Recipe: The Southern Fried Chicken Sandwich

I grew up with Chick-Fil-A. As a Georgia boy born and bred, they were everywhere growing up and admittedly I often get major cravings for their chicken sandwiches. Their controversial politics aside (which is why I can't in good conscience eat at their restaurants for now), I can't deny how good their food actually is. So, I decided to try and recreate it - and I admittedly achieved a recipe that I think might be a bit better than the original. But, you're welcome to be your own judge.

Southern Fried Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients

4 large boneless/skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half longways
Juice from one large container of dill pickles
1 quart chicken broth
2 tbsp Sriracha or Tabasco
1 tbsp peppercorns
1 tbsp whole cloves
1/4 cup + 2 tsp sugar
1/8 cup kosher salt
2 cups self-rising flour
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tbsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/2 tsp. celery salt
Peanut or other high smoke point oil for frying
8 potato buns
Cooking spray
Dill pickle slices (optional)

Directions

Mix chicken broth, pickle juice, Sriracha, peppercorns, cloves, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 1/8 cup of kosher salt into a large sealable container. Poke chicken breasts liberally with a fork on all sides to create small holes to absorb brine. Add chicken breasts, making sure they are fully submerged, and seal. Brine at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.

Preheat oil to 350 degrees in a deep dutch oven or large pot. Mix together black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, white pepper, ground cumin, ground mustard, and celery salt. Whisk together eggs and buttermilk in a separate bowl. Mix 2 tsp of sugar into the flour in another bowl. Add 2 1/2 tablespoons of the spice mixture to the flour and mix in well. Add 4 tablespoons of the egg/milk mixture to the flour mixture and mix through with fork until the batter is coarse all around. Take chicken breasts out of the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Season all over with the remaining spice mixture, pressing the mixture into the chicken to coat well. Working one piece at a time, coat in the milk/egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off, then the flour/spice mixture. Shake off excess flour then submerge slowly into the hot oil, turning frequently. When dark brown, remove from oil and place on a rack to drain off excess oil. Spray the potato buns lightly with cooking spray or brush with melted butter and place on a griddle on medium heat to toast. Place 2 dill pickle slices on the toasted bun and then a piece of cooked chicken. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 servings.

Recipe: Nawlins Cali Po' Boy

This recipe is inspired by my recent trip back to New Orleans, one of my favorite cities. I am a big fan of po' boy sandwiches, especially the ones with fried seafood. However, I honestly cannot resist putting a Cali twist on a Nawlins classic...

Ingredients:

Crab salad:

1 tbsp. crushed garlic

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 cups of fresh lump dungeness crab meat

Sandwich:

1 two foot long sourdough French baguette (if you find somewhere that makes New Orleans style French baguettes, feel free to get one of those!)

2 lbs. of peeled, deveined, and de-tailed small shrimp (if you can get Gulf Coast "popcorn" shrimp, they are the best)

1 1/2 cups of flour

1/2 cup of corn meal

2 tbsp. of sea salt

2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. black pepper

2 eggs, beaten

3 cups of canola oil (for frying)

1/4 cup of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3 tbsp. of finely chopped chives

2 large heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced

2 1/2 cups of fresh arugula

Directions:

Crab salad:

Combine everything but the crab meat into a small bowl. Using a whisk, whip all of the ingredients together until a creamy emulsion forms - an aioli. In a larger bowl, place the lump crab meat and use your fingers to well separate the strands and parts. Add the aioli to the bowl and mix together thoroughly using a wooden spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator.

Sandwich:

Combine the flour, corn meal, and all of the dry spices well together in a large bowl. Heat the canola oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Place the shrimp into the flour and spice mixture first to coat, then into the egg wash, then back into the flour and spice mixture before placing into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 5 - 6 minutes. Drain on paper towels or a large paper sack.

Add the chopped chives to the room temperature butter. Using a fork, mix the chives into the butter thoroughly. Slice the baguette in half lengthwise. Spread the chive butter all over the bottom half. Spread the arugula out evenly on top of the butter. Place the tomatoes evenly atop the arugula. Spread the fried shrimp out evenly on top of the tomatoes. Top the shrimp evenly with the crab salad. Place the top of baguette back on and push down to tighten the sandwich. Cut width-wise into 8 equal portions. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 servings.

