I know at least one Santa Fe resident knows that song as well as I do. I was singing it just last night: "Chicken! Nice fried chicken…Won't you send it down the line?" One of my girlfriends was over at the house, drinking beer, venting about her crazy mom and dishing about a recent date with a vegan. Uh-oh. I raised an eyebrow-I happened to know my friend had eaten Church's fried chicken for dinner. But no, the vegan is cool with that and I'm cool with her dating a vegan-as long as she'll still eat some nice fried chicken with me.
Speaking of fried chicken, there are two great recipes for just that dish in
David Burke's New American Classics
by
David Burke and Judith Choate (hardcover, Alfred A. Knopf, $35). The idea is that Burke takes a classic dish, like fried chicken (or pancakes or tuna steaks) and then does a contemporary twist, like Soy Soaked Tempura Chicken (or Smoked Salmon Pancake Roll-Up with Onions and Capers or Tuna Niçoise Salad Hash). He then offers a Second Day Dish made from the leftovers, in this case Chicken and Cabbage Spring Rolls. I loves me some leftovers! And I love David Burke's fried chicken recipes. Check them out:
Classic: Southern Buttermilk-Fried Chicken
Keep the oil as near 365°F as you can, from the moment you place the chicken in the pan right up until you lift it out. This will give you the crisp skin and juicy meat that makes fried chicken so tasty.
Serves 6
1 quart buttermilk
¼ cup Tabasco sauce
2 (3½- to 4-pound) frying chickens, cut into serving pieces, rinsed and patted dry
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
4 cups vegetable oil
Combine the buttermilk and Tabasco in a large nonreactive bowl. Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat them well. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and allow to marinate for 3 hours.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Place the flour in a large plastic bag. Combine the salt and cayenne. When well blended, add the flour and shake to blend. Add the marinated chicken to the flour mixture, one or two pieces at a time, and toss to coat well. When nicely coated, transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheets. Continue coating the chicken until all of the pieces are done.
Heat 2 cups of oil in each of 2 large, heavy-duty frying pans until very hot but not smoking. Add the chicken pieces to the hot oil, taking care not to crowd the pans, and fry the chicken, turning it occasionally, for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown and crisp. Using tongs, transfer the fried chicken to paper towels to drain. (If you need to make more than 2 batches, preheat the oven to low. Place the fried chicken on baking sheets and into the preheated oven with the door slightly ajar. This will keep the chicken warm and crisp while you continue frying.) Place the chicken on a large serving platter and serve it, family style, with coleslaw, green beans, potatoes and biscuits on the side.
Contemporary: Soy-Soaked Tempura Chicken
Everybody seems to love the flavor that the combination of ginger, soy and cilantro bring to the "fusion" table. All of the elements in this dish work together to make a very inviting meal with more than a hint of Asia.
Serves 6
3 cups soy sauce
1 cup honey
1 cup water
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 star anise
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
4 (8-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts, trimmed of any fat, rinsed and dried
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons coarse salt, plus more
1½ tablespoons sugar
1¾ cups plus, if needed, 2 tablespoons club soda
4 cups vegetable oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Whisk the soy sauce, honey and water together in a nonreactive container. Add the cilantro, garlic, star anise and ginger and stir to blend. (This can be done up to 2 days in advance. Bring to room temperature before using.) Reserve 1 cup of the marinade for later.
Add the chicken breasts to the marinade. Cover them with plastic wrap and allow to marinate for 90 minutes.
To make the tempura batter, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, 2 tablespoons salt and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Slowly add the 1¾ cups of club soda, whisking vigorously to smooth the batter; the batter should be smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Allow the batter to set for 5 minutes and test it again for thickness. If it is too thick, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of club soda.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and using a chef's knife, cut the chicken into 2-inch strips.
Heat the oil to 350°F in a deep-fat fryer.
Using tongs, dip the chicken strips into the tempura batter, shaking off the excess batter as you lift. Working with a few coated chicken strips at a time, drop them into the hot oil. The chicken should float to the top within 15 seconds and should take no longer than 2 minutes to cook to a crisp, golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, lift the strips from the oil and place them on paper towels to drain.
Recipes adapted from
David Burke's New American Classics
.
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