Molly Yeh's 5-Star Buttermilk Fried Chicken Is Sooo Juicy 🍗 | Girl Meets Farm | Food Network

0:00 I'm making a main course that means business.

0:03 It's my buttermilk fried chicken,

0:05 which has everything you could ever want in a comfort food.

0:08 It's juicy on the inside and has a thick crunchy shell on the outside.

0:12 I brine the chicken, batter it, deep fry it, and then demolish.

0:17 To start, I've got my chicken broken down into 10

0:20 pieces in my casserole dish where I'm going to brine it.

0:22 And I'm going to cover it with buttermilk,

0:24 which is the best brining liquid because it makes the meat so moist.

0:28 And then it also adds that tang.

0:31 I'm going to add about three cups.

0:34 Some cayenne pepper.

0:35 A/ teaspoon will add the perfect little kick, but it won't be overpowering.

0:39 And then 3 tablespoons of kosher salt, which seems like a lot of salt,

0:42 but the brine needs it in order for it to do its job.

0:45 Cuz what the brine is doing is it's

0:47 basically pulling out the moisture from the chicken.

0:49 And then when the moisture goes back into the chicken,

0:52 it's flavored with all that salt and this other goodness in the brine.

0:55 And then it's just going to get so juicy.

0:58 I'll add one tablespoon of sugar, loads of black pepper,

1:06 and then a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

1:08 And this is going to mirror the dried thyme that's

1:10 in the zatar that'll go on top at the end.

1:13 And lastly, a couple of cloves of garlic.

1:15 And I'm just going to smash them so that they can infuse the mixture.

1:18 I don't need to chop them up totally.

1:22 Plop these in.

1:23 And then I'm going to use my tongs to everything around.

1:26 And this is a great straightforward brine.

1:28 It'd be really good with pork chops or turkey, other lean meats.

1:34 The chicken is fully coated.

1:35 I'll grab some plastic wrap.

1:38 I'll let this brine in the refrigerator for a few hours.

1:42 And it is going to make the meat so tender and juicy.

1:45 It's worth it.

1:50 Next, outside heating up the grill for our fry out.

1:52 And if I know him, he is jonesing for a piece of fried chicken right now.

1:56 I already have the chicken brining in some buttermilk,

1:59 garlic, thyme, and cayenne.

2:01 And it's going to make the meat so tender and juicy.

2:04 And now I just need to mix up my coating.

2:06 So I'm going to grab 2 and 1/2 cups of allpurpose flour.

2:11 Half a cup of cornstarch, which is going to make it extra crunchy.

2:16 And 2 tesps of baking powder.

2:20 two teaspoons of kosher salt.

2:22 And then I'll spice things up with 1 tbsp

2:24 of paprika or 3 teaspoons if you want to get mathematical.

2:32 2 tsps of garlic powder.

2:34 So flavorful.

2:36 Feel like garlic powder is underrated.

2:38 1 teaspoon of dried mustard powder.

2:40 Chicken and mustard.

2:42 Match made in poultry heaven.

2:44 And then half a teaspoon of cayenne for a little more heat.

2:47 I'll crack in some black pepper.

2:49 Smelling good already.

2:52 And I'll whisk it together.

2:55 My coating is combined.

2:57 Let me grab the chicken.

2:58 See if it's up from its nap yet.

3:04 This is going to be so juicy.

3:07 I'm going to do something that has

3:09 revolutionized my life as a fried chicken lover.

3:12 I'm going to actually add some of the brine into the coating.

3:15 And that allows the coating to clump up so you can get more of it

3:19 in each bite and it adds some of this delicious flavor from the brine.

3:24 I'm going to drizzle in 1/4 cup of the brine and then

3:27 get in here with my hands to get it clumpy and good.

3:31 Oh yeah, baby.

3:33 So, I have a pan ready to go here with a wire rack.

3:36 And I'm going to start with the legs, the best part.

3:39 I'll let any of the excess coating drip off and then I'll coat it all over.

3:44 See, some of these clumps are just sticking on.

3:46 I love the texture that the brine forms with the coating.

3:50 This is what you need to live in the north is a big heavy coat.

3:55 The chicken is ready.

3:56 I'll get this on my pan, dudge the rest of my chicken,

3:59 and then head outside for an awesome fry out.

4:05 Hi.

4:06 Hey.

4:06 You ready to fry some meat?

4:07 Yes, I am.

4:08 Okay, the chicken is dredged.

4:09 It smells really good.

4:10 How's the oil doing?

4:11 We are getting real close to 350.

4:15 Perfect.

4:15 So, fry this in two batches.

