Yeah, Andy and I actually got into Butt-Numb-A-Thon so right after the NaNo WriMo/Thanksgiving whirlwind we needed to figure out how to get our butts down to Austin, TX so they would be thoroughly numbed. The event really was spectacular, and the people there were really amazing. Our row neighbors Chris and Cathie were absolutely fantastic, and hopefully I'll get to sit with them again in a year or so. Got to chug a beer with Broken Lizard, got to meet some new people, got to meet some of my favorite film critics out there like Massawyrm and Moriarty. My "Joy of Cooking" book even came along for the ride and picked up a few signatures, making it an odd grease and ink stained culinary yearbook object now.
The Alamo Draughthouse had the rafters shaking with films like Faust, The Lovely Bones, Girl Crazy, The Red Shoes, Shutter Island, Le Magnifique, MicMacs, Frozen, Centipede Horror*, Candy Snatchers, Kick-Ass, and Avatar. I tried some Arrogant Bastard beer (hoppy, and a punch to the mouth, worthy of its name), the night before I had Dr. Pepper ribs, I also had a Royale with Cheese and 5$ milkshake, not to mention some homemade granola and yogurt in the morning.
... I may or may not have stolen a copy of the Alamo's menu...
Now that we're back, a little holiday money goes a long way. I was really surprised I got to do this recipe so soon. I thought I was going to have to wait until after Christmas! Nope. I had a lot of help from a few of my friends who gave me tons of advice, recipes, and I would say general encouragement to keep me brave in the face of pan frying. I have tried pan frying before, and I have burned myself a lot trying to do it, and ruined my food before. So, needless to say, I was a bit... yeah, nervous works. After some research and a leap of faith, in honor of de-limbing Necromorphs in Dead Space, here is the recipe for...
Planet Cracker Fried Chicken
- Buttermilk (1/2 gallon)
I couldn't find anything smaller in my store, and if you can't then you'll definitely have some left over. That's okay! You can always use buttermilk to make some really yummy biscuits
- 1/4 Tbl. of ground thyme
- 1/2 Tbl. of cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. of salt
- 1 tsp. of pepper
- 1/2 Tbl. of garlic powder
- 1/4 Tbl. of oregano
- About a cup of flour
- Canola oil
Start heating up your oil. You're going to want a wide pan with high sides, like a skillet. Put in about 1/8-1/2 inch of oil. Basically, the oil needs to come halfway up the chicken in the end. 1/2 inch worked fine for me. You want your oil at a temperature of 375 (F), and if you don't... have a thermometer, I found that the notch just below medium heat worked fine.
My poultry for this recipe consisted of thighs, wings, and legs. Soak these, or whatever bits you would like to use, in buttermilk for about half an hour, or even over night. When you are ready to cook, strain the chicken. Toss the chicken with all of the herbs mentioned above.
Set yourself up with about a cup of flour in a plastic bag. Deposit your chicken in the bag, make sure the tight is shut and shake 'em like a Polaroid picture.
(Dip in buttermilk and shake again for a thicker fry)
Your oil should be heated up enough by now. Put your thighs in the center, and place the other pieces around it. Cook for about 11-12 minutes on each side, and shoot for an internal temperature of about 165(F).
You'll want these pieces to rest for a bit once they're done. The big recommendation is to the let them cool on a rack over a pan for ten minutes. I do not have a cooling rack, nor a pan, so I took out one of my oven racks, and put it over a wide plate. I arranged my chicken over that, and let it rest for about ten minutes.
This meal was served with baby carrots, cut in half, boiled until tender, and then tossed with butter, honey, white pepper and salt. Also, using some buttermilk, I whipped up some mashed potatoes to go with it. I totally fucked up the gravy, but if you have some drippings and like/are better at playing chemistry than me, reserve this and the flour for gravy.
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*I admittedly stepped outside for this movie. It was 3 a.m. and crisp outside, and the good company and cigarettes kept me up. I would have stayed, pushed through it, if the words "centipedes" "exploding" and "vagina" were not uttered in the same sentence.
Sometimes you can find less than 1/2 gallons of buttermilk in the stores - but it's rare. Go for the dried buttermilk powder instead. You'll usually find it on the baking aisle. You can make small amounts at a time and it keeps in the fridge for-almost-ever and doesn't go bad. Unlike buttermilk which, in my opinion, starts out bad. But I wasn't raised on it - I know a lot of people revel in a tall cold glass of buttermilk. (shudder)
ReplyDeleteI will definitely do that. I felt really rushed to do what I could with the buttermilk while I had it. Didn't want it to go bad so it was giong into biscuits, mashed potatoes, the works!
ReplyDeleteAnd I finally got a wiff of buttermilk for the first time when I used it. I could not imagine drinking it. Woof, that was some powerful stuff.