Should you find yourself seriously dieting, you might want to save this post to read some other time. It is not for the weak willed! I can attest to this disclaimer because I was once there and this man...
the Viking cooking at the Viking, this extraordinary chef, takes no prisoners. Just to clarify, I put in five miles of walking/running, weight lifting and a 40 minute yoga work out so that I could eat this meal sans guilt.
This is the meal that we had, a traditional Sunday supper for some perhaps, but for me, it was a food fest that I had in the back of my mind for weeks.
Comfort food of epic proportions. The idea originated in the July issue of Saveur magazine.
You can find the recipe for Extra-Crispy Fried Chicken from the Rye KC restaurant in Leawood, Kansas, on page 74 of the magazine. The concept of double frying chicken, intrigued me. In my minds eye I saw the double frying method of making French Fries as being the best, so this seemed a concept worth investigating.
Now, in our kitchen, a recipe is considered a suggestion, a plan if you will that is always up for discussion and debate. In the end, we decided not to brine the chicken as the recipe "suggested" but to soak the chicken over night in buttermilk. We used the same coating, which gave the finished product a wonderful little cayenne bite.
The recipe also suggested to thin the batter with water, a bit of beer was used for this purpose instead.
Was it worth the vigorous work-out? Absolutely!! This was, hands down the very best fried chicken recipe we have ever used. Double frying left the chicken really crispy and the flavor was out of this world...so worth the work.
With the chicken, I made a traditional mac and cheese, using half skim milk and half heavy cream because those were the ingredients that were at hand. The cheese mixture was cheddar, jack, parmesian, and buttermilk blue ( one of my newest finds and a bit of an obsession). To cut through some of the rich, heaviness, that I knew the mac and cheese and the chicken would leave on my palate, I sauteed broccoli rabe with garlic. It really was a perfect, slightly bitter counter point. It is our habit to drizzle a little honey over our fried chicken, a hold over from my childhood. On Long Island, where I grew up, there was a restaurant of historic renown. Ray-Nors Tavern served the best fried chicken and corn fritters, and to my unsophisticated tastes, back in the day, that extra little drizzle of honey is just one of the throw back culinary ideas that stuck. Oh, and just to emphasize how worth it this meal was, I did indeed see two extra pounds on the scale this morning, and I smiled anyway...it was that good!!
Mmmmm good!
Pictures are awesome, but it really was a great meal.
As you say, could not do this every day.
Thanks for capturing the moment.
Posted by: Bruce Ericson | August 12, 2013 at 04:37 PM
Oh yes, this was so worth the extra pounds on the scale the next day.
Posted by: Ciaochowlinda | August 13, 2013 at 07:56 PM
This fried chicken looks amazing! I hardly ever deep fry anymore, but I'd try this once, atleast!
Posted by: Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti | August 18, 2013 at 10:21 PM