4:18 It'll take about 10 to 12 minutes,

4:19 but the wings and the breasts will be done first.

4:22 Got it.

4:22 And then I'm going to do the carrots.

4:23 All right.

4:29 Done.

4:28 Oh, that looks beautiful.

4:30 Oh, okay.

4:30 You can put it on this wire rack now.

4:32 The wire rack is going to allow any excess oil to drip off.

4:35 It's going to keep it crispy on the bottom, too.

4:37 And they said I couldn't fry chicken.

4:40 I didn't say that.

4:42 I'm going to sprinkle it with some zatar as it comes off.

4:45 Zatar is a spice blend with dried thyme,

4:48 sumac, which is vinegary, and some toasted sesame seeds.

4:52 This is just going to bring it over the top.

4:55 Oh yes.

4:57 Oh my gosh.

4:57 Done.

4:58 This looks so good.

5:02 I'm ready to eat chicken.

5:14 Mhm.

5:15 I did that.

5:17 Kind of unbelievable.

5:18 Mhm.

5:19 I am making one of my top five favorite

5:21 foods with one of my top five favorite people.

5:27 Thanks.

5:27 Okay, so my chicken schnitzle is juicy fried chicken that's pounded extra thin,

5:31 so it's really, really crispy.

5:33 So, we are pounding out our chicken breast so

5:36 that it's really thin so that it gets extra crispy.

5:39 Once it's about like a quarter inch,

5:41 you just want it as thin as possible without it breaking.

5:44 So, once it's that thin, then we can get on to the braiding.

5:48 Okay, these are pounded perfectly.

5:50 Let's get on to breading.

5:56 Okay, we're going to set up a dredging station.

5:59 We're going to get flour in this pan.

6:02 And then do you want to crack four eggs into this pan?

6:07 Okay.

6:07 So, the chicken is going to get coated in flour, dunked in egg,

6:11 and then coated in panco breadrumbs, which will make it really, really crunchy.

6:16 You want to whip up the eggs with a splash of water.

6:18 That just makes it easier to coat.

6:21 And then I'm just going to add some paprika

6:23 to the breadrumbs and then season them with salt and pepper.

6:26 It's going to be so good.

6:31 Okay, we've got a breading station set up.

6:33 We've got flour, egg, and breadcrumbs.

6:35 And now we're just going to dunk

6:36 the chicken in these three things in that order.

6:40 So, we just take a piece of chicken and get it evenly coated in the flour.

6:47 And this is going to help the egg stick.

6:49 And just make sure that it's all covered in the egg

6:52 because that is going to help the crunchy breadcrumb stick.

6:56 And we want maximum breadcrumb adherence.

7:01 Yes, exactly.

7:04 Okay, this one is ready to fry.

7:05 I have some flavorless oil heating up on the stove.

7:09 And I'm going to gently transfer it right in here.

7:13 And these are getting fried at 360 for a couple

7:15 of minutes on each side until they're golden brown.

7:18 Let me flip it.

7:20 Okay, look at this gorgeous golden color.

7:23 Oh my gosh, that looks good.

7:25 Yeah, this is a beautiful snitle.

7:27 Okay, I'm going to transfer it to a wire rack.

7:28 And this is going to keep it crispy.

7:32 And then I'm just going to sprinkle it with a little salt and pepper.

7:37 And now these can hold in a warm oven

7:39 so that they stay hot until our friends arrive.

7:42 Enough chatting.

7:43 Let's get frying gently.

7:48 It's important not to overcrowd the pan,

7:49 otherwise it'll drop the temperature of the oil,

7:52 and we don't want that because then the oil

7:53 will soak into the breading and make it taste oily.

7:56 And I keep my thermometer clip to the side of the pan so

7:58 that I can make sure that the oil is hot enough at all times.

8:01 I'll keep on frying these in batches.

8:04 And then I'll hold these in the oven at 250

8:06 to keep them crispy until my friends get here.

8:12 Let's finish off that schnitle.

8:16 Oh my, these look incredible.

8:18 They are golden and crispy.

8:20 For the finishing touch, I'll sprinkle them with some parsley.

8:23 And now Schnitle needs a fresh squeeze of lemon.

8:25 So, I'm going to garnish with some lemon wedges.

8:30 I bet Nick is outside already pouring some beers.

8:32 I'm going to grab my bites and take them out.

8:34 And we are going to eat.

8:38 I am making my fried chicken bonme sandwiches.

8:42 They are crispy and juicy.

8:45 loaded with pickled veggies and sweet creamy mayo.

8:48 I'll start by making my chicken.

