Best Bon Ton Style Fried Chicken Recipe Epicuriouscom Recipes

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BON TON STYLE FRIED CHICKEN



Bon Ton Style Fried Chicken image

From epicurious.com: Bilko's spice mix is a closely guarded secret, but Donna King, the restaurants cook, shared with us its fundamental ingredients as well as the basic technique - a long marination, at least 24 hours. This results in some of the juiciest chicken we've ever eaten. The chicken must also rest five or ten minutes after being dredged in the seasoned flour to, as King told us, "get doughy." The Bon Ton recipe calls for Ac'cent (monosodium glutamate) in both the marinade and the dredging mixture. We tested it with and without, and the chicken mainly tasted saltier with the Ac'cent, which some people preferred. The formula for this amazing dish dates back to the 1950s and a restaurant in Henderson known as The Colonel's Lair. It was a favorite haunt of local high school students and it was run by a man named Bill Koch, whom the kids called Bilko because that's the way he pronounced it. All who remember The Colonel's Lair agree that Bilko made the best fried chicken anywhere. In the state where Harland Sanders began a fried-chicken empire based on the secret recipe he used in the kitchen of his service station/café, such judgments are not made lightly. Bilko is gone, but Bon Ton proprietor George Markham and his former cook, Donna King, managed to get the recipe for the amazing chicken; and now it is served every day

Provided by Brandess

Categories     Chicken

Time 1h10m

Yield 8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 16

1 quart water
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons cayenne
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 chicken breast halves
4 chicken thighs, and
4 chicken drumsticks (all with skin and bones, 4 to 4 1/2 lb total)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon white pepper
6 -12 cups vegetable oil (for frying chicken)

Steps:

  • Whisk together all marinade ingredients in a large bowl.
  • Add chicken, making sure it is covered with marinade. Chill, covered, stirring twice, about 24 hours.
  • Meanwhile, whisk together all dredging ingredients in a large bowl. Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Dredge each piece of chicken in seasoned flour and put on a large baking sheet. Let stand about 10 minutes.
  • Heat 2 inches oil in a wide 8- to 9 1/2-quart pot over moderately high heat until a deep-fat thermometer registers 365 to 375°F (Our pot was 12 inches wide and 5 inches deep; if you don't have that wide a pot, you can fry the chicken in two batches.).
  • Fry chicken, turning a few times, 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown, then drain on a rack.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1846.9, Fat 177.8, SaturatedFat 25.1, Cholesterol 92.2, Sodium 2850, Carbohydrate 37.9, Fiber 1.8, Sugar 0.4, Protein 28.1

SOUTHERN-STYLE FRIED CHICKEN



Southern-Style Fried Chicken image

Provided by Cynthia LeJeune Nobles

Categories     Chicken     Poultry     Fry     Picnic     Mardi Gras     Dinner     Lunch     Party     Sugar Conscious     Peanut Free     Tree Nut Free     Soy Free     No Sugar Added

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 8

4 skinless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each), or 1 whole chicken (3 to 3 1/2 pounds), cut into serving pieces
Shortening for frying
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Chicken Velouté

Steps:

  • Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Place shortening in a large cast-iron skillet and heat to 350°F. Melted shortening should be 1/2 inch deep.
  • In a shallow bowl, whip together buttermilk and eggs. In another shallow bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture, then dredge in seasoned flour. Carefully place about half of the chicken pieces in hot shortening. (The temperature of the shortening will drop when you add the chicken; try to maintain a temperature of 325°F.) Fry chicken until golden brown on all sides or until each piece reaches an internal temperature of 160°F, turning the chicken several times to prevent burned spots. This will take about 10 minutes for skinless breasts and 20 minutes for pieces with skin and bones. Drain cooked chicken on a rack, then keep warm in a 200°F oven while frying remaining chicken. Serve with chicken velouté.

BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN



Buttermilk Fried Chicken image

The egg-enriched buttermilk mixture makes for an especially crunchy and craggy coating. This recipe is from Buxton Hall, one of Bon Appétit's Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

Categories     Bon Appétit     Chicken     Deep-Fry     Fry     Buttermilk     North Carolina     Dinner

Yield Serves 8

Number Of Ingredients 24

Brine:
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
5 ounces kosher salt (1/2 cup Diamond Crystal or 1/4 cup Morton)
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 (3 1/2-4-pound) chickens, cut into 8 pieces each
Assembly:
6 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel or finely ground fennel seeds
1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal or 1 1/2 teaspoons Morton kosher salt, plus more
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
2 cups buttermilk
Vegetable oil (for frying; about 6 cups)
White Barbecue Sauce and bread-and-butter pickles (for serving)
Special Equipment
A deep-fry thermometer

Steps:

  • Brine:
  • Toast mustard, cumin, and fennel seeds in a large pot over medium-low heat, tossing often, until fragrant and mustard seeds are starting to pop, about 1 minute. Add salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, bay leaves, and 2 cups water. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Remove pan from heat and add 8 cups ice water, then chicken pieces. Cover pot with plastic wrap and chill chicken at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
  • Assembly:
  • Place 2 cups flour in a shallow bowl. Whisk cornstarch, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, fennel, 1 Tbsp. or 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and remaining 4 cups flour in another shallow bowl to combine. Whisk eggs and buttermilk in a third shallow bowl to combine.
  • Remove chicken pieces from brine and pat dry; discard brine. Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge chicken in plain flour, shaking off excess, then dip in egg mixture, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Transfer chicken to bowl with seasoned flour and coat, packing all around chicken and firmly into cracks and crevices; shake off excess. Place chicken on 2 wire racks set inside rimmed baking sheets.
  • Pour oil into a large pot to come halfway up sides. Fit pot with thermometer and heat oil over medium-high until thermometer registers 350°F. Working in 4 batches, fry chicken, turning often with tongs and adjusting heat to maintain temperature, until brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of chicken registers 165°F for dark meat and 160°F for white meat, 10-14 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to clean wire racks and let rest 10 minutes.
  • Serve fried chicken with barbecue sauce and pickles.
  • Do Ahead
  • Chicken can be dredged 2 hours ahead. Chill uncovered on rimmed baking sheets. Chicken can be fried 2 hours ahead. Let sit uncovered at room temperature. Reheat in a 250°F oven if desired.

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