Australian Gourmet Traveller - (06)June 2020 (1)

I

havea confessiontomake:I havethisloveoffried

chickenthatbordersonobsession.

Thatmomentwhena perfectlyfriedjointofbird

hasthatcrunchandis seasonedjustright,theherbs

andspicessoperfectlybalanced.It leavesmespellbound.

It transportsme– a momentofhappinessinan

otherwisemaddeningpursuitofperfectingmycraft.

Thatfeelingyougetwhenyoucooka piecejustso,spending

thetimepreparingeverythingjustperfect,thespicestriedand

tested,eachgrammeasuredandfreshlyground,thefloursifted

andsiftedagain,makingit aslightaspossiblebeforefolding

throughthespices,neverrushing.

Thenthere’sthatsound,thatmomentyoudropa piece

ofchickenreadytofryintoa bubblingandsizzlingskillet.

Thatrhythmicsoundofthespoonagainstthesideofthe

skilletasyoubastethechickenis musictoyourears,carefully

countingeachtimethehotlardis spoonedovereachpiece–

alwaysbasting,alwayswatchinguntilthejointsturnperfectly

golden,forminganarmouraroundeachpieceandallowing

themtogentlysteamunderneaththegoldencrust.

I won’tboreyouwiththedetailsofwhatexactlythatcan

dotoa manobsessedwithflour,spice,oil,lardandchicken.

Just know it’s a thing of beauty that can’t be rushed.

3 Transferspicedflourmix

toa sieveanddustbothsides

ofthechickenskinstocoat.

Usingyourhands,pressthe

flourintotheskin.Placeanother

trayontopoftheskins,thenan

evenweightontopofthetray

(afewtinsofbeanswilldo).

Refrigerateskinsovernight.

Reserveremainingflour.

4 Removeskinsfromfridge

andallowtocometoroom

temperature(20minutes).

5 Half-filla heavy-based

saucepanordeep-fryerwith

oilorlardandheatto180ºC.

Lightlydustskinswithreserved

flour,thencarefullylowerinto

thehotfatandfryuntilgolden

andcrisp(4minutes),turning

halfwaythrough.Becareful

ashotfatmayspit.

6 Removeskinsfromfat,drain

onabsorbentpaperandseason

withseasalt.Toserve,scatter

overthymeleavesanddrizzle

with honey and hot sauce.

250 gm(¾cup)rocksalt

400 gmchickenskins

Vegetableoilorlard,

forfrying

½ bunchoflemonthyme,

leavespicked

Honeyandhot sauce,

toserve

SPICEDFLOURMIX

400 gm(22/3cups)plainflour

100 gmtablesalt

1/4 cupcorianderseeds,

finelyground

2½ tbspwholecloves,

finelyground

2 tbspdriedsage

2 tbspblackpeppercorns,

finely ground

1 Combinerocksaltand21/2

litresofwarmwaterina large

bowlorsaucepanandstirto

dissolve.Lowerchickenskins

intosaltedwaterandsetaside

tobrine(40minutes).Drain

skinsthenlayflatona tray.

2 Forthespicedflourmix,

combine ingredients in a bowl.

Friedchicken skin

SERVES 4

Chickenskinisn’teasytocomeacrossbutit’sdefinitelyworth

the effort to find. Ask your butcher to source some for you.

92 GOURMET TRAVELLER