Ruhlman's Twenty (49 page)

This is the best fried chicken, ever. There, I said it. If it’s not, then I want to try yours.

I started paying attention to fried chicken in a serious way when I began work on the book
Ad Hoc at Home.
Ad Hoc is Thomas Keller’s Napa Valley restaurant devoted to family meals. It offers one family meal each night, and everyone eats it. The fried chicken is so popular that it is served twice a week. Chefs Jeff Cerciello and Dave Cruz have tried all kinds of methods, mainly centering on the best crust. They decided that the trio of flour, buttermilk, and flour is best, and I agree. But the key here is the brine. Salt keeps the chicken juicy and seasoned, and also helps pull the rosemary deep into the flesh. So even after the rapture from eating the crust has passed, the flavor of the chicken holds you.

This brine, like all brines flavored with aromatics, is best when you bring the ingredients to a simmer in all the water. But if you’re like me, sometimes you’ll be caught short and need to hurry things along. If you have a scale, you can bring half the water to a simmer with the other brine ingredients, and let the aromatics steep for 20 minutes. Measure the remaining water as ice and pour the brine over the ice. Or simply combine the brine with cold water.

Because so few people make fried chicken at home, I like to serve it to friends. Happily, it’s a great do-ahead dish; the chicken will keep well for a couple of hours. You can fry it and then keep it on a rack in a 250°F/120°C/gas ½ oven until you need it. If you have a convection oven, use that feature to keep the crust crisp. The thighs will become delectably tender given the extra time in the low heat. Serve on a platter garnished with branches of deep-fried rosemary and grated lemon zest.

BRINE

1 small onion, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, smashed with the flat side of a knife

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Kosher salt

5 or 6 branches rosemary, each 4 to 5 inches/10 to 12 centimeters long

4½ cups/1 liter water

1 lemon, quartered

8 chicken legs, drumsticks and thighs separated

8 chicken wings, wing tips removed

3 cups/420 grams all-purpose/plain flour

3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons fine sea salt

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons baking powder

2 cups/480 milliliters buttermilk

Oil for deep-frying

MAKE THE BRINE:
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until translucent
(see sweating),
3 to 4 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons salt after the onion and garlic have cooked for 30 seconds or so. Add the rosemary and cook to heat it, 30 seconds or so. Add the water and lemon, squeezing the juice from the wedges into the water and removing any seeds. Bring the water to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and allow the brine to cool. Refrigerate until chilled.

Place all the chicken pieces in a large, sturdy plastic bag. Set the bag in a large bowl for support. Pour the cooled brine and aromatics into the bag. Seal the bag so that you remove as much air as possible and the chicken is submerged in the brine. Refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours, agitating the bag occasionally to redistribute the brine and the chicken.

Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse under cold water, pat dry, and set on a rack or on paper towels/absorbent paper. The chicken can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before you cook it, or it can be cooked immediately. Ideally, it should be refrigerated, uncovered, for a day to dry out the skin, but usually I can’t wait to start cooking it.

Combine the flour, black pepper, paprika, sea salt, cayenne, and baking powder in a bowl. Whisk to distribute the ingredients. Divide this mixture between two bowls. Pour the buttermilk into a third bowl. Set a rack on a baking sheet/tray. Dredge the chicken in the flour, shake off the excess, and set the dusted pieces on the rack. Dip the pieces in the buttermilk, then dredge them aggressively in the second bowl of flour and return them to the rack.

Heat oil in a pan for deep-frying to 350°F/ 180°C. Add as many chicken pieces as you can without crowding the pan. Cook the chicken, turning the pieces occasionally, until they are cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes depending on their size. Remove to a clean rack and allow them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.