8:50 I have one large chicken breast here that I've thinly sliced.

8:54 Now, for my dredge, I'll combine two eggs with 1/4 cup of cornstarch.

9:00 I'll season with 2 tesps of kosher salt and a teaspoon of Chinese five spice.

9:05 I'll mix this up until it's smooth.

9:07 This cornstarch with the egg creates a thicker, crunchier coating.

9:11 Okay.

9:12 And I'll take the chicken on through.

9:14 I'll get it coated in the egg and then transfer it to panko breadrumbs.

9:19 And I've brought these to room temperature,

9:20 which allows that breading to adhere really well to the chicken.

9:24 Right, these are fully coated.

9:26 I've got about an inch of neutral oil here, heating 350° in my skillet.

9:32 And I'll lower these in gently away from me so that oil does not splatter.

9:38 That's exactly the sizzle you want to hear.

9:41 I'll fry these for 1 to two minutes

9:43 per side until they're golden brown and crisp.

9:46 It's like a beautiful golden wheat field.

9:49 I think we have arrived at crispy town.

9:53 Look at that beauty.

9:54 It's going to be so crunchy.

9:56 I'll transfer these to a wire rack so that any excess oil can drip off.

10:00 The rack allows for air circulation underneath

10:03 so that the bottom can stay crisp.

10:05 I'll let these drain while I whip up my mayo.

10:08 The unsung hero of a boni sandwich is the sauce.

10:12 Mayonnaise, hoen, Sriracha.

10:15 We're just going to throw them all together.

10:16 I'll start with half a cup of Japanese mayonnaise.

10:20 A tablespoon of hoen sauce, which is super sweet and salty,

10:25 and 2 tbsp of Sriracha for heat.

10:28 Fried chicken sandwiches have to have mayo.

10:31 It's just a rule of life.

10:33 I'll stir this up.

10:36 Okay.

10:38 That's it.

10:38 Easy peasy.

10:39 I'll grab my baguettes.

10:42 I've buttered them and gotten them toasty.

10:44 I'll get my other fixins and then I'll be ready to assemble.

10:48 I've got a rainbow of bite toppings here and I'll build.

10:52 Start with one half of the baguette.

10:54 Slather it with mayo crust to crust so that every bite gets them.

11:01 Top with chicken.

11:03 Now, a requirement for a boni is a pickled mixture

11:06 of carrots and daicon radishes that are crunchy and peppery.

11:11 And I've just quick pickled these with some rice vinegar, salt, and sugar.

11:15 And the combination of this cooling crunch up against the hot

11:18 fried chicken is what keeps me going back bite after bite.

11:21 Now, usually you see cucumbers on these, but my own

11:24 little Midwest spin is that I'm going to use hamburger dills,

11:29 some thinly sliced jalapenos.

11:32 I'll finish with a pile of fresh cilantro.

11:35 Got to have cilantro.

11:37 More mayo.

11:38 Just a little bit.

11:42 And a necessary sandwich assembly step.

11:47 Smash.

11:48 Drink everything together.

11:50 Wrap this up.

11:57 Oh, this is one super sandwich.

11:59 It's my last little harrah of summer.

12:01 The catch of the day is corn cereal

12:03 crusted fried fish with a creamy homemade tartar sauce.

12:07 This is fillets of walleye, which is a local mild flaky white fish.

12:14 It is so delicious.

12:16 I look at it as a vehicle for crunchy fried bits and tartar sauce.

12:22 And now I'm going to take them through a standard dredging station.

12:25 in.

12:25 I've got allpurpose flour here, some beaten egg,

12:29 and the crunchy corn cereal coating, which gives you these craggly bits.

12:33 It's super super crunchy.

12:36 And now I'm assigning one of my hands to be the egg hand.

12:40 And then I'll keep my other hand as the dry

12:42 ingredients hand so that I don't also dredge my fingers.

12:46 I'll get these completely coated in the egg.

12:49 The corn cereal has been crushed to about the size of oatmeal and it's

12:52 been seasoned with some paprika to lend some of those smoky campfire vibes.

12:57 This is looking good.

12:58 It's completely coated.

12:59 I have some neutral oil heating here over medium.

13:02 And to test to make sure that it's hot enough,

13:04 I'm going to drop in a piece of cereal and it should sizzle immediately.

13:08 Just like that.

13:09 I'm going to fry this in two batches because I don't want to overcrowd the pot.

13:14 If I do, that's going to drop the temperature of the oil.

13:18 And then that could make the fish taste greasy and icky and nobody wants that.

13:23 I love that sound so much.