Recipe: Easy Fried Okra

Don't cut up the pods like almost every other recipe for this does. They get gooey and force more of the batter than you want to stick to the vegetable and also cause the pieces to stick together. It's so much easier to do it "tempura style" like I recommend here.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. of fresh okra pods

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 cup of corn meal

4 cups of lowfat buttermilk

1 tbsp. cayenne pepper

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. onion powder

Sea salt to taste

4 cups of canola or other neutral oil for frying

Directions:

Mix the flour, corn meal, buttermilk, and spices together well to create a batter a little thicker than the consistency of pancake batter (add more flour/corn meal or buttermilk in equal parts to get the right consistency). Put all the okra pods in the batter and allow to sit for about 30 minutes.

Use a wok for the frying. Heat the oil in the wok over high heat. Working in batches, place the battered pods into the oil one at a time. Cook until the crust turns lightly brown. Scoop the okra out with a wire strainer and place onto a brown paper sack or paper towels to drain off excess oil. Season generously with salt. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe: Georgia Fried Chicken

This is about as close as I can get to the way my grandmas make fried chicken since I can't get them to write down a recipe... but it's good... so there... ;)

Ingredients:

4 half-breasts of chicken, bone-in, skin on
4 chicken thighs, skin on
1 quart of buttermilk
Sea salt
Black pepper
2 cups of all-purpose flour
3 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
3 cups of peanut oil (for frying)

Directions:

Place the chicken in a big bowl. Coat generously with sea salt and pepper on all sides. Pour buttermilk into the bowl until the chicken is covered and fully submerged. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

In a plastic 1 gallon re-sealable plastic bag, place the flour and all of the spices, adding 2 tsp of sea salt and 1 tsp of black pepper. Close the bag and shake to mix the ingredients thoroughly.

Heat the peanut oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Place the buttermilk soaked chicken pieces into the plastic bag with the flour mixture (2 pieces at a time) and shake to fully coat the pieces. To determine if the oil is hot enough, sprinkle a tiny bit of the flour into the hot oil. If the flour immediately bubbles and floats to the top, the oil is ready. Place the chicken into the hot oil. Work in batches, no more than 4 pieces in the cast iron skillet at a time. Fry for approximately 6 - 8 minutes on one side, turn, fry for an additional 6 - 8 minutes. Place the chicken on a brown paper bag to drain off excess oil. Repeat the process for the remaining chicken. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 very hungry people (1 breast + 1 thigh) or 2 Georgia boys and 1 sneaky dog ;).

Recipe: It Ain't Your Mama's Chicken Katsu!

OK... so it ain't my mama's either (she's from Georgia like me!), but if your mama is Japanese, it ain't like hers either ;) But it's GOOD!!! Serve with katsu sauce, of course!

Ingredients

1 cup of panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1/8 cup of milk
3 tsp. garlic powder
3 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 lbs. boneless/skinless chicken breast filets
2 cups canola oil (for frying)

Directions

Cut breast filets into approximately 3 oz. portions (can usually be accomplished by cutting filets from the grocery store in half).

Heat canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high to high heat.

Combine panko, flour, spices, salt, and parmesan cheese together in one bowl. In another, whisk the egg and milk together. Dip the breast filets into the egg wash first, then into the panko mixture, coating the filet thoroughly and as thickly as possible with the mixture. Working in batches, place into the hot oil frying for approximately 3 minutes on each side. Have a large paper bag (Whole Foods bags work well ;)) or line a baking sheet at least 4 paper towel layers thick ready to place the fried filets on to drain oil. Serve immediately!

Serves 4.

Recipe: Turkey Scallopini over Sauted Spinach

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. of turkey breast tenderloins
1 cup flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. black pepper
2 eggs
2 tbsp. of half and half
9 oz. of fresh spinach
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup of canola oil

Directions:

Cut turkey tenderloins into 8 equal portions, put between two pieces of wax/parchment paper, and pound the crap out of them until they are flat (approx. 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick).

In a large plastic bag, mix the flour with the dry spices and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and half and half. Dip each turkey portion in the egg wash and then put into the plastic bag with the flour and spices. Shake vigorously to coat the turkey portions with the breading.

In one large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium to medium-high heat. Cooking in batches, place the turkey into the hot oil and fry about 4 minutes on each side. Place on paper towels to drain off excess oil.

In another skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute the garlic for about 3 minutes to open up its flavor. Add the fresh spinach to the skillet in batches tossing frequently to wilt. Once all the spinach is in the skillet and fully wilted, remove from heat.

Serve turkey over a bed of spinach.

(NOTE: you can make this exact same recipe using boneless, skinless chicken breast)

Makes 4 servings.