Here I am, all grown up, with no little kids living in my house anymore, and yet PBS still has things to teach me. How nice of them to do that for me. I've been watching a lot of cooking shows, especially those on PBS on Saturday mornings, for techniques and flavor combinations that inspire me to experiment, as I convert all of my recipes to gluten free. I thought when I went this route, that fried chicken was forever lost to me, and I did mourn its loss a little. This last week, America's Test Kitchen showed me that I've given in far too easily. As it turns out, the best coating for a crispy fried chicken crust is plain old cornstarch. I have been waiting to try it out all week, and tonight I did. I brined a pack of chicken legs in water with a little salt and sugar in it, as instructed, for about an hour. Along with it in the fridge was a cornstarch and water slurry, salted and peppered, to thicken just a little. Dried the pieces of chicken well, rolled them in dry cornstarch and let them sit while I warmed a pot of peanut oil to 350 degrees. With tongs, I dipped them in the slurry, coating well, and fried half of the batch. After about six minutes (turned halfway through because I only had an inch of oil), they were pulled out and put on a rack, while I did the other half. After six minutes, I swapped them again, giving the first set a second fry, again about 6-7 minutes. Once everything was out and draining on a rack over a cookie sheet, I microwaved honey and hot sauce (more honey than hot), for 30 seconds or so, until it was runny, and I whisked them together. I dunked each chicken leg in the honey, and let them drain. That was it. Other than standing over a popping pot of oil, it was practically effortless. I started with two on my plate, and went back and grabbed the others as soon as those were done. Holy cow, it was amazing. Enough to take me from having no appetite for days to scarfing down a whole small pack of drumsticks in one meal. I've never had talent at frying chicken before (I could do it, but it just wasn't great, in my opinion). I think now I need to have a dinner party, and share this experience.
I don't know what more I can offer than that for the fourth issue of Annie's Test Kitchen. Perhaps just a couple pictures taken along the way. Too bad I didn't take any photos of the miniature peach cobbler I made with a gluten free topping (blended almond flour, coconut flour, coconut oil, salt, and a little brown sugar). It was quite lovely too, full of cinnamon and allspice, and tasting like September. Now if I only had someone who could do the dishes for me.
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