wine said:
“To make his juicy and incredibly crisp chicken, chef Thomas Keller soaks it in a lemony brine before frying. The chicken is one of the most popular dishes at the restaurant. Keller says, “people have a wonderful sense of anticipation.”
Now, let’s head to Keller’s restaurant Ad Hoc and dig in!
Welcome to Yountville, California and Ad Hoc Restaurant!
One of Chef Keller’s restaurants in Yountville is called Ad Hoc, which specializes in a single, family-style meal each day…
One day we were there, they served Keller’s famous fried chicken, served up with waffles!
Chef Keller Is “Hands On!”
And this isn’t an “absentee Chef” – the picture above is a shot I captured of Chef Keller walking from one of his restaurants to Ad Hoc. If you go to Yountville, the odds are you will see Chef – he is that “hands on”…
Ad Hoc Fried Chicken At Home!
Thanks to Williams Sonoma, you can make this perfect chicken at home, coated in a blend of spices and buttermilk after being brined for hours and hours…I’ve made it twice, and it turns out pretty close to the restaurant version…you make the brining liquid and then brine the chicken for hours – then you dip it in buttermilk, coat it in the spice recipe and cook it up…
The Key Is Submerged In The Brine!
Here’s an image from junbelen.com showing the brining liquid that was used to make Keller’s recipe, and that is the key – brining the chicken pieces first ensures they will be plump and juicy!
Pour the brine into a container large enough to hold the chicken pieces, add in the chicken, and refrigerate for 12 hours (no longer, or the chicken may become too salty).
Here’s the brine mixture:
* 5 lemons, halved * 24 bay leaves * 1 bunch (4 ounces) flat-leaf parsley * 1 bunch (1 ounce) thyme * 1/2 cup clover honey * 1 head garlic, halved through the equator * 3/4 cup black peppercorns * 2 cups (10 ounces) kosher salt, preferably Diamond Crystal * 2 gallons water
I found Chef Keller’s “Fried Chicken Kit” at William Sonoma once, and while it gives you all you need in one place, you can also buy it all yourself as well!
The package of ingredients lays it all out for you, and the brining makes the chicken incredibly moist, while the “secret blend of herbs and spices” really does make this chicken pop!
Here’s the recipe:
* Two 2 1/2- to 3-pound chickens (see Note on Chicken Size) * Chicken Brine (recipe follows), cold For Dredging and Frying * Peanut or canola oil for deep-frying * 1 quart buttermilk * Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Coating * 6 cups all-purpose flour * 1/4 cup garlic powder * 1/4 cup onion powder * 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon paprika * 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cayenne * 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt * 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper * Ground fleur de sel or fine sea salt * Rosemary and thyme sprigs for garnish
The key is how you fry the chicken, which should be about 20-30 minutes, turning pieces so they brown evenly. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 180°F and should no longer be pink at the bone, juices should run clear.
I made a nice platter of chicken, and served it alongside garlic mashed potatoes and baked corn – perfect for a summer day!
The key was the brine – the coating was crispy and the interior juicy!
You can also buy Chef Keller’s cookbook to see this recipe and so many more:
Of course, if you want to try something that celebrates chicken in a different way, how about “Grilled Pepsi Chicken Drumsticks?”
Yes, here is the recipe for an really terrific “Pepsi Chicken” mixture….I made them nd you can to!
Check it out:
And since we are talking chicken, how about Singer John Legend’s version?
These are John’s buttermilk chicken tenders, and you can click here for the recipe:
Finally, in Japan they really figured it out – with a special recipe that pairs with booze!
See that wild story here:
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Food, Food Pictures, Recipes, Restaurants, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Aarrgghh. I’ve never made it to the French Laundry! You are so lucky. I’m not a huge fried chicken fan, maybe because I wasn’t raised on KFC, but this recipe could change my mind. Great looking brine.
and a brine can work for any chicken preparation!
Such an interesting brine recipe. I’ll bet it would be good for pork chops too. How do you make your baked corn?
Yes brining is used a lot in so cooking but not that widespread…as for the corn, I cut it off the stalks, mix it into sautéed garlic – lots and lots of that – then bake it with some mozzarella added at the end!
Sounds tasty!
Thanks John, I assume the corn is raw. The garlic is sauteed in olive oil I figure. ?
Yes, I salute sliced garlic in olive oil, then add the corn and mix…I salt and pepper and bake in an oven for about 20 minutes…just to soften the corn a bit and last ten minutes with shredded mozzarella cheese!