Ford Fry's Fried Chicken & Sea Island Red Peas

By ltrodrigu

Ingredients

• For the Seasoned Flour:
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups corn starch
• 4 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• For the Brine:
• 1 gallon water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of black peppercorns
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig rosemary
• For the Chicken:
• 2 whole chickens (about 3-4 pounds)
• 1 pint buttermilk
• 2 cups peanut oil
• Sea salt
• For the Sea Island Red Peas:
• 1 pound dried red peas, soaked overnight and drained
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups veal stock
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 Vidalia onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• Leaves from 2 sprigs thyme
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups kale, chopped

Details

Adapted from online.wsj.com

Preparation

Step 1

To Make Seasoned Flour:
In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Set aside.

To Brine Chicken:
In a large bowl, combine all brine ingredients and stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Add chickens to chilled brine, cover and refrigerate 24 hours.

To Make Sea Island Red Peas:
In a heavy pot over medium heat, simmer all ingredients except butter and kale until peas are tender, 1¼ hours. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in kale and cook until tender, 5 minutes more. Keep warm.

To Make Fried Chicken:
Remove brined chickens from refrigerator and cut each into 8 pieces. Pour buttermilk into a large bowl. Add chicken pieces to buttermilk, turning to coat. Next, place chicken in seasoned flour mixture, turning to coat. Fill a skillet with 1 inch peanut oil. Heat oil to 330 degrees, using a thermometer to monitor temperature. Cook dark meat first, patting off any excess flour and carefully laying into skillet. Cook 4 minutes, then add remaining chicken pieces. Cook until chicken is golden brown and has an internal temperature of 165 degrees, about 8 minutes per side. Remove chicken and set aside on brown paper bags to drain off excess oil. Season with sea salt. Stir butter into warm peas and serve with chicken.