Craggly

[Shawnna Franz]

Dredgethe chicken. Using your hands, remove the chicken from the brine one piece at a time, and coat it in the flour mixture, scooping some of the brine into the flour mixture as you go and taking care to toss and really press the dredge onto the chicken so it adheres and forms craggly bits. Shake the excess dredge off and transfer to the wire rack.

Assemble your sandwich by spooning a little of your special sauce onto the bottom bun, top with a piece of fried chicken, followed by onion, pepperonicini, shredduce, more hot sauce. Dollop another swoosh of the sauce on the top bun before topping the sandwich.

If you told me one day I\u2019d be making fried chicken on the internet, I\u2019d say that is simply impossible. Even more impossible, that I\u2019d turn that chicken into a sandwich. But here we are, September 21st, 2021, and the day has come. Why is this happening? Long story short, after a night of mildly heavy drinking, I agreed to make David a spicy fried chicken sandwich for his birthday episode of Home Movies, because despite my very public opinion on sandwiches (don\u2019t care for them), you can\u2019t spell friend without fried (chicken sandwich), and I finally agreed to do this if the focus was more on the fried chicken part, less the sandwich. Compromise!

And listen, while I feel like this is a decidedly \u201Cun-Alison Roman\u201D dish to make, it\u2019s not because I don\u2019t like fried chicken. I LOVE fried chicken\u2014I just feel spoiled by the ability to walk down to a number of places near me in Brooklyn (Popeyes! Kennedy Fried Chicken!) and get pretty great fried chicken, and just like ketchup in a bottle, some things taste better when purchased.

This spicy fried chicken has everything I think you need to make an undeniably great version: a 50/50 buttermilk/pickle juice brine for very juicy meat (FWIW I\u2019ve tested with lacto-fermented style pickle juice AND something like an Olive Mt./ Vlasic, and despite varying levels of acidity and salinity, all seem to work just swell) and a flour/cornstarch dredge for craggly bits of crunchy, toast-colored craggly bits a plenty. I\u2019m happy with regular fried chicken, so I get if the spicy part doesn\u2019t appeal. If you feel the same, just leave out the spices and hot sauce that make it so; exterior crunch and interior juiciness will not be adversely affected.

For spicy fried chicken enthusiasts, please know this is not a Nashville-style hot chicken (no hot oil bath after frying here), just a gentle-yet-still-very-present heat throughout. If you\u2019re looking for something that\u2019s so hot you\u2019re in pain, this recipe might not be for you (or maybe it is, with a few adjustments to the cayenne, hot paprika and hot sauce). For more adjustments and swaps, read on!

Fried chicken is a delightful food that I rarely make at home, probably because it takes a little more effort than the average meal. You have to make peace with the fact that your kitchen is going to get dirty, your stove will be splattered with oil, you\u2019ll have to clean as you go, etc. This is also what makes it one of my favorite special occasion meals\u2014growing up, it\u2019s what my mom would make when we\u2019d have friends over we didn\u2019t see very often, or for our non-traditional Easter brunch. Much like the more casual version (beloved crispy chicken cutlets!), making fried chicken for someone is to love and celebrate them, and we think you should make this fried chicken for the David in your life.

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This fried chicken is tender and juicy, crispy and crunchy, spicy and salty, and all around wonderful. It gets brined in a garlicky, spicy pickle juice and buttermilk mixture (would drink), then dredged in a perfectly seasoned flour mixture with some cornstarch in there to help create the holy grail shatteringly crisp bits everyone desires. David holds the correct opinion that spicy fried chicken is the best fried chicken, and this one has the perfect level of heat without crossing into unpleasant-to-eat territory. It\u2019s great on its own, served with some briny, spicy pepperoncinis for snacking on in between bites, or served David-style (\u201Ca sandwich\u201D) with aforementioned pepperoncinis, lots of shredduce (IYKYK), raw onion, and a swoosh of spicy mayo-based sauce on a Big Marty\u2019s or Martin\u2019s potato roll (the only buns).

