Best Cold Fried Chicken Recipes

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COLD FRIED CHICKEN



Cold Fried Chicken image

This is the first cold fried chicken I ever tasted, at Prune, in the East Village, where the chef, Gabrielle Hamilton, makes everything as slanted and far-fetched as nature itself. I don't know why she served it cold, not hot; I only know that I loved it, and do still. She served it with butter lettuce and buttermilk dressing, and it is very good that way. It is also very good with hot sauce.

Provided by Tamar Adler

Time 1h

Yield 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 10

2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 pounds chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper
Enough shortening or peanut oil to come 6 inches up a high-sided pot

Steps:

  • One day before you're frying, mix all the soaking ingredients in a big container or two. Put the thighs in to soak, and refrigerate overnight.
  • The following day, mix the dredging ingredients in a big deep bowl or high-sided roasting pan. Remove the chicken from the soak, piece by piece, allowing excess buttermilk to drip off away from the dredge. Drop each piece into flour mixture, a few at a time, leaving space between each piece. Shake, and toss to coat each piece evenly and thoroughly.
  • Lay the dredged chicken on a rack set over a cookie sheet to allow the coating to dry and cling, leaving space between the pieces.
  • Heat oil to 325 degrees, testing with a thermometer, or by dropping a few specks of flour in, and begin to fry when the specks sizzle calmly. Fry in batches, until just shy of golden. Continue until all have been fried, lowering the heat as needed to keep the temperature constant, and straining out excess flour to keep the oil clean. Let thighs rest on a rack over a cookie sheet or dish towel. Skim all the excess flour out of the oil, or carefully strain it into a new pot and raise heat to 350. Fry the thighs again, in batches, to (in Hamilton's words) "finish to gorgeous deep golden brown."
  • Drain on a rack. Leave at room temperature for a same-day picnic, or refrigerate overnight if you're eating the following day. Bring buttermilk dressing! Bring hot sauce! Bring butter lettuce! Bring rosé!

COLD FRIED CHICKEN SANDWICH



Cold Fried Chicken Sandwich image

Provided by Food Network

Time 10h50m

Yield 2 sandwiches

Number Of Ingredients 14

4 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 gallon canola oil
2 hoagie rolls
Your favorite onion vinaigrette dressing, for sandwiches
Your favorite spicy mayo, for sandwiches
1 Roma tomato, thinly sliced and slices cut in half
3/4 cup chopped lettuce
3/4 cup chopped spinach
1/2 purple onion, sliced

Steps:

  • Stir together the black pepper, paprika, salt and garlic powder in a bowl. Rub chicken with half the seasonings, then stir the remaining seasonings into the flour in a bowl. Let seasoned chicken rest in fridge 8 hours or up to overnight.
  • Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
  • Dredge seasoned chicken in the seasoned flour. Fry until cooked through, 10 to 20 minutes. Place chicken in fridge until chilled, 1 to 2 hours.
  • Split open hoagie rolls without cutting all the way through. Slice chilled chicken and glaze with onion dressing. Assemble sandwiches with mayo first, then veggies, then chicken. Enjoy!

COLD-SMOKED FRIED CHICKEN



Cold-Smoked Fried Chicken image

This is the best fried chicken ever. The smoke permeates the meat, seasoning it from the inside out. Combined with the crunchy exterior and juicy meat, it is revelatory. Just remember to let it rest before eating. It's almost impossible not to dive in immediately, but when the chicken is too hot you can't fully appreciate the texture and flavors. We use rice bran oil for frying because it has a high smoke point and a clean, neutral flavor, which means that fried foods tend to cook evenly without burning or absorbing any heavy flavors from the oil. It is pressed from the hull of the rice grain and is high in antioxidants. It costs about the same as good olive oil, and its slightly sweet, nutty flavor is good for baking, cold marinades, and dressings. Once you try it, it will be hard to go back to canola. You can substitute whatever your favorite chicken parts are for the thighs. If you use breasts we suggest cutting them in half crosswise for the proper coating-to-meat ratio. Whatever you do, just make sure you try this technique. It's a little bit of work for a big reward.

Yield serves 4

Number Of Ingredients 8

12 chicken thighs
1 quart/912 grams buttermilk
1/4 cup/56 grams Crystal hot sauce
2 tablespoons/36 grams fine sea salt
2 cups/300 grams all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon/3 grams fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon/0.5 gram cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups/1,000 grams rice bran oil

Steps:

  • Turn on the smoker, set it at the lowest possible temperature, and let it generate smoke for 10 minutes. Put the chicken thighs into one or two disposable aluminum containers that will fit in your smoker. Fill a third container with ice. Put the ice in the bottom of the smoker and put the chicken thighs on racks above the ice. Smoke the thighs for 1 hour and then turn them over. If the ice has melted, remove the container and replace with fresh ice. Smoke the chicken thighs for another hour.
  • Put the buttermilk in a bowl and add the hot sauce and 2 tablespoons (36 grams) salt. Stir to dissolve the salt. When the thighs are done smoking, place them in a large zip-top bag and pour the buttermilk mixture over them. Seal the bag, pressing out any excess air, and turn the thighs in the bag. Place the bag in the refrigerator and let the thighs brine for 24 hours. Occasionally turn the bag so that the thighs are fully submerged and coated in the buttermilk.
  • Set a baking rack over a sheet pan. Put the flour, 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) salt, and cayenne in a bowl. Use a whisk to combine them evenly. Remove the chicken thighs from the buttermilk mixture and put them on the rack to drain. Dredge each thigh in the flour mixture and return it to the rack.
  • Put the rice bran oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed chicken fryer or other large skillet. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 360°F (182°C). Turn the oven to 250°F (120°C). Take a second baking rack and put it on a sheet pan. When the oil is hot, add 3 or 4 thighs to the oil and fry until they are a rich golden brown, about 10 minutes. Maintain an oil temperature of 350°F (175°C). Depending on the size of your pot, you may have to flip the thighs once to brown them evenly. When the first set of thighs is browned, transfer them to the rack and put the rack in the oven to allow the meat to finish cooking and stay warm while you fry the remaining chicken. Repeat with the rest of the thighs, allowing the last batch to rest for 10 minutes in the oven before serving.

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