Tricky, But Worth It

I am not someone who fries a lot of food. I usually stay away from that crispy, crunchy deliciousness. Lately, though, I've been giving it a try. I'll only be young once, and am not scrutinizing my cholesterol at this time (wahoo!). I saw this episode, and we gave it a try. I saw "we", but really M is the Fry Daddy in our house. I'm on the Tasting Committee, which is good enough for me! We've managed to convert this to a gluten-free/dairy-free recipe, and I'm not sure even Mr. Brown could tell the difference.

Anyway, the only advice I can give to those not using an electric fryer, is to get a good thermometer (a candy thermometer works well), use a cast iron pot, and watch your temps. The oil temp drops when you add more items, and after you adjust your burner temp, it can sky-rocket before you know it. Enjoy!!!

Fried Chicken

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

• Cook Time

  20 min

• Level

  Intermediate

• Yield

  3 to 4 servings

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Times:

Prep

20 min

Inactive Prep

--

Cook

20 min

Total:

40 min

Ingredients

• 1 broiler/fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces (* or you can use chicken tenders)
  
• 2 cups low fat buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Flour, for dredging
• Vegetable shortening, for frying

Directions

Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.

Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Place chicken skin side down into the pan. Put thighs in the center, and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)

Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Don't drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags. If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it's a gas oven.

You have to try this!!!

Why is this my new go-to sorbet recipe? Why will I happily modify it to fit whatever fruit-mood I'm in at the moment? Let me count the ways.

1) Its a really easy recipe. Love that!
2) You don't have to buy any funky ingredients that you'll never use again. Powdered fruit pectin, anyone?
3) It makes a lot. I ended up doing it in two batches because my ice cream maker (a Cuisinart) was too full. Too much ice cream/sorbet is always a winner in my book.
4) I mixed the base last night, let it sit in the fridge overnight, and put it in the ice cream maker this morning. I love "fix and do later" recipes!
5) The churned sorbet has been in my freezer since about 9am, and isn't frozen solid. I *really* hate having to struggle to get ice cream/sorbet out of a container.
6) You knew I would make some modifications to the recipe, didn't you! Of course I did! And even better, my changes worked (for the better, IMO). Check my notes at the bottom of the recipe.

Peach Sorbet, courtesy of makeicecream.com

4 cups peaches, peeled pitted and sliced (you can omit the slicing and just puree them)

2 1/4 cups sugar

2/3 cup orange juice

1/3 cup lemon juice

In a blender or a food processor, purée the peaches. In large saucepan, combine the sugar, orange juice and lemon juice. Over medium heat, cook and stir until the sugar dissolves; remove from heat. Stir in pureed peaches. Refrigerate until cold. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream machine using it according to manufacturer’s instruction.

My Notes:
If you're going to use peaches, don't be afraid to get the "almost too ripe" ones. You know the ones I'm talking about. Buy them! They are perfect for ice cream/sorbet for several reasons. First, you're taking off the skin, so don't worry about the outward appearance. Second, you're puree-ing them anyway, so if the flesh is a little soft, no one will know. Third and most importantly, the overly ripe fruits are the ones with the more intense flavors.
I was a little leery of the amount of sugar this called for, and substituted 1 cup of Prickly Pear Honey for the regular sugar. It added a fantastic depth of flavor, and an additional fruity note. Delicious! I also used just about 2 cups, leaving out the last 1/4 cup.
Given my initial success with this recipe, I really think it could be modified for any fruit and juice combination. Just keep to the quantities listed, and you should be fine.

Happy Sorbet-ing!