Mar 16, 2010

Northern Fried Chicken

The fried chicken at Blue Ribbon, a restaurant in New York City, boasts extra-crunchy skin thanks to a matzo meal crust; the chefs there serve it with bright collard greens quick-sautéed in browned butter. SAVEUR's executive food editor, Todd Coleman, profiled this dish in our April 2010 issue (see "Prize Chicken").

Photo: Todd Coleman

Canola oil, for frying
1⁄2 tsp. hot paprika
1⁄8 tsp. each cayenne pepper, dried basil,

  dried parsley, garlic powder, and onion powder
4 egg whites, beaten
1⁄2 cup flour
1⁄2 cup matzo meal
1⁄4 tsp. baking powder
1 3-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper,

to taste
Honey, for dipping

1. Pour oil to a depth of 2" in a 5-qt. Dutch oven. Heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 375°. 

2. Combine paprika, cayenne, basil, parsley, and garlic and onion powders in a bowl; set aside. Put egg whites into a bowl. Combine flour, matzo, and baking powder in another bowl. 

3. Working with one piece at a time, dip chicken in egg whites and press into matzo to coat. Shake off excess; transfer chicken to a rack set inside a baking sheet. Working in 2 batches, fry chicken until crispy and cooked through, 10–12 minutes. Transfer chicken to paper towels and season with salt, pepper, and the reserved paprika mixture. Serve with honey, if you'd like.  

SERVES 4

Note: To make this recipe Kosher for Passover, substitute 1/2 cup fine-ground matzo meal for the flour.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #128

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Ratings & Reviews (11)

by juanitok on 2010-03-15

There seems to be one step missing. If the egg whites, seasoning, and flour/matzo mixture are all in separate bowls the step for using the seasoning is missing.

by wrinklemeister on 2010-03-15

No steps are missing if you read the recipe. Apparently, according to the recipe, you season it with the paprika mix after the chicken is fried. It might also be good to add the seasoninig to the flour and matzo mixture.

by caro1inagir1 on 2010-03-15

I agree with juanitok - that's a lot of seasoning if some doesn't go in the flour mixture. PLUS it says "reserved paprika mixture" which usually means some was used IN the recipe and some was saved for later...

by irgage@smile.ch on 2010-03-17

it is very important that the recipe includes the information when and how much of the spices are used. Please correct the recipe and give clear instructions. Thank you Rob

by jumpytomato on 2010-03-27

Made it tonight and was very pleased with the outcome. The coating had a nice texture and weight. The unusual step of adding the paprika seasoning after the frying made the flavor of the paprika and spices really come through in a fresh way. Frying can sometimes overwhelm and cook-out spice flavor. I had to read and reread to understand this step though, and agree with the other readers that it is not completely clear as written. Other than that, really great recipe.

by hfs radio fan on 2010-05-08

It's the best fried chicken recipe. I've made it numerous times. I just play around with the spices and not try to salt it too much. Another review runs on http://hmanwifesearch.blogspot.com/

by rcheiss on 2010-05-17

One of the best tasting fried chicken recipes I've had in a long time, but needed a bit more of a kick, not spicy wise, just a touch more salt and a little heat.
Also, I grabbed lightly salted matzo crackers instead of matzo meal. They were right next to each other on the shelf, so I had to run the crackers through the food processor, and added the spices right into it as it was pulverizing the crackers.
But outstanding - will be making this for a long time!

by ALFABOY@COMCAST.NET on 2011-04-04

I am pretty certain this recipe is NOT Kosher for Passover, given the flour content.

by THEWISEKING on 2011-04-24

Good recipe but like all recipes needs a little tweaking. I would have the butcher cut the bird into at least 10 pieces which improves the coating to meat ratio. I would also fry at least 14 to 16 minutes in hot oil to assure crispiness. Adding the paprika mix at the end is fine and actually is fun because it gets on your fingers and on the plate which makes a nice garnish for dipping. I would definitely season the matzoh meal with salt and pepper prior to battering.
Regarding passover; the recipe as written is clearly NOT kosher but I simply used a cup of well ground matzoh meal without flour and it came out golden, crispy and delicious.

by THEWISEKING on 2011-04-24

by rcheiss on 2012-01-05

Just a question of curiosity for those concerned with Kosher issues:
What if you were to substitute Masa, or corn flour, for regular flour?
I ask out of curiosity with limited knowledge of Kosher cooking.
Thank you!

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