THE CHICKEN: If making straight-up fried chicken, use a whole cut up chicken, or any combination of bone-in, skin-on pieces. For chicken sandwiches, use boneless, skinless chicken thighs (breasts halved lengthwise would work, but that\u2019s kind of annoying and the thigh meat is just so much better).

THE HEAT: It\u2019s spicy, yes, but it doesn\u2019t have to be if you or someone you\u2019re making it for is spice-averse. For the brine, you can use any hot sauce you like (I am a Crystal loyalist, but Alison used this excellent local scotch bonnet hot sauce). For the dredge, swap out any of the spices used for something you prefer (hot for smoked paprika is a good one), or keep it simple with salt and pepper.

THE BRINE: if you don\u2019t have pickle juice to spare, use all buttermilk and increase salt by 1 tablespoon. Kimchi or sauerkraut liquid are also perfect substitutes (who doesn\u2019t have extra sauerkraut liquid just hanging around?).

THE SERVING: Some of us have made their sandwich opinions VERY clear and prefer to have chicken on it\u2019s own\u2014all it really needs is a side of pickles, peppers or hot pickled peppers (pepperoncinis are lovely and perfect). If you are of the David-style of thought, and think, yes, I DO want a sandwich, the toppings are really up to you, but it\u2019s hard to beat the combo of iceberg lettuce, raw onion and a spicy mayo-based sauce.

Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet or dutch oven over medium heat until it reaches 350 degrees. If you don\u2019t have a thermometer, you can test to make sure the oil is ready by dropping in a small piece and making sure it immediately sizzles and there are lots of little bubbles forming around it.

Working in batches and taking care not to overcrowd the pan, add the chicken to the oil and cook over medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes, until they are deeply golden brown on the first side. Using tongs, flip the pieces and cook for another 6-8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a wire rack fitted inside a sheet pan as it finishes frying, then transfer to the oven for 5-10 minutes until cooked through (if you\u2019re frying boneless skinless thighs for sandwiches, they won\u2019t take as long and don\u2019t need to be transferred to the oven).

Add the flour, sugar, salt and spices to a bowl and mix to combine. Add in the cubed butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a mixture that resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk. Use a table knife to stir it together until it starts to clump and come together. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead it briefly to incorporate everything. Use your hands to flatten it out a little, about 1/2 an inch thick. Drain the raisins and place half of them on top of the dough. Fold the dough over on itself and place the rest of the raisins on top. Gently knead the dough again for a couple of seconds until the raisins feel incorporated. The dough might feel a little messy and rough but thats fine! Dust with a little more flour if it start to stick to the worktop.

Brush the tops with a little egg wash and sprinkle generously with demerara sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the scones are well browned on top. Let them cool a little before serving warm with salted butter.

As a freelance creative, I wear many hats. I always chuckle quietly to myself when someone asks the dreaded \u2018so what do you actually do?\u2019 Mainly because my efforts to give a short, clean answer usually fails and I end up waffling, trying to succinctly explain why although I am a baker, no you cannot place an order with me for your birthday or wedding cake.

Some weeks, I\u2019m knee deep in recipe development, where I\u2019ll be working to a brief for a magazine or brand, coming up with new ideas and testing them until they\u2019re right. Some days, I\u2019ll be food styling on shoots, or creating content for social media, hosting events, running a baking class, testing recipes for my Guardian column, or writing this newsletter. Lots of hats. And that\u2019s not including all the admin. But it\u2019s all part of the *mostly* joyful rollercoaster of working for yourself.

This week, I\u2019ve been wearing my food stylist hat and I\u2019m currently working on a cookbook for another author. It\u2019s always fun being on the other side of a cookbook, helping bring it to life for someone else. It\u2019s a great time to get stuck into ideas and recipes outside of your own work, especially when inspiration is running a little dry. Immersing yourself into another chef or food writers cuisine or point of view can really spark some creative juices. So I\u2019m looking forward to getting back into the kitchen and playing around with new ideas that will hopefully make it over to this newsletter.

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