The Soultown! Volume III: Issue 2 FEBRUARY 2019 | Page 6
COOKIN’ FOR DA SOUL
Mom’s Fried Chicken
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Fried chicken is
my ultimate comfort food and every culture
has their version, with many claims to making
the best. That can all be well and true but the
recipe below has been tried and tested for many
generations. I have vivid memories as a child
seeing the kitchen lined with paper bags that
were collecting all the excess grease from the
beautifully browned fried chicken. Watching my
mother maneuver two cast iron skillets on our
tiny apartment stove mirrored that of watching
a magician perform their greatest trick! Follow
this recipe and you’ll be calling yourself David
Blaine in no time.
Ingredients:
3-pound bone-in chicken thigh or your
favorite cuts
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup corn starch
1 tbsp pepper
¼ cup salt + 1tbsp
¼ cup sugar
8 cups warm water
Enough canola oil to fill your dutch oven
half way
*Directions:
• In a large bowl, combine 8 cups of warm wa-
ter, ¼ cup salt, & ¼ cup of sugar and mix with
a whisk until salt and sugar are completely dis-
solved, this is our brine.
• Place chicken pieces into a brine. Cover and
refrigerate for at least 2 hours but no more than
4 hours. If the chicken stays in the brine too long
it will become salty and the meat will be tough.
• Heat canola oil in dutch oven until the
temperature reaches 325 degrees.
In a large and wide bowl mix together 1 ½ cup
all-purpose flour, ½ corn starch, 1 tbsp salt & 1
tbsp pepper.
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Digital & Print Magazine
CONNECTING OUR CULTURE TO
OUR CYBER & CONSCIOUS COMMUNITIES
CHEF DERREK
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
[email protected]
Derrek Brown is an Executive Chef turned Culinary Instructor. Also
known as “Chef” he is passionate about educating our youth on the amaz-
ing opportunities in the hospitality industry. Chef is a culture creator who
leads by example and works as tiressly on a new artisan inspired dish as
he does with his students.
Chef was an innovator in catering for 15 years and he now applies his
knowledge of events to the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula where he is
spearheading a groundbreaking student lead catering company.
Chef was educated at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and
when he’s not busy whipping it up in the kitchen you can find him digging
through crates for rare vinyl or out looking for the next culinary trend.
*TIPS*
If you don’t have a dutch oven use a pan that has a heavy
bottom. That will allow for more consistent heat throughout
the frying process. And the wider the better, that will provide
more space for chicken possibly reducing the number of
batches needed to cook.
For a healthier alternative, try heating the oil to 350 degrees
and cooking for the initial 10 minutes then remove chicken,
place on sheet pan with a rack and transfer to a 400 degree
preheated oven and cook until the chicken reaches the inter-
nal temperature of 165 degrees.
My preferred hot sauce is Slap Ya Mama hot sauce but you
can use your favorite Louisiana brand or any vinegar-based
hot sauce.
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FEBRUARY 2019 • CELEBRATING 2 YEARS OF CONNECTING OUR CULTURE TO OUR CYBER & CONSCIOUS COMMUNITIES • THESOULTOWN.COM