Ugly Delicious

Finding little of value on the Food network, I now enjoy some of the PBS shows (Lidia, Ming etc) but have also started some of the Netflix portfolio. I have watched several episodes of Ugly Delicious which features David Chang of Momofoku (so?)fame. I think it is quite interesting. Probably not for everyone with some gratuitous profanity, but I think it is thoughtful and there is no denying this guy’s life revolves around food. I just watched a very interesting episode about fried chicken - around the US and around the globe. Does anyone else watch his?

And I never make fried chicken.... always seemed like a hassle/mess/bad for you.... but now I’m hankering for it. How often do you make it?

And I never make fried chicken.... always seemed like a hassle/mess/bad for you.... but now I’m hankering for it. How often do you make it?

Never, and for the same reasons, plus I live alone, so I would never make it for myself. When I get a hankering I usually go to KFC or buy the frozen Banquet, but I have ordered it in a few local restaurants.

And I never make fried chicken.... always seemed like a hassle/mess/bad for you.... but now I’m hankering for it. How often do you make it?

Never, and for the same reasons, plus I live alone, so I would never make it for myself. When I get a hankering I usually go to KFC or buy the frozen Banquet, but I have ordered it in a few local restaurants.

I'm not sure that "bad for me" really stays my hand much -- there's a lot of dairy fat around this house -- but I agree that it is a lot of mess for an occasional craving. Fried chicken is the sort of thing I find a good local purveyor and go there when I must.

My two nearby choices: Popeye's (which is OK) and a premium butcher (even closer, who has some prepared foods). I suppose there are also some salad bar-type options and some sit-downs.

Addendum to my previous note: There is a local supermarket that makes good fried chicken that I have bought for casual get-togethers. However, the best fried chicken I ever had as made as a picnic lunch, prepared by the late Chef Joseph Carey, served with potato salad, at Linda Lindsay's Stone Wolf Winery several years ago.

I occasionally buy fried chicken from a local supermarket. As for making fried chicken myself, I've only done it when making Cantonese lemon chicken (the chicken pieces are battered and deep-fried) and Paul Prudhomme's recipe for chicken and andouille gumbo (the chicken is floured and pan-fried before being boned, cut up, and added to the gumbo).

Chef Carey's recipe for Southern fried chicken is in his book Chef on Fire.

-Paul W.

And I never make fried chicken.... always seemed like a hassle/mess/bad for you.... but now I’m hankering for it. How often do you make it?

I make fried chicken fairly often, as it's one of my favorite foods. I don't find it to be a hassle, and no messier than any other cooking operation (why do you think it's bad for you??).

FWIW, I purchased a pressure fryer a while back so I could make clones of KFC (the secret is the process, not the ingredients). If by "mess" you mean "spattering oil from an open fry pan", then this helps considerably AND makes the best damn fried chicken I've ever had. I made fried chicken every other conceivable way up until then, and I can honestly say nothing even comes close to pressure frying for flavor, texture, and ease of production. I have a shrine to Col. Sanders in my bedroom.

KFC clone.png (883.8 KiB) Viewed 415 times

[Jenise]

John, love the show too for the same reasons, also have long since abandoned the Food Network for the same reasons (ditto, the Cooking Channel--was supposed to be higher level than the FN but it's turned out to be absolute crap as well--they are not programming for intelligence.)

Recently quite enjoyed the four-part series that's something like Salt, Acid, Bitter, Sweet.

I adore fried chicken but no I don't make it. Can't stand the mess. However, I *do* marinate chicken pieces for 24 hours in a mixture of apple juice, olive oil and white wine with a ton of herbs (dill, herbs d'Provence) and Salt and Pepper, then dredge in a 50/50 blend of AP flour and corn meal, then bake for 45 minutes on cookie sheets pre-heated with about 1/8th an inch of oil. I'll put that up against anyone's fried chicken and expect to get at least half the votes, especially from all the wine lovers in the room.

I'll put that up against anyone's fried chicken and expect to get at least half the votes, especially from all the wine lovers in the room.

You're on. Bring it!

[Jenise]

I'll put that up against anyone's fried chicken and expect to get at least half the votes, especially from all the wine lovers in the room.

You're on. Bring it!

If only we could! The cool thing is about my prep is, there's enough olive oil in the marinade to give the chicken enough fat to act somewhat like fried chicken, and the sugars in the apple juice caramelize enough to turn the corn meal into a great crust. Everything we love about fried chicken is in there without it actually being fried. Yours sounds awesome too (I still love KFC).

...and the sugars in the apple juice caramelize enough to turn the corn meal into a great crust.

I was just about to ask what the apple juice was for!

The cool thing is about my prep is, there's enough olive oil in the marinade to give the chicken enough fat to act somewhat like fried chicken, and the sugars in the apple juice caramelize enough to turn the corn meal into a great crust. Everything we love about fried chicken is in there without it actually being fried. Yours sounds awesome too (I still love KFC).

Hmm. I suspect you'd win on style and originality points, if nothing else. Oh well....

[Jenise]

Hey, don't throw in the towel just yet. I'm sure we'll meet up eventually!

I sure hope so. I vaguely recall being promised a Dungeness crab