Chicken and Smashed Potato
- Level: Advanced
- Total: 18 hr (includes brining and marinating time)
- Active: 1 hr 45 min
- Yield: 4 to 8 servings
- Level: Advanced
- Total: 18 hr (includes brining and marinating time)
- Active: 1 hr 45 min
- Yield: 4 to 8 servings
Ingredients
Brine:
Buffalo Sauce:
Chicken Flour:
Baked Potatoes:
Green Beans:
Basil Butter:
Caramelized Onion Cream Sauce:
Directions
Special equipment:
an immersion blender- Combine the chicken and brine in a large container and refrigerate for 8 hours. Remove the chicken, reserving the brine, then pound out or use a meat tenderizer. Return the chicken to the brine and refrigerate for another 8 hours.
- Heat the frying oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and combine with the buttermilk and Buffalo Sauce in a large bowl until evenly coated.
- In three different bowls, place the all-purpose flour, eggs and buttermilk whisked together and the Chicken Flour. Take 2 of the chicken breasts from the marinade and dredge in the all-purpose flour until completely coated. Transfer to the egg mixture and coat until you don’t see any flour. Transfer to the chicken flour and dredge. Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.
- Press down on each Baked Potato until the skin breaks and it is about 1 1/2 inches high.
- Fry 2 pieces of chicken at a time in the oil until the chicken is cooked, about 7 minutes, adding a baked potato to each batch around the halfway point. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and potatoes.
- To serve, place a fried smashed potato in the center of a large bowl, top with some Green Beans, add 2 fried chicken breasts on top at a 90-degree angle. Pour some Caramelized Onion Cream Sauce on top. Top with shaved green onions (if using).
Brine:
- Combine the water, brown sugar, salt, key lime juice, orange juice, sea salt, ginger, thyme, rosemary and 1/2 cup salt in a large pot. Stir until the sugar and salts completely dissolve, then bring to a low boil and boil gently for 5 minutes. Add the ice and stir. about 16 cups
Buffalo Sauce:
- Combine the hot wing sauce, hotter wing sauce, chili powder, coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric and blazing hot wing sauce in a medium pot. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring slowly until the mixture reduces and thickens just a bit, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the butter and orange juice concentrate and stir until combined.
Chicken Flour:
- Stir together the flour, paprika, salt, pepper, chili powder, coriander, cumin, basil, dry ground mustard, sage, thyme, ginger, marjoram, oregano and 1/3 cup iodized salt in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. This will keep, tightly covered, for 2 weeks.
Baked Potatoes:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Coat the potatoes with salad oil and top with a dash each of salt and pepper. Bake until tender, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool, then refrigerate overnight.
Green Beans:
- Blanch the green beans in 1/2 gallon water combined with 1 tablespoon kosher salt until they become bright in color. Cool in an ice bath, then drain and set aside.
- Heat the clarified butter and salad oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, then the garlic and sweat until the shallots start to become translucent. Add the green beans, seasoned sea salt and some white pepper and toss to coat. Continue turning for about a minute or so until the pan becomes hot again. Do not let the shallots and garlic brown.
- Deglaze with the wine and let simmer for no more than 30 seconds. Add the Basil Butter and turn off the heat. Turn and stir the beans until the butter is melted and emulsified with the wine. Set aside until ready to plate.
Basil Butter:
- Sweat the garlic and shallots in the olive and salad oil in a small skillet until translucent. Transer to the bowl of a mixer and add the butter, pesto, basil leaves and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix until fully incorporated. Transfer the butter to a large piece of plastic wrap and roll into a tube shape. Wrap in parchment paper and continue to compress the tube. Refrigerate overnight. This is a great compound butter for many uses and will hold in the refrigerator for a few weeks if sealed properly.
Caramelized Onion Cream Sauce:
- Sauté the onions in a medium pot with clarified butter and salad oil until caramelized. Add some sugar if the onions are overly wet and do not caramelize to the appropriate color. Add the garlic and stir for another 2 minutes. Deglaze the pot with white wine and add 1 or 2 pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper. Add the heavy cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about 10 percent, about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the butter and emulsify completely with an immersion blender until the sauce is as smooth as gravy.
Cook’s Note
Don’t be afraid! While this recipe may seem daunting, there are many cheats and shortcuts you can take. As with anything, just make it your own, as that is what cooking is about. You can substitute any number of things here, but just don’t mess with the caramelized onion cream sauce. You will regret it! Feel free to tweak the chicken flour given what you may or may not have access to, and you can use any buffalo sauce you enjoy. And, if you want it spicy, just coat the fried chicken in some Nashville-style hot sauce before you add the cream sauce. Also, this recipe is designed for 4 people, but it is a huge plate and can easily accommodate 8 with 1 breast per person versus the 2 we serve. Just double the amount of Baked Potatoes and cook more of the Green Beans.
