Cookaholics Bulletin Board

We've got friends who come to town once a year for a ski trip (from NM), and it totally snuck up on me this year. They are here this weekend, and I'm having them over to dinner tonight. In a fit of "inspiration" I've decided I want to try sous vide buttermilk fried chicken. Okay, before you give me :raised eyebrows, here's what I'm thinkin'...

Brine the chicken in buttermilk, garlic, rosemary, lemon, etc. in a vac bag, then drain and re-bag for cooking sous vide. Put in the circulator at a reduced temp for both the dark and white meat for the "usual" period of time. Do a double dredge of the chicken and fry, reducing the time as it will already be (somewhat) pre-cooked.

For those of you who regularly make fried chicken, how long do you find it takes for the skin to get golden brown?

Amy

Amy, the lack of commentary is deafening; what the hell were you thinking????
Sorry I can't be of help but I would love to know the results.

We need some Southern respondents....I'm afraid I have never made fried chicken, so I am no help either.
ilene

How the heck would I know? Uhm, off the cuff, good hot oil, about 6 minutes per side, if the chicken is mostly done sous vide. Otoh, that last CI recipe had you brown in a saute pan, just til brown on the outside(3-5 a side) and then pop in 400* oven for 15-20 minutes. This was pretty no mess; use 1 1/2 cup oil in saute pan, then wire rack on baking sheet. 15-20 would be too long if partially done tho.

ellie

I thought that i responded to this. We do KFC about once a year. That's all I know about fried chicken! Good luck!
Ellie's nothern friend.

C,

That pretty much answers my question. I was kind of figuring on 3-5/side...

I'll report back!

Amy

Have fun! Can you get a picture?

How do you keep the chicken together enough to not fall apart when frying?

However you do it, it sounds delicious.

The chicken worked out, and it was a fun evening. ty everyone!

Hi Amy,

Wow, that sounds incrediblel. Brining, cooking sous vide, followed by frying - that's amazing. I hadn't even thought of that but its inspiring.

One question - I was intrigued that you were cooking white and dark meat simultaneously. When I've done it, I cooked them separately. I think the dark meat cooked overnight at 160 (for about 10 hours) and then the white meat cooked 2-3 hours at 140. Everything was chilled and then used later in the week (after being warmed back up in water bath).

So, what temperature did you select and how long do it go for? Were all the pieces actually done when they came out or were you relying on the frying to finish them up?

But more importantly, how did the buttermilk brined chicken do with the sous vide preparation? I've salt-brined chicken and was impressed that it came out fully seasoned - but not overly salty as some suggest it would. In terms of flavor, how did your buttermilk brine work out? Did you wash the brine off and pat dry before putting into the pouch or did you just plunk it right back in the pouch?

That must have been incredible fried chicken. And thanks, you've opened up a whole new range of possibilities for me!

Gerard

Well, as I have a long cook going (it's actually just about to come out) I didn't want to change the temp of the bath, so in in went it 135. The more I thought about it, the more I thought SVing them in the brine might be the way to go. So I called my Executive Chef (who has also tried this technique) and asked him what he thought. He said SV them with the brine. So, I did.
I bagged the white and dark separately so I could leave the dark in the SV a little longer. I think did about 1/2 hour for the white, and maybe 40 minutes for the dark. I then removed them from the brine, put them on a rack and air dried in the refrigerator. Did my dredge, and into the deep fry they went. I figured the level of doneness wasn't a huge concern, as I could simply leave the pieces in the fryer for a little longer if needed. I was hoping the temp of the chicken would hit the magic mark by the time I got the level of crispiness I was looking for in the skin. With a lot of luck, that's precisely what happened. When I told my EC about my success, he immediately grilled me (in a very nice way...I'm lucky to work for one really great EC) about how I did it.

I'm not sure if this is the best way to do it, but it worked!

Amy