World's Greatest Fried Chicken

We recently purchased a deep fryer, breaking down after years of healthy-eating objections.  I've used it a couple of times so far and I must say it really is handy.  It's great to have so much more control over the oil temperature, along with the added benefit of being inherintly safer than a pot of scorching hot oil on the stovetop.  I've made some terrific french fries and potato chips with it, but I felt it was time to try something a little more complicated.  I settled on Buttermilk Fried Chicken, from Thomas Keller's "Ad Hoc" cookbook.  According to Keller, if there is a better recipe for fried chicken he hasn't tried it, which is good enough for me.

First to find a suitable chicken.  I've been buying whole chickens from Maple and Ewe Farm for a little over a year and I'm convinced it's the best chicken in Nova Scotia.  The chickens are lovingly raised outdoors in the Annapolis Valley, foraging for their food and eating a chicken's natural diet of grubs, worms and seeds.  I buy them from LeRoy Little of Highview Farms, who sells his product at the old Halifax Farmer's Market. 

The first step is to cut the bird into it's 10 pieces (two backs, two drumsticks, four half breasts and two wings).  This was the first time I had ever cut up a whole chicken, and it made me feel pretty dumb for buying just breasts or drumsticks for all those years.  Teach yourself to cut up a whole chicken and you'll save yourself a lot of money over the years by not paying someone else to do it for you.

The next step is to brine the chicken.

Even the recipes from this cookbook, which are intended to be informal, casual cooking, are still more complicated than most.  This chicken brine, for instance; simply salt and water isn't good enough, this one calls for lemons, bay leaves, honey, garlic, peppercorns, thyme and parsley.  I guess my definition of casual differs from Thomas Keller's.

Once the chicken is brined, it's time for the buttermilk batter.  

The chicken pieces are first dredged in seasoned flour, then dipped in buttermilk, then dredged a second time in the seasoned flour, then into the deep fryer.

The recipe says to fry the chicken 11 to 12 minutes, but I found it very subject to the size of the pieces.  My instant read thermometer came in handy, since it's really tricky to gauge whether the chicken is fully cooked in this preparation.  I ended up frying my chicken more like 16 minutes per piece.

The finished product, Thomas Keller's Buttermilk Fried Chicken.

The verdict?  Unbelievably good.  Having only eaten the Colonel's fried chicken up to this point, I had no idea that fried chicken could be so delicious.  You'd better buy a deep fryer.

Leek Potato Oyster Soup

During the fall and winter I often find myself craving homey foods like stews and soups. Or perhaps the reason we eat this way is more predicated on the fact that during this time of the year vegetable options are limited and much of what we can find locally are root vegetables. I prefer to think that it is something that I long for and we'll stick with that. So back to it, there is something very comforting in such foods, but this mid December I wanted something a little different and Fergus Henderson had just that something...leek potato oyster soup.

Off to the Halifax historic farmer's market on Saturday morning with my list. Hutten's Family Farms for leeks, potatoes and onions and Indian Point Mussels for the briny juicy oysters. This dish was extremely simple to prepare, using very basic ingredients that when combined together resulted in a delicious and very filling soup.

Chop 4 potatoes, slice one onion, 6 or 7 leeks and 5 cloves of garlic. Toss all but the potatoes into a heavy bottomed pot with 7 tablespoons of butter and allow them to sweat on a low heat.

I love using Henderson's recipes for a number of reasons, the challenge and sometimes great results, but also for his style of writing. He writes of food with such respect, giving it life, no other cookbook we have in our home is written in this manner and it always leaves me feeling grateful. In Henderson's words, once the leeks, onions and garlic start 'giving' add potatoes and cook for 8 minutes and then add stock and bring to a gentil boil.

I used fish stock as we have plenty in the freezer from our fall and winter shares in Off the Hook. Tossing all those fish heads was not something I could bring myself to do, it just seemed wrong, wasteful and disrespectful when we could turn it into something that we could later use. Making stock is effortless and a good way to use those food scrapes that may not have any other use. For those of you that think it's too much effort, bullocks....more effort is required in going to the grocery store and waiting in line to buy it. If you don't have fish stock, chicken stock is a great second option.

While the vegetable mixture fills your kitchen with a wonderful aroma, it's time to start shucking those oysters. This is by far the most challenging aspect of the dish. Rinse the oysters and use a tea towel to protect your hand while opening. Do be careful with that oyster shucker, otherwise you may NOT be enjoying your soup, but off to the doctor's office for stitches muttering a few choice words.

Reserve the briny juices from the oysters to add to the soup.

Once the potatoes are soft, toss the mixture into a blender and puree. Return pureed mixture to the pot and add salt and pepper to taste, mix in the oyster brine, plate (or in this case bowl) and top with a couple of fresh juicy oysters.

Enjoy!