Recipe: Fried chicken

This recipe for fried chicken is a real treat.  It will take a little more preparation time, but that makes it easier the day of the meal and is well worth the wait.  To simplify it, I will break the recipe down in stages, as they are best performed a day apart anyway.  As is quite common with holiday turkeys, the chicken is brined, then we'll marinate it before breading it for maximum crispness.  The brine has the most specific recipe, and should comfortably submerge 6-8 nice drumsticks.  If you have more, it's easy enough to double (or more) the recipe.  Remember, when brining, you are infusing salt into the meat, so beyond the brine, very little or no seasoning should be needed.

For the brine you will need:

1L /1qt      water
28g /1oz    salt
28g /1oz    sugar
 1               zest of lemon (use a vegetable peeler, not a microplane)
 1               zest of lime
 1               zest of orange
 4               cloves garlic (crushed)
1/2 bunch  cilantro
1/2 bunch  chives or green onion (a thumb's diameter when held tight)

Method:

 - in a pot, bring the water sugar and salt up to a boil so everything is dissolved
 - turn off the heat and add the garlic and zest
 - when the brine is cooled somewhat, but still warm, add in the whole cilantro and chives
 - cool completely, then cover the chicken with the brine and keep in the fridge
 - periodically move the chicken around in the brine and wait a day (two even better)

For the marinade, you will need: (all to taste)

smoked paprika (sweet or hot your choice)
garlic powder
ground black pepper

Method:

 - take the chicken out of the brine and rinse it under cold water and pat dry with a towel
 - in a bowl toss the chicken alternately, but equally with the paprika, garlic and pepper to your spice tolerance
 - cover and keep in the fridge at least a couple hours, but another day is best

For the breading, you will need:

    2-3             egg whites
250ml / 1C    cornstarch
250ml / 1C    yellow cornmeal
250ml / 1C    panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
to taste           ground black pepper

Method:

 - preheat the oven to 250F / 120C (higher if you want to serve right away)
 - whisk the egg whites till slightly foamy and well broken up (you want the air in it)
 - mix the cornstarch, cornmeal and panko and season with black pepper
 - in a separate bowl, toss the chicken in just enough of the egg white to coat it completely
 - while tossing, sprinkle in the breading until completely coated
 - spread out on a baking sheet (with a roasting rack if possible), place in oven about 10-15 minutes
 - cool on the rack if frying later, or move to the frying stage (or serve if you choose)

Note:  at this stage, you can either cook completely and serve (a health conscious option), but for maximum enjoyment, you will want to fry these babies, so only cook them to just done - even a little pink on the bone is ok (keeps it juicy).  The idea with the oven is to cook the chicken mostly through with minimal colour on the breading.  When you are at the "fry" stage (later in the day, even), you are just crisping and colouring the breading and heating through the meat, avoiding burning the breading in an effort to cook the chicken completely during frying.  These days I know it's almost considered a sin, but a deep fryer is the best way to finish these off.  If you don't have a home fryer, a good heavy pot will do - just use an oven probe thermometer to try to keep the temperature around 350F / 175C.
Of course, pan frying will always work, especially since you are just crisping up the crust at this point, and it has the advantage that you can throw some butter in at the end - yum!  Enjoy