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Message
A food scientist explains how to make the crispiest fried chicken in the world
Posted on 2/12/16 at 7:42 pm
Posted on 2/12/16 at 7:42 pm
LINK
quote:
But, according to a food scientist, one surprising ingredient could do the trick: vodka. That's what J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, managing culinary director of food-enthusiast site SeriousEats.com, found after hundreds of experiments in the kitchen. The reason vodka is the ideal ingredient for a fried-chicken marinade mixture is rooted in science, Lopez-Alt said. In order to maximize the crispiness of the chicken, it makes sense to maximize its surface area. "With a food like fried chicken, you want it to be really, really crisp," Lopez-Alt said on Stephen Dubner's "Freakonomics" podcast in November. "And the more surface area you have, the more sort of little nooks and crannies you have, the crisper it's going to feel in your mouth, the better sauce is going to cling to it." Using vodka will increase that ratio of surface area to volume. Alcohol is more volatile than water, so it evaporates more rapidly and violently than the water in a typical marinade ingredient, like buttermilk. This results in bigger vapor bubbles that turn into those extra nooks and crannies of fried goodness.
Posted on 2/12/16 at 7:47 pm to RedRifle
I'm too drunk to taste this chicken
Posted on 2/12/16 at 7:52 pm to RedRifle
Kenji is the frickin' man at stuff like that.
Posted on 2/12/16 at 7:53 pm to RedRifle
Saw David Cheng use vodka to make fried chicken a few years back. Never tried it though.
Posted on 2/12/16 at 8:00 pm to RedRifle
I tried that several times and didn't find that much of a difference unless you are re-using your batter over and over because alcohol inhibits gluten formation. The key is working quickly so less gluten is formed. If you let the chicken sit in flour or make a batter an hour ahead of time, the gluten is going to form a rock hard crust. Some of you may have noticed that the first batches of fried food(using a flour based coating) turn out better and they get progressively worse as time goes by.
Anyway, that's about all the help you will get out of me. I've mastered and since improved my Popeyes chicken clone over the past year or 3 so I've tried just about every method of frying chicken out there.
Edit: vodka is too damn expensive to waste on fried chicken too.
Anyway, that's about all the help you will get out of me. I've mastered and since improved my Popeyes chicken clone over the past year or 3 so I've tried just about every method of frying chicken out there.
Edit: vodka is too damn expensive to waste on fried chicken too.
This post was edited on 2/12/16 at 8:03 pm
Posted on 2/13/16 at 5:12 am to sleepytime
quote:
nce improved my Popeyes chicken clone over the past year or 3 so
Care to share?
Posted on 2/13/16 at 7:49 am to RedRifle
Kenji also developed the vodka pie crust technique when he worked at Cooks Illustrated. He likes his vodka.
Posted on 2/13/16 at 3:22 pm to sleepytime
So you're gonna brag about your awesome recipe then leave? Come on, WHATS IN THE BOX?
Posted on 2/13/16 at 6:07 pm to RedRifle
Interesting. I have Kenji's new Food Lab book, and I made the fried chicken from it. No vodka was anywhere to be found.
That said, he did have some steps that were different from usual. And the chicken came out great.
That said, he did have some steps that were different from usual. And the chicken came out great.
Posted on 2/13/16 at 9:09 pm to OTIS2
quote:
Recipe?
If I'm diagnosed with terminal cancer or something and haven't done anything commercial with my recipe, I'll post it. I will tell you all that every recipe on the internet is way off as far as ingredients and techniques are concerned so don't waste your time.
Also, unless you have access to commercial ingredients and equipment, it's cheaper to get good chicken at popeyes.
Posted on 2/13/16 at 9:25 pm to sleepytime
quote:
Edit: vodka is too damn expensive to waste on fried chicken too.
I doubt you use gray goose
Posted on 2/13/16 at 10:40 pm to sleepytime
quote:
If I'm diagnosed with terminal cancer or something and haven't done anything commercial with my recipe, I'll post it.
Yeah, the world is in desperate need of a fried chicken recipe, especially a copy of one that already exists.
Posted on 2/13/16 at 11:04 pm to sleepytime
quote:
If I'm diagnosed with terminal cancer or something and haven't done anything commercial with my recipe, I'll post it. I will tell you all that every recipe on the internet is way off as far as ingredients and techniques are concerned so don't waste your time.
OK Colonel Sanders.
Posted on 2/14/16 at 1:20 am to sleepytime
quote:
If I'm diagnosed with terminal cancer or something and haven't done anything commercial with my recipe, I'll post it.
Or you could wait till you win the lottery and then post it... either way you'll never make a dime off your shitty recipe that you copied from someone else.
Posted on 2/14/16 at 3:24 am to sleepytime
I have no interest in your recipe. Popeye's is far from the best fried chicken I've ever had.
Posted on 2/14/16 at 8:52 am to Degas
Soaking chicken in watermelon juice overnight is the key to exellent fried chicken. When the chicken is heated in oil, the sugar in the watermelon juice is heated as well. When removed from oil, the sugar crystallizes to form the crispest crust.
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