• Fried chicken - Chicken thighs, deboned, skin reserved, pounded out and then rolled in its skin into a tight ball. Cooked sous vide, 2 hours at 150F, then chilled and reserved until use. To finish, dredge in buttermilk powder, then buttermilk-egg mixture, then in flour, and fry at 350F until golden and heated through, about six minutes, turning occasionally.
• Buttermilk pudding - Similar to soft chocolate, but no chocolate, buttermilk instead of water, and some salt.
• BBQ Sauce Sheet - I used the Alinea sheet method, but cut out 2/3 of the agar, resulting in a much less jello-like, softer, better-flavored, more pliable sheet, that also had better flavor release. Basically barbecue sauce + water + a teensy bit of agar + gelatin, then poured onto acetate and moved around acetate to cover in a thin layer. Then chill a couple minutes until set, cut, and cover already-plated buttermilk pudding, being very careful not to tear sheet.
• Crispy Collard greens - Ribs removed, then cut into 1/4" strips and pan-fried in hot bacon fat.
• Southern-style Buttermilk and Bacon Cornbread, baked in tiny metal baking dishes that I'm beginning to love. The dishes are about 4" long and 2" wide. Very useful for preventing waste.
• Barbecue-maple sauce - Barbecue sauce + maple syrup, reduced a bit.

Is there any question whether this was delicious? It's super-crispy fried chicken with the silkiest internal texture, served with things involving buttermilk, bacon, and barbecue sauce. It's tough to screw up.

On the other hand, I will say that a ball of fried chicken is tougher to eat than other shapes, unless it's 1 bite or smaller. This was many bites, and so yes, it was a bit tough to eat. Next time I'd make a plank of fried chicken, I think.

Posted by Barzelay on 2009/01/23 @ 8:34 | Comments (2) | Baking, Poultry, Sauces, Condiments

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