I made another attempt at duplicating RowdyFood’s Sichuan spiced fried chicken, which is incredible. I enjoy making fried chicken; it’s fun to vary the steps along the way and see how the changes affect the results. I feel the same way about pizza. Of course, it’s delicious to eat as well.
I bought a whole springer mountain chicken at Kroger (4lbs, $7), cut it up (good practice), and brined it overnight. I used a cooked brine with sliced lemon and fresh cilantro and parsley. The brine only boils for a minute, then is cooled before adding the chicken to it.
The next day I buttermilk soaked it for 4-5 hours. Not sure if it really adds anything, but I was going out of town and needed to use it up.
The coating was flour, ground Sichuan peppercorn (pictured above), crazy hot cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. The measurements were eyeballed, but probably somewhere along the lines of 2 cups, 2Tbsp, 1Tbsp, 1tsp, 1Tbsp, 1Tbsp, 1Tbsp (in order as listed above).
I left the herbs from the brine in the buttermilk soak.
The buttermilk drips off completely. The chicken was brought to room temperature before cooking.
Single flour dip, then I let the chicken sit for 30-45 minutes. Some people claim that this resting period will result in a better fried exterior.
I fried in (probably too much) peanut oil. Dark meat first – 320F for 11-12 minutes (per Ad Hoc cookbook). White meat at 340 for 9-10 minutes.
These things are handy.
My chicken sits on a rack with space underneath it, but they still seem to steam a little bit on the bottom side. I rotate the chicken pieces every minute or so two-three times to avoid this.
Meanwhile, I have a metal bowl with freshly ground cumin, more cayenne, more ground Sichuan peppercorn, and whole chiles. I take 1-2T of hot oil from the fryer and splash it in the bowl and stir vigorously to activate the spices and create a paste. The paste is then brushed on both sides of the resting chicken.
The combination of the intense cumin, heat from the cayenne, and ma la from the Sichuan peppercorn is intoxicating. A riesling on the sweeter side is recommended to put out the mouth fire.
I like this single dip coating – it’s crunchy and just thick enough without overpowering the chicken. The Ad Hoc method (flour dip, buttermilk dip, flour dip) creates a more substantial but bready crust. That crust is really it’s own entity, separate from the chicken. It’s delicious though, no denying that. This single dip is more of a union with the chicken. It adheres much better. Less greasy too.
This chicken was the smallest I could find at Kroger, but I really recommend trying to use a 4.5lb chicken or smaller.
Many thanks to Rowdy for constantly sharing his methods, answering my questions, and providing me with so many great ideas.
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