13:25 And one thing I love about fish is that it cooks really quickly.

13:28 So just a few minutes on each side until this coating is golden.

13:34 This is already getting golden.

13:36 So I'll flip it to make sure that it's evenly cooked all over.

13:42 Oh yeah, that's exactly the golden color that I'm looking for.

13:47 And look at that texture.

13:49 All of those craggly bits of corn cereal are going to be so crunchy and good.

13:55 I've got a wire rack here over a pan and I'm going to transfer these pieces to.

13:59 And the wire rack is important because it allows

14:02 the air to get underneath it and keep the bottom crispy.

14:07 Okay, while those are still hot and still have some excess oil on them,

14:10 I'm going to season them with salt so that it sticks.

14:13 Okay, I'll fry up the second batch of fish.

14:18 Okay, a sprinkle of salt.

14:22 And now I'm going to make my tartar sauce,

14:23 but I'm going to keep these crispy in a warm oven while I do that.

14:28 No offense to W, but it's really just a vehicle for tartar sauce.

14:33 And this one is so good.

14:34 You could eat it with a spoon.

14:35 For the base, I'm using a combination of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt.

14:39 This just keeps you coming back for more.

14:41 You could eat it all day long on that shore.

14:44 And now I'll flavor it with relish, which is a must for tartar sauce.

14:48 A tablespoon of stone ground mustard for that zinginess.

14:53 And then I've got some smoked paprika, more campfire smokiness,

14:57 a little garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne for another kind of heat.

15:03 And lastly, I'll class things up with some chopped parsley.

15:08 It's looking really good.

15:10 Okay.

15:14 This color is so beautiful.

15:16 I'm smelling that corn cereal.

15:19 I can hear how crispy it is.

15:21 Got my tartar sauce in here.

15:26 And I'll arrange the lemon wedges all around.

15:30 But I'm going to keep one in my hand because I'm going to do this immediately.

15:36 Here I go.

15:41 Mhm.

15:43 M.

15:44 For an epic app, I'm making my spicy barbecue wings,

15:47 which are a deep fried, crispy, juicy, raging party of magic for your mouth.

15:53 I'm starting off with a few pounds of wings that I'm seasoning with salt.

15:57 And then my dredge here is really easy.

15:59 It's just flour, paprika, cayenne, and salt.

16:02 Now, I'll get all my wings thoroughly coated in the dredge.

16:07 M.

16:09 And these wings were patted dry, which is going to help make them crispy.

16:13 They're ready to fry.

16:14 I have a few inches of neutral oil heating up here to 350°.

16:19 I've put it in a cast iron pot,

16:20 which I love for deep frying because it holds the heat really nicely.

16:24 I'm going to fry these in batches for about

16:26 12 to 15 minutes until they're golden brown and crispy.

16:30 It's about to smell really good in here.

16:35 A few months after I moved to town,

16:36 Nick and I went to this really cool bar and their wings were really famous.

16:42 You can order them from zero to 100 on a spiciness level.

16:46 I think we got a 12.

16:48 They were delicious, but Nick and I were way not cool enough to hang out there.

16:52 So now I make my own wings at home inspired by theirs.

16:56 I think these are almost ready.

16:59 Hello crispy town.

17:01 I'm going to transfer these to my wire rack now.

17:03 I'll keep on frying and then I'll toss them in my wing sauce.

17:08 I love barbecue and I love buffalo.

17:10 So, this is my sweet and spicy combination of both.

17:12 I've got my big bowl here to toss the wings.

17:14 And I'm going to build the sauce in here as well.

17:17 I'm going to get it heating over low and I'll melt six tablespoons of butter.

17:21 1/3 of a cup of barbecue sauce.

17:25 13 of a cup of hot sauce building more depth of flavor.

17:29 A tablespoon of Sriracha just for more heat.

17:33 and a tablespoon of honey just to round everything out.

17:38 I'll just whisk this together as the butter finishes up melting.

17:46 I mean, this sauce looks like a sauce, but it smells like a dream.

17:51 I think it's ready for the wings.

17:53 Get it off the heat, and I'll give these wings a saucy bath.

18:00 They sound so crispy.

18:03 I'll get these completely coated.

18:06 It's not fair.

18:07 I just want to eat all of these for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.

18:13 I'll get this onto my plate.

18:15 Look how glossy and saucy.

18:18 I'm barely going to be able to wait long enough

18:20 to sprinkle these scallions on, but I'm going to power through.

18:26 Going in.

18:27 I'm ducking in a ranch blue cheese combo.

18:32 Mhm.

18:34 Oh, heck yeah.