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Oy. What’s a good home cook to do?
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, begins at sundown Dec. 1, six days after Thanksgiving. Turkey latkes? I don’t think so.
Hanukkah is not a major Jewish holiday. In fact, it is not mentioned in the bible. It is a historical event. It’s the story of Judah Maccabee, “The Hammer,” and his band of men who defeated the Syrians who desecrated the temple in Jerusalem. The oil lamp which hangs over the ark did not have enough oil to keep it lit. Yet, a great miracle happened there and the oil lamp burned for eight days.
Because we enjoy foods fried in oil during the eight-day festival, I got to thinking about deep-frying. I have never deep-fried anything in my life. Suddenly, I began craving fried chicken with unusual latkes.
I have a fear of deep-fat-frying. The kitchen could catch on fire, I could burn the house down. I had to get over this irrational fear.
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Who came to my rescue? My friend Chris Thames of course. He’s a Southern boy although he’s been up North so long he now calls himself a Yankee. Still you can take the boy out of the South.
Everyone in the know knows you must marinate chicken parts in buttermilk for at least 12 hours before you fry it. Perhaps the good-for-you bacteria and the tangy taste are the culinary culprits.
I bought an organic cut-up chicken and a whole organic chicken from the Reading Terminal Market. Chris wanted to show how easy it is to cut it into eight pieces. He also told me to marinate the cut-up poultry in buttermilk overnight.
“Buttermilk adds acidity to the chicken and creaminess to the batter,” Chris said. “I use a mix of all-purpose flour and self-rising flour. I season it with black pepper.”
It was my job to get my hands dirty. Chris showed me how to double dip the chicken for the fryer.
“Take a piece of chicken out of the buttermilk, shake off excess buttermilk on paper towels, dip it into the flour, shake off the excess and repeat the steps once more,” he said.
I had fun doing this. Use one hand for dredging the other for covering the chicken in the flour.
We used a mix of Canola oil and vegetable shortening for the fried chicken. We heated my pot and added the oil and shortening. Chris did a funny thing. He placed a long wooden chopstick in the hot oil.
“You know the oil is hot enough when the oil sizzles around the chopstick,” he said. “Always place the chicken in the hot oil away from you.”
We made potato latkes with a twist. We used three large Idaho potatoes and one large jewel yam. The potatoes were peeled and placed in the food processor and grated. We switched to the steel blade and pulsed on and off until the potatoes were somewhat gritty.
After the chicken and latkes were drained on paper towels, we sat down to one delicious lunch.
Chris Thames’s Southern Fried Chicken
Ingredients:
1 3-pound organic chicken, cut into eight pieces
1 quart of buttermilk
All-purpose flour for dredging
Self-rising flour for dredging
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 inches of Canola oil, to coat the bottom of a pan
Directions:
Place the chicken in a big glass bowl and cover with the buttermilk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Heat the oil over high heat. Remove each piece of the chicken from the buttermilk. Shake off the excess. Place in seasoned flour, shake off the excess, dip in the buttermilk, dredge in flour again. Shake off the excess.
Carefully place each piece of chicken into the hot oil away from you. Repeat until all the chicken is in the pot. You may have to do this in two batches. When the chicken is brown on one side, turn it to the other side. The chicken will cook for about five minutes on each side.
Drain on paper towels.
Serves three to four.
Potato Latkes
Ingredients:
3 large Idaho potatoes, peeled
1 large jewel yam, peeled
1/2 cup of matzo meal
2 heaping tablespoons of flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 large eggs, beaten
Canola oil
Applesauce
Sour cream
Directions:
Cut the potatoes to fit in the food processor. Grate the potatoes and remove to a large mixing bowl. You may have to do this in batches depending upon the size of the processor. Switch to the steel blade and pulse on and off until they are somewhat gritty.
Place them back into the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients except for the applesauce and sour cream and mix well.
Heat enough Canola oil over medium-high to generously coat the bottom of two large skillets. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the potatoes, place them in the hot oil, flatten them with your fingers and fry about three to four minutes on each side.
Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with the applesauce and sour cream. SPR
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