It was a Monday evening and I was really wanting to visit Ad Hoc in Napa for their bi-weekly Buttermilk Fried Chicken. I had no idea whether it was even Fried Chicken Monday...but, I did know that I wouldn't be able to make it to Napa that evening. So, I did the next best thing and decided to bust out my Ad Hoc at Home book and tackle the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. It took a lot of prep work (the night prior) and I ran into some unanticipated road blocks (smokey house), but I always prevail! Anyway, I prepared the chicken brine and let it sit for exactly 9 hours (the recipe said to brine for no longer than 11 hours).
The brine:
Below are some shots of the batter as well as the dipping station I set up. As you can see there was a variety of herbs used.
I heated up the oil, and noticed how the entire house got smokey - uh oh. I really don't like the smell of oil or frying anything, but I figured Thomas Keller's chicken is worth it. I decided to resurrect our deep fryer (which have not been used in about 6 years). All in all, the chicken was super juicy and tender and was a good meal. I'm sure the chefs at Ad Hoc make it a thousand times better than I, but that's because they are professionals. Me, I'm just an amateur. I served the fried chicken with the
mac & cheese I made earlier in the day for lunch.
* I made a total of 6 pieces of thighs, but we ate 3 of them (the reason why there's only 3 pieces of chicken in the first photo)
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