Fried Chicken Momofuku Style

Who doesn't love Fried Chicken- crunchy, salty, moist, pure indulgence.  I grew up on Popeye's and Roy Roger's.  Once I started cooking, I couldn't come up with a fried chicken equivalent cause well...to make a long story short... there's a reason why these places are that good.  There's just some things a Food Scientist knows that you shouldn't :)

When I read this recipe in the Momofuku cookbook, I had to replicate it PRONTO.  And guess what?  It's one of the best fried chickens I've ever made...totally different in texture and crunch than anything I've tasted.  Talk about succulence... my fast food days of fried chicken are dead to me!  Technique is THE key; deboning, brining, steaming and finally frying. Here are the steps, ryhme and reason: 

1.  Deboning the whole chicken- leaving the breast intact to the wing, the leg attached to the thigh as long as possible since meat close to the bone is most tastiest.  This way, it's retained throughout the entire cooking process. 

2. Steaming the chicken- cooking slow and low, hence locking in flavors and moisture.  After the chicken is steamed, it must sit in the fridge to chill for at least 8 hours to dry the skin out then it becomes extra crispy when fried.
 
3.There is the no egg wash, batter or breading cause the brine acts as the coating.  The sugars will caramelize as it fries so you're left with natural taste and bite of the skin---brilliant! 

I tried my hand at making biscuits, let's just call these the low fat skinny version. The real version via the New York Times. To accompany the Chicken and Biscuits-- Corn, Watermelon Tomato Salad, and a Compound Butter of Jalapeno Smoked Paprika.

Organic, free range chicken deboned

Look at that nice caramelization, doesn't it look scrumptious??

Cut into pieces so my guests can have their pick of dark or white

Biscuit and Jalapeno & Paprika Butter

Watermelon Tomato Salad