Before I finally tasted the fried chicken at The General Muir, I sampled it at home. You see, Todd Ginsberg’s Friday-night-only special was featured in Garden & Gun, and I was intrigued by the process they had conceived. The article, penned by Atlanta’s Kim Severson, may be a bit hyperbolic when claiming that this recipe “reinvents” fried chicken, but it is certainly a unique collection of steps, and I’ve tried many.
Not that each step is a break-through – I’ve utilized just about every part of the recipe in some form, but never altogether like this. The cooked brine, letting the chicken rest in the dry batter, the steaming/twice-cook method, the choice of corn starch instead of flour (there is a touch of regular flour), cooling after the initial steam – it’s a lot of steps, but if you break down each idea there’s a functional intent, and each part contributes to the final result, which is a very interesting and craveable fried chicken.
The best fried chicken? I don’t know. I’ve learned with certain foods, there are always people who have a notion of what’s right and wrong, which tends to be biased by tradition and personal history. This chicken, juicy and brine flavored, with a lacquered shell of a skin, as crunchy as I’ve ever tried, is not one I’ve had before, evokes no memory of an imaginary grandmother’s version, but it tastes damn good and I’ve been plotting my return.
Be sure to get their early on Friday evening, this bird regularly sells out by 7PM.
half eaten chicken, served with a kick-ass gravy