f
or years I thought about making
fried chicken by double-dipping the
chicken in the buttermilk and flourmixtures to form a thick, crispy crust.
But I never actually got around to doing
it. Then, when Shake Shack’s cookbook
came out, I realized that was exactly
the method they used for their fabulous
Chick’n Shack sandwich! I decided it
was finally time to roll up my sleeves
and give it a try.
One of the secrets is the longmarinating time: You soak the chicken
breasts in a buttermilk mixture for
at least 8 hours (and up to 24) so all
those great flavors seep into the meat.
Then you dredge the pieces in a spicy
flour mixture, dip them again into
the buttermilk and dredge them back
through the flour mixture. When
you fry the chicken you get a crisp,
golden brown crust and the meat is
perfectly cooked.
Assembling the sandwich, layerby layer, is my favorite part. When
it’s done, each bite is the perfect
combination of flavors and textures:
the crunchy, hot chicken with a cool,
creamy sauce, tangy pickles and a
warm toasted bun. This sandwich was
so outrageously delicious, I served
it for a dinner party and one of my
friends said it was the best meal he’d
ever had at my house. Trust me, once
you’ve tried this method, you won’t
make fried chicken any other way!
Ina Garten tells us how to make
a perfect fried chicken sandwich.
76 FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE ●MARCH 2020