Fried Chicken

Inspired by Rye - Kansas City, MO

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I had alot of great barbecue in Kansas City but wanting to change things up I decided to hit up Rye for lunch for afternoon. I was told the fried chicken was superb and it certainly did not disappoint. I’ll even go as far as saying I liked this fried chicken more than the barbecue I had. That might make some people upset but give this a shot and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

This recipe was adapted from Colby & Megan Garrelts in Kansas City, Missouri and their cookbook Made in America. The Garrelts have a couple restaurants up there - Bluestem and Rye. I visited Rye on a visit out to Kansas City and loved the modern touches they bring to the good old fashioned cooking one expects from the Heartland.

INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN BRINE (Serves 5-6):

  • 1 whole chicken (about 4-4.5 lbs)

  • 16 cups of water

  • ¼ cup of salt

  • Juice of 1 lemon (about 2-3 TBS)

  • zest of 1 lemon (about ½ tsp)

  • 2 TBS sugar

  • 2 TBS honey

  • 2 tsp black pepper

  • 15 whole cloves

  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed

  • 4 bay leaves

FRIED CHICKEN SLURRY:

  • 4 cups water

  • 4 cups buttermilk

  • 1 cup flour

  • 6 large egg whites

  • 2 TBS salt

  • 2 tsp black papper

  • 1 tsp garlic powder

  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper

FRIED CHICKEN DRY MIX:

  • 3 cups flour

  • 3 TBS garlic powder

  • 3 TBS onion powder

  • 1 TBS baking powder

  • 3 tsp salt

  • 2 tsp paprika

  • 2 tsp cayenne pepper

  • ½ tsp black pepper

ADDITIONAL NEEDS:

  • Canola oil, lots of it

GO FOR IT

CHICKEN BRINE:

  1. Cut chicken into 8 pieces (2 breasts, 2 wings, 2 thighs, 2 drums) or use 4 lbs of what you want as long as it’s not skinless

  2. In a large pot, combine water, salt, lemon juice/zest, sugar, honey, black pepper, cloves, garlic, and bay leaves

  3. Bring to a boil to dissolve and then allow to cool (I put pot in freezer for 1 hour)

  4. Place chicken in pot and ensure all chicken is covered

  5. Cover pot and place in refrigerator overnight (or up to 24 hours)

FRIED CHICKEN SLURRY:

  1. Remove chicken from brine, pat dry with paper towels, and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes

  2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together all slurry ingredients

  3. Once ready, submerge chicken in the slurry and allow to sit there for 15 minutes

FRIED CHICKEN DRY MIX:

  1. In a bowl, whisk together all dry mix ingredients

FRYING:

  1. Fill a dutch oven or large pot about halfway with oil (or just enough to cover your chicken completely during frying without spilling over)

  2. Heat oil to 375°F

  3. When oil nears final temperature, take chicken from slurry 1 piece at a time, allow excess liquid to drip off, then cover your chicken pieces well in the dry mix until completely coated

  4. When oil is ready, work in batches so you don’t overcrowd your fryer, and carefully drop pieces into the hot oil

  5. Temperature will drop once the chicken is in, this is okay - drop heat to low and make adjustments as necessary to make sure oil does not drop below 315°F

  6. Cook chicken until internal temperature reaches 165°F (just under 10 minutes for wings, 10-14 minutes for thighs and legs, and up to 18 minutes for breasts)

  7. When finished, remove chicken from oil and allow to drain on a cooling rack

  8. Serve hot and fresh

NOTES:

According to Colby Garrelts, you want to heat 2 frying pans worth of oil. 1 frying pan at 375°F and the 2nd at 315°F. You’re supposed to fry for 3 minutes at the higher temperature before moving to the pot with the lower temperature. I thought of doing this but then I thought it was quite extreme for the home kitchen. Most recipes you find call to maintain just 1 pan at around 350°F for the entire fry. I imagine that Colby’s method is similar to a Korean double fry method, but in reverse order. Maybe it contributes to the amazing flakiness I experienced in Kansas City. However, not wanting to waste an entire tub of oil and spend hours cleaning, I opted to use 1 pan and drop in at the high 375°F and just allow the oil to naturally drop down to 315°F while slowing adjusting my flame lower. I worked in 2 batches to cook all my chicken and thus had to raise the temperature again before my 2nd batch but it didn’t add hardly any time. Maybe I didn’t get the same level of flakiness of Colby but I will say one thing - this is the best damn fried chicken I’ve ever cooked in my entire life. Colonel Sanders can keep his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices. This recipe will put anything you’ve had before to complete shame.