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Who doesn’t like fried chicken? I have been making the same fried chicken for years (pictured here and here), and have lusted after Korean fried chicken, so was excited to try David Chang’s version from the Momofuku cookbook.

Chang’s chicken is brined for several hours, which helps the flavor tremendously because he doesn’t use any dry rub or batter/dredge. The chicken is cooked in a two step process, starting with a steam, followed by a fry, with a thorough chill in the fridge in between. I have seen this steaming technique used in the past with chicken wings by Alton Brown and have been skeptical, but I’ll have to admit that it works well. The steaming cooks the chicken and renders fat out of the skin requiring deep frying for only a few minutes. The shorter time in oil produces a non-greasy, non-oily, crispy thin skin. (It was immediately after I threw out the steaming water that I realized that the chickeny/schmaltzy water would have made great rice. Next time!) After frying the chicken is tossed in a garlicky, gingery vinaigrette that Chang refers to as “octo vin”.

I found that the chicken, while cooked very nicely, didn’t stand up to the pungent vinaigrette. The entire process, from brine to the quick fry is designed to showcase the chicken itself. Chang writes that they use the expensive and flavorful poulet rouge in the restaurant, so the minimal technique makes sense. I was using commonly available Foster Farms Washington grown chicken, which is good but probably too subtle for this technique.

If I come across a poulet rouge or a poulet de Bresse I’ll give this recipe another shot. I may try the two step cooking with my regular fried chicken, and the octo vin will remain a staple in my fridge.

(Sorry about the bad picture. We were hungry!)

Thomas Keller is one of my culinary heroes so I was ecstatic when I heard that a cookbook inspired by his restaurant ad hoc was being released. The French Laundry Cookbook and Bouchon are two of my favorite cookbooks and I was very much looking forward to see what Thomas Keller’s definition of simple, family-style food is. ad hoc at home is indeed miles simpler than the other books, but every bit as good. ad hoc really showcases Keller’s philosophy of featuring and maximizing every ingredient.

I don’t believe I have ever cooked with fennel until tonight, although I will admit that I once had a fennel bulb sit in my crisper drawer for several weeks after never roasting it as intended for a Thanksgiving dinner. Tonight’s dinner was braised crispy chicken thighs with fennel, olives, and lemon from the ad hoc at home book.

Making the chicken was easy, as expected. It started with sweating onions and garlic, adding fennel batons, Ascolane olives, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, thyme, and bay leaves. White wine, chicken stock, and previously browned chicken thighs were added to the pan and braised briefly in the oven. After the chicken was cooked, I turned on the broiler to get a beautiful crispy, browned skin on the chicken.

This is a good example of how the sum is greater than the parts of a dish. Relatively simple ingredients came together to make a complex, comforting meal. The crispy skin combined with poultry, salty and slightly bitter olives and lemon zest, and anise from the fennel to make delicious dish.

I whole heartedly recommend ad hoc at home to anybody for not only simple recipes, but also as a study on how to showcase every ingredient to its full potential.

It has been quite a while since I have updated the blog, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking! I have been enjoying a number of weeks off of work, spending time with friends, going to Sounders FC matches, and generally trying to keep cool in this sweltering heat.

This week we drove up to Biringer Farm to pick raspberries. The variety was Tulameen, and it made the most delicious jam. Stay tuned for a post highlighting the raspberry jam, along with pictures of the pulled pork butt I am planning to make this weekend.

In the meantime, a rundown of some of the more delicious items from the kitchen.

Short-rib sliders

Strawberry-rhubarb pie

The most marbled and delicious ribeye I've ever cooked

Fried chicken

A preview of Tulameen raspberry jam

A roast chicken has to be one of the easiest dinners I can think of. While some go through great lengths to modify the chicken—brining, rubbing butter under the skin, stuffing with aromatics—I keep it very simple. My chickens get no more treatment than a trussing, patting dry, a heavy sprinkling of kosher salt, and a hot 450° oven for around 45 minutes. No basting. The result is delicious with thin crispy salty skin, moist meat, and is as simple as it can get.

Last night I did something a little different, lining the bottom of the skillet with baguette slices. These absorbed up all of the fat and juices from the bird, turning golden crisp on the bottom and soft on top like stuffing. I could probably eat these savory croutons by themselves (and nearly did eat an entire baguettes worth). Besides being a perfect accompaniment to the chicken, the bread prevented the bird from sticking to the pan. Easy cleanup!

The bones and carcass from this chicken will join others that I have saved in the freezer to make chicken stock this weekend. Stay tuned for that.

I originally bought my deep fryer after getting a craving for fish & chips one day. Since then, it has made regular appearances in the kitchen, usually for french fries, but occasionally for fried chicken.

There is great debate over what makes great fried chicken: dark or light meat? If dark, legs or thighs? Buttermilk soak or brine? Battered or breaded? Deep fried or pan fried? Served hot or cold?

The fried chicken that I make is always dark meat, preferably legs. I forgo both the soak and the brine, instead liberally spreading on a spicy dry rub and letting it sit as long as possible (overnight is okay, a day is better). I use a combination of batter and breading, and deep fry. I can appreciate the burnt crusty bits that result from a pan fry, but the convenience of using an electric deep fryer cannot be beat.

Union restaurant held a fried chicken cook-off last year, pitting five chefs and two foodies against each other. The winner that night (due to a stacked table of friends) was a play on chicken parmesan that ended up soggy and could hardly be called fried chicken. If Ethan Stowell ever decides to run the fried chicken cook-off again, I will definitely enter!