Have you ever watched a movie with some kind of food making an appearance and thought, Ive got to make some of that! I doubt many people have watched Fried Green Tomatoes without wanting to raid the garden and make up a batch.
Theres a scene in The Color Purple in which Miss Celie, the main character, makes up a breakfast of eggs, ham, biscuits, pancakes and coffee that looks so unbelievably good you want to pause the movie and bust out the cast iron skillets.
I was watching the series remake of Mildred Pierce recently and got to the part where Mildred opens her chicken and waffles restaurant, and that was that Id never had that combination before, believe it or not, but it certainly looked good on the screen piles of waffles nestled alongside the best looking fat pieces of fried chicken imaginable. Fried chicken and waffles is now a serious favorite at my house.
The key is to make really good fried chicken, and really good fried chicken is something, which eluded me for years. There were others in my family who could produce a platter of fried chicken, but not me. I stumbled on a couple of secrets within the last few years, which have neatly remedied this sorry and obvious lack in my kitchen repertoire.
The first thing is to apply the spices after the chicken is cooked. I had been trying to get the right spice concoction into the flour mixture before rolling the chicken in it, and it never seemed to stay on the chicken during frying and you couldnt taste any of the spices in the final product. So the key is to dust the chicken pieces with a spice mixture as soon as you remove it from the cooking fat.
The second innovation came via a tiny sidebar article in a magazine: Roll the chicken in a mixture of flour and matzo meal. The matzo stands up to the hot oil nicely without suddenly burning, and adds an almost nutty flavor and lots of crunch.
Also, it helps to fry the chicken in a Dutch oven or other deep, flat-sided pot. The heat is a little more concentrated and splatter is reduced as a bonus.
FRIED CHICKEN, NORTHERN STYLE
2 cups canola oil, for frying
1 whole fryer, cut up
4 eggs whites, beaten until frothy
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup matzo meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Spice mixture: 1/2 teaspoon each of paprika, dried basil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper. Add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, if desired.
Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the oil, heat until 375 degrees.
Combine flour, matzo, baking powder and salt.
Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dip each into the egg white, and then roll it in the four/matzo mixture, shaking off any excess. Fry the chicken in batches, turning as it browns, until cooked through, about 15 minutes, careful not to let it get too brown; keep checking and turning as needed.
When done, remove the chicken from the oil to drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with the spice mixture. Serve warm, with waffles on the side and honey or maple syrup.
