Cooking with the Master: Southern-style Chicken, Episode X

What follows is the transcript of “Cooking with the Master: Southern-style Chicken, Episode X”

Master: Ladies, Gentlemen, Gooood Eeeeevening! And welcome to "Cooking with the Master," a show about cooking. I ... am the Master! Joined by sous chefs Gore and Ninja Squirrel, I will demonstrate revolutionary advances in BBQ Science. The topic of this week’s show is a Southern Classic, Fried Chicken…

[Audience gasps]

I (Gore): Master, please!

I’m sorry, you see on this website “Fried” anything can be a controversial subject. Some people feel that fried food is not BBQ’ed…

[Audience boos and some hecklers shout “That’s right!”]

Others think it is every bit as BBQ’ed as slow-smoked ribs. It just so happens that on this 10th episode, I’ve asked a few of our Brethren to stop by and give their opinions on the subject. Gore, flip the switch on the Sous Transmorgraphier.

I (Gore): Yes, Master! [Sparks and flames]



Narrator: Why it’s Smokey Al Gold, Guerry, and Bigabyte!

[Audience claps and cheers]

Greetings, I asked you to come here to help the audience understand the complex inter-relationship of BBQ and fried food.

Bigabyte: Did I really hear you say that some people don’t like boiled ribs?

Al: What about eggplant? Can you boil that?

Guerry: Only if you want soup.

Al: I fried a burger once, but it wasn’t made with eggplant, ... or beef.

Bigabyte: I know they fry donuts, and they’re definitely BBQ.

Guerry: One of our biggest advertisers apparently.

I (Gore): Master?

Let’s give a big hand to Smokey Al Gold, Guerry, and Bigabyte!

[Audience applauds wildly as the three guests leave in a puff of blue smoke]

Now, where were we? Yes, we were discussing fried chicken.

I (Gore): Master, even if it is cooked on the pit, the smoke particles cannot penetrate the oil to get to the food.

Of course Gore, but the oil particles only need to settle on the top and when the food is removed from the oil, it is coated, much like liquid smoke.

[Some screams from the audience]

I (Gore): Careful Master, that is a heresy here.

True, but it is also true that many more people use liquid smoke than have smokers. We want to be inclusive and open-minded.

[more murmurs]

I (Gore): But doesn’t the process of submerging food in liquid seem counter to BBQ?

Ahhh, but people have been prepping meat for the fire by boiling for centuries. It is only recently that it is considered taboo. You should read some of Donnie’s posts on the subject.

[The audience is getting ugly now and a few are pulling out torches and pitchforks from their purses and coat pockets]

Excuse me!... While this episode is about fried chicken, I want you all to know that I will not, in fact, be frying any chicken. I want to demonstrate that we can simulate the making of fried chicken in the smoker without using the hot-oil crutch.

[Audience is completely quiet and then bursts into applause]

This will be a hot cook, so Gore will bring the Oval up to 425* to 450* and we will be cooking indirectly.

I (Gore): Yes, Master! [departs]

Now, Ninja Squirrel has assembled the ingredients:

While many people soak their chicken in buttermilk to make it tender and juicy, this is completely unnecessary in this case. We begin by whisking an egg and milk in a bowl. To this we slowly add our dry ingredients, which include flour, about ¼ tsp. of baking powder to help the batter stick to the chicken, and seasoning to taste. I choose a healthy dose of salt, pepper and parsley flakes. We add flour and milk to make this almost pasty. And no, I don’t measure!

I then dust the chicken with flour and then coat in the batter:

Finally, I dunk each piece in a bowl of melted butter! Gore will place these on the grill and cook until the batter is a golden brown, about 30-40 minutes, depending on your taste. Don’t worry about the chicken. It can be well above 165 and it’ll still be moist and juicy.

I can see that Ninja Squirrel has some ready to try

Now that looks like fried chicken, but the taste is a bit richer in this case because it was cooked in butter instead of oil.

Also, you will find the skin is completely bite-through and it remains moist inside, even though this piece was brought up to nearly 200*:

[Audience ooos and ahhhs]

Narrator: This episode of “Cooking with the Master” was brought to you by the BBQ Brethren Throwdown sub-forum found at the top of Q-talk or at
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=86
Please join us every week to enter and/or vote for your favorite entry. There are lots of great dishes described in the entry threads. The recipes and views expressed on “Cooking with the Master” do not necessarily represent those of the BBQ Brethren, Gore, Q-Talk, or Ninja Squirrel.

I (Gore): That’s a wrap!

bigabyte said:

That really does look fried, and yes, I too will be trying this! I'm still disappointed by the lack of donuts, so it's going to be tough to vote for this one.

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I'd agree it really does look fried, but it's not! Battered, then dipped in butter, then on the grill. You could even skip the butter step, but the butter makes it a bit crispier -- and it tastes nicer.

Phubar said:

If we meet again I want you to make this!
Man...I love your episodes!

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Glad you enjoyed it. I think you should try this with croquettes and use a much thicker batter. Personally, I can't stand those things, but they're like the National food over there. I bet you could impress a lot of people if you made them on the grill. And Phoeb, I'll be seeing you in Sicily next September. Guess you should bring your grill. :thumb:

bigabyte said:

Allright, I haven't tried this yet...but I'm off work this week and I have chicken. However, the thought of being able to make anything fried in the true BBQ style has me so curious...

OK....so.....if I wanted to fry up some donuts on the grill....do I still batter them, and how will they handle the dipping into butter?

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I'm sure it would work with donuts. You don't actually need to do the butter dip, but it is better that way. I would suggest doing a butter mop during the cook instead. I think it would work fine with raised donuts. For cake donuts, I'd suggest a drier dough (yes, my first job left me as head baker in a donut shop). I wouldn't batter them, but I would cook them on a pan or aluminum foil.