About 4 years in the past, I posted a recipe for Southern Fried Hen, which shortly turned one of many extra in style recipes on this website. I appreciated the recipe a lot that I ended up including it to my first cookbook, The Ancestral Desk, after which enhancing it for my second cookbook, Paleo Takeout, to include seasonings much like these you’d discover at a sure well-known fried rooster chain restaurant (you already know, the type that is available in a bucket).
As I discussed in that first fried rooster publish, this dish is the convergence of three completely different occasions. First, the West African apply of frying rooster was delivered to the US because of the slave commerce. Second, the mass manufacturing of pork within the South resulted in an extra of lard for cooking. And eventually, cast-iron cookware turned a staple of each kitchen through the nineteenth century. It’s solely pure that these parts got here collectively as they did, to create one of many tastiest methods to organize rooster.
Colonel Harland Sanders first began promoting fried rooster through the Nice Melancholy, in Kentucky, and opened his first franchise restaurant in 1952; his success challenged the belief that “quick meals” was restricted to hamburgers. His authentic recipe of “11 herbs and spices” was finalized in 1940, and has been a intently guarded secret ever since. In honor of the unique Kentucky Fried Hen recipe, I additionally used 11 herbs and spices (though, to be truthful, the pinch of thyme utilized in my recipe was added principally to achieve 11!).
The unique preparation for KFC rooster was via conventional pan-frying, however it could take upwards of half-hour to organize one batch of rooster. Finally, Colonel Sanders modified a strain cooker to make the primary strain fryer, which is the tactic they use at the moment. For my recipe, we’ll be returning to KFC’s roots and pan-frying the rooster – no modified strain cooker wanted.
Seasoned Southern Fried Hen (Paleo, Primal, Gluten-free, Excellent Well being Weight-reduction plan, Whole30-adaptable)
4 lbs bone-in, skin-on rooster thighs and/or drumsticks
2 cups full-fat buttermilk (see dairy-free word under)
1 tbsp sea salt
COATING:
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp floor ginger
1/4 tsp floor cloves
pinch of dried thyme
3 cups lard, for frying, or extra if wanted
1. Pat the rooster items dry with paper towels. In a resealable plastic bag, mix the rooster, buttermilk, and salt and refrigerate for not less than half-hour however as much as in a single day—the longer the higher. Drain the rooster in a colander, then let dry on a wire rack over a baking sheet for half-hour.
2. Preheat your oven to 170°F. Mix the coating components in a large, shallow bowl. In a cast-iron skillet, warmth the lard to about 340F. Pat the rooster items dry with paper towels, then coat them within the seasonings, shaking off the surplus. Fry the rooster in batches till the inner temperature reaches 165F, about 10 minutes per facet. As you end every batch, place the cooked rooster items on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; put them within the oven to maintain heat as you fry the remaining items.
** Not a fan of buttermilk, or avoiding dairy? Substitute 1 1/2 cups coconut milk and 1/4 cup white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. The important thing to this marinade is its acidity, which tenderizes the rooster.
