Buttermilk Fried Chicken | Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Our thoughts: Well if Julie and Julia can do it, why can't Ray, Danmy and Thomas? For our inaugural post, we felt it was most fitting to start with our first attempt at a recipe from Thomas Keller's new cookbook, Ad Hoc at Home. It doesn't help that his recipe portions were large enough to feed a small army. We had to scale the recipe down for 5 chicken thighs rather than two whole chickens it originally called for (hence all the striking out in the recipe to distinguish between the original recipe and how we adapted it). We also have a new obsession with brussel sprouts and tried to recreate the one served at Craft.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Adapted from Ad Hoc At Home

Ingredients
5 chicken thighs (Dark meat is yummy.)

For the chicken brine
1 lemon, halved
5 bay leaves
1/5 bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 sprig thyme
1 tablespoon clover honey
1 clove garlic halved through the equator
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 cup kosher salt
3 cups water

Directions for the brine: Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and cool completely, then chill before using. The brine can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

For the coating:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 cup garlic powder

1/2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For dredging and frying:
Canola oil for deep-frying
1 cup buttermilk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions for the coating and dredging: Combine all the coating ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer half the coating to a second large bowl. Pour the buttermilk into a third bowl and season with salt and pepper. Set up a dipping station: the chicken pieces, one bowl of coating, the bowl of buttermilk, the second bowl of coating, and the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Just before frying, dip the chicken thighs into the first bowl of 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 coating. Transfer to the parchment-lined pan.

Directions for frying: Carefully lower the thighs into the hot oil. Adjust the heat as necessary to return the oil to the proper temperature. Fry for 2 minutes, then carefully move the chicken pieces around in the oil and continue to fry, monitoring the oil temperature and turning the pieces as necessary for even cooking, for 11 to 12 minutes, until the chicken is a deep golden brown, cooked through, and very crisp.

Transfer the cooked pieces and let rest while you fry the remaining chicken. Make sure that the oil is at the correct temperature, and cook the chicken drumsticks. Drain the chicken, then sprinkle the chicken with fine sea salt.

(Oil temperature is extremely important for proper cooking. The oil was initially heated up to ~370 degrees, which resulted in a burnt exterior and slightly undercooked interior in a little under 8 minutes. The goal was to achieve an internal temperature of 165 degrees. After turning down the heat to the midway point between "High" and "Off", the oil was maintained a temperature around ~330 degrees which resulted in a golden brown exterior and well cooked interior after 10-11 minutes in the oil.)

Arrange the chicken on a serving platter. Add the herb sprigs to the oil (which will still be hot) and let them cook and crisp for a few seconds, then arrange them over the chicken.

Not sure if it was the reduction of the recipe by 1/5, but the chicken was unpleasantly salty. Although still edible, both the skin/crust and the chicken itself were saltier then expected. Perhaps there was not enough water in the brine or too much salt added to the dry mix or buttermilk dredging liquid.

The final pieces, after correcting the oil temperature, came out looking a fine golden-yellow with a light and crispy exterior. Another attempt will be required to bestow a true assessment of the recipe. Perhaps a go with the Ad Hoc Fried Chicken Kit will provide a benchmark of what the chicken is suppose to taste like without having to actually go to Ad Hoc.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cook the bacon in a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat until bacon just begins to crisp. Add the Brussels sprouts to the skillet and season with oilve oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly.



Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, washed with ends cut off
3 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 strip of applewood smoked bacon, cut into small pieces

Simple and delicious, although there were a few pieces that were a bit too dry, it was not enough to require any significant changes to the cooking time.