Ranch Fried Chicken

1 Comment May 31, 2017 Tangie Holifield

Classic American ranch dressing herbs and seasonings appear in three components of the recipe—the buttermilk marinade, the flour coating, and the ranch dipping sauce—to pack summer flavors into this fried chicken. You can used boneless thighs to ensure a juicy meat without the time consuming brining process with just taking 10 -15 minutes. Frying the thin thighs takes half the time that bone-in chicken parts require, which allows the fresh herb flavors toshine through. But I prefer brining bone-in, skin on chicken over night in the refrigerator.

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH………

Talk about an unlikely origin story. The last thing that anyone expected Kenneth Henson of Thayer, Nebraska, to do during his three-year stint as a plumbing contractor in Alaska just after World War II was to develop a salad dressing recipe that would become one of America’s most popular condiments.

A plumbing contractor? In Alaska? You heard it right. Henson, 29 years old when he decamped for the then-U.S. territory, was a good cook, charged with preparing meals for his work-camp colleagues. A relentless kitchen tinkerer, he developed a buttermilk-based salad dressing that his crew loved.

In the early 1950s, Henson, who eventually changed his first name to Steve, relocated to the hills outside Santa Barbara, where he and his wife bought a 120-acre parcel and opened up a dude ranch, which they called “Hidden Valley.” Henson’s salad dressing was a fan favorite at meal time; eventually the Hensons began sending guests home with souvenir “ranch” seasoning packets.

Henson sold the “Hidden Valley Ranch” brand to Clorox for $8 million in 1972 and closed the ranch shortly thereafter. A shelfstable version of the dressing was created in 1983; today, ranch is the most popular salad dressing flavor in the United States.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
For the Chicken:
One 1-ounce packet Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
3 cups whole buttermilk, divided
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
One 3-pound chicken cut into 8 pieces, rinsed, patted dry*

For the Coating:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
Vegetable oil, for frying

For the Ranch Sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Salt , to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped chives, for garnish

Special Equipment:
Use a Dutch oven that holds 6 quarts or more for this recipe.
Thermometer

Directions:
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine dressing mix and 2 cups buttermilk. Seal bag, and shake until blended. Spoon 1⁄2 cup dressing into a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Add chicken to bag; seal and refrigerate for 8 hours. Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Lightly pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with pepper.

For the Buttermilk Marinade: Whisk all ingredients together in bowl. Set aside 1/4 cup buttermilk mixture for ranch sauce.

For the Coating: Whisk all ingredients together in large bowl.

Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Set second wire rack in second rimmed baking sheet and line half of rack with triple layer of paper towels.

Working with 1 piece at a time, dip chicken in remaining buttermilk mixture to coat, letting excess drip back into bowl; then dredge in coating, pressing to adhere.Dip in buttermilk and dredge in flour mixture again, pressing gently to adhere coating. Transfer chicken to first wire rack without paper towels. At this point, flour coated chicken may be refrigerated, uncovered, for up to 2 hours.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F. Working batches, add the chicken to the hot oil and fry until golden brown and a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 165°F, about 12 minutes, turning occasionally. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 325 and 350 °F.

Transfer chicken to paper towel–lined side of second wire rack to drain on each side for 30 seconds, then move to unlined side of rack. Return oil to 350 °F and repeat with remaining chicken.

For the Ranch Sauce: Whisk mayonnaise into reserved buttermilk mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer chicken to platter. Garnish with chopped chives and serve with ranch sauce.

Cook’s Notes:
You can use 8 chicken thighs or 8 drumsticks or a combination of thigh and drumsticks in the place of a whole cut up chicken.

KEY INGREDIENTS: THREE HERBS, THREE WAYS: Fresh herbs were used to further enhance the ranch flavor—chives, cilantro, and dill—in were used in three ways for this chicken: in the buttermilk dip, in the flour coating, and in the serving sauce.

All photographs and content are copyright protected. Please do not use these photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this photograph and all other contents, then we kindly ask that you link back to this site. We are eternally grateful and we appreciate your support of this blog.

Thank you so much!

83c735e07b3607818a9313c4ffaaab1f197c9227

Georgia Golden Peach Fried Chicken

May 8, 2017 Tangie Holifield

Earlier this year, in January, KFC introduced another chicken offering on it’s menu in selected markets.

Photo Credit: KFC, YumBrands! 2017

In reading my review, you can see that I was a little bit underwhelmed by the last year’s menu offering of their version of Nashville Hot Chicken. It was mildly okay. However, for the general public, many found KFC’s version still too spicy.

This year, it is KFC’s Georgia Gold, which is extra crispy chicken slathered in a honey-mustard sauce that soaks into the batter’s crunchy crevices. As an option, KFC also provides the sauce as a separate item for its chicken tenders. To be perfectly honest, it was pretty good, served with dill pickles, a hot biscuit and the traditional sweet and creamy southern style coleslaw, KFC is known for. It is so good that is taste more like a homemade meal rather that fast food.

With that being said, I just had to see if I could recreate something similar in my “laboratory” at home.

The result was a much more satisfying meal and I think I nailed it, at least the family thinks so.

I am still tweaking the recipe, but for now, here is the resulting dish.

DSC01076-Georgia Golden Peach Fried Chicken-otm@tk

Thank you so much!

Garlicky Fried Chicken

June 19, 2016 Tangie Holifield

I know this sounds crazy, but this recipe, that I learned from my Grand calls for the cook to season and THEN bake the chicken at low heat in the oven BEFORE battering and deep-frying it until it’s crispy and extremely juicy. The biggest benefit of baking the chicken first means it can be fried for a shorter amount of time without drying it out.Is that cray-cray, or what !!! Another trick I learned from my Grand is that adding fresh celery and herbs seasons the oil while the chicken is frying. My Grand would also use cornflakes to get that extra crunchiness on the outside. In my version, I opted for panko breadcrumbs. I also used chicken thighs and some blood oranges for the citrus note, because that is what I had on hand. Serve this dish with coleslaw and cold, cold glass of sweet iced tea—Southern style.

Serve 4 to 6

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons canola oil, plus more for frying
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated garlic
1 1/2 Tablespoons dried parsley
1 1/2 Tablespoons dried thyme
One 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, cut into 10 pieces and patted dry
Kosher salt, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Creole seasoning , to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup cornstarch
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups Japanese Panko bread crumbs , finely crushed
Fresh basil leaves
2 Stalks fresh celery broken into pieces
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 250°F. In a small bowl, whisk the 2 tablespoons of canola oil with the garlic cloves and 1/2 tablespoon each of the granulated garlic, parsley and thyme. Rub the mixture all over the chicken and under the skin. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and set on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about  1 hour, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest piece registers 150°F. Let cool slightly.

Spread the cornstarch in a pie plate. In another pie plate, beat the eggs with a pinch of salt. In a large resealable plastic bag, mix the flour with the panko, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper,Creole seasoning,cayenne pepper, the remaining 1 tablespoon each of granulated garlic, dried parsley and thyme.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Working in batches, dredge the baked chicken in the cornstarch and shake off the excess, then dip in the egg and coat thoroughly with the panko flour. Transfer the chicken  to the prepared baking sheet.

In a large saucepan, heat  2 inches of canola oil to 375°F. Add basil leaves and celery. Add half of the chicken and fry over moderately high heat, turning once, until deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of each piece  registers 165°F, about 6 minutes for the breasts and 8 minutes for the drumsticks, thighs and wings. Transfer the fried chicken to paper towels to drain. Let the oil return to 375° F and fry the remaining chicken. Transfer all of the fried chicken to a platter and serve with lemon wedges and coleslaw.