As you ponder the previous article about the benefits of eating an ounce-and-a-half of nuts a day, we will describe tonight’s meal — honey glazed fried chicken. The side was french fries. The chef was Bill Jr. The wine was a box white.
The recipe was based on something seen on America’s Test Kitchen.
Brine the chicken — in this case four legs and four thighs — for 30 minutes in a mix of a half cup of sugar and a half cup of salt in a quart of water. Make the batter which is simply 1.5 cups corn starch and a cup of water with two teaspoons of pepper and one of salt. Whisk it and let it sit in the refrigerator as the chicken brines.
Fill a Dutch oven with 2.5 quarts of vegetable oil and let it sit on the stove until it reaches 350 degrees F. I believe it took about 20 minutes to reach this point with the burner on high.
After the brining, dry the chicken — thoroughly — with paper towels. Dip four pieces in dry corn starch, then in the batter. Place them in the hot oil. After seven minutes pull them out and place them on a wire rack, which is best placed inside a rimmed baking tray. Put the other four in after likewise dipping them in the dry corn starch then the batter. After seven minutes pull them out and return the first batch to the oil. Seven minutes should be enough for the meat to reach 175 degrees F. Return the second batch to the oil and cook until done.
When the chicken is frying, make the glaze which is 3/4 cup of honey and two tablespoons of hot sauce cooked in a microwave for a minute and a half. Dip the finished chicken piece by piece in the glaze then pile the fowl on a serving plate and dribble the rest atop.
The french fries were from scratch and fried in the oil along with chicken during round two. Cover each fry in dry corn starch before placing in the oil.
Dessert was ripe Ukrainian persimmons and medlars straight from the tree courtesy of Karen Palinko of Oxford.
Medlars and persimmons, the perfect dessert for honey glazed friend chicken.