Kosher Food and Drink

Sometimes, when you cook with love, you are willing to take the extra steps necessary to make something truly special.

The opportunity can present itself quite often, whether it be for a holiday, or for a special family member or friend.

My son’s birthday, and his Shabbat invitation to a large group of friends, set the precedent for this dinner treat. I decided to combine two crowd-favorite recipes in making Smoked then Fried Chicken.

To begin, if you want a greater margin of error, and the juiciest possible chicken, I’d encourage you to stick to chicken legs and thighs as opposed to the white meat. You can wait til you’re a smoked fried chicken zen master before attempting chicken breasts.

As a note, this is about a 24+ hour process so make sure you have the time and patience and, as always, do not cut corners.

This recipe was to make 20 quarters or 40 pieces of chicken. Divide per your quantity.

First, brine the chicken in a puree of:
2 medium onions
6 tablespoons neutral oil
6 garlic cloves
6 tablespoons water

Add to your food processor and create a puree.

Rub the puree well over all of the pieces and seal in a Ziploc bag for at least an hour though I would suggest giving it overnight, but not more than 24 hours.

Next, wash the chicken and dry very well, making sure to get rid of any loose pieces of onion puree.

Then coat the chicken in a dry rub of:
5 teaspoons coarse sea salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons paprika

Prepare your smoker to 225 degrees. I use a traditional offset smoker (the CharGriller Grand Champ XD. But you can use even a regular charcoal or propane grill with a wood smoker box as found here:

Smoke until the internal temperature of the chicken is approximately 140 degrees. So so important to use a meat thermometer in cooking, and not just for food safety, but to get the finished product you desire.

While your chicken is smoking, or nearing completion, make a dry mix of:
5 cups all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons fine sea salt
5 teaspoons garlic powder
5 teaspoons paprika (you can use smoked paprika)
5 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, if you want some heat)

Prepare your deep fryer (as seen below) or a deep skillet pan filled with 3 inches of oil to 350 degrees.

Dip your chicken in a wet coating of your choosing. I used egg whites for extra crispiness. But a whole whisked egg is good too.

Then dip the chicken in the dry mix and fry until golden brown, with the chicken reaching an internal temp of 165 degrees, which is approximately 4 or 5 minutes of frying.

Transfer to a wire rack to drain excess oil and serve immediately.