Sundays are for Brunch...So, Let's Brunch.

Seven Spice Buttermilk Fried Chicken topped with Rum Caramel Sauce & Pan Roasted Sweet Potatoes with a Brussels Sprout & Green Apple Slaw

When I think brunch, I think about decadent composed dishes with something fried and sweet and a little acid. So, I decided to put my idea into action, and that's how the recipe came into being. 

One of the things we will explore in this recipe is how versatile you can be without having traditional items required by certain recipes in your kitchen. Thing is, a lot time we may think we can't make something because we don't have an ingredient, but more times than not, there is often a very simple easy-to-find work around. 

This recipe was inspired by my love for sweet potatoes in all their glory, and if you think about it everyone loves fried chicken. Now, my fried chicken only has 7 main spices, and unlike the Colonel S., I am okay with sharing my secret spices with you. 

I really hope you enjoy this as much as I did...let me know how it goes. 

xoxo Danzii

Serves: 4

Prep time: 3 hours 

Ingredients: 

3 lbs of de-boned chicken thighs 

2 cups of whole milk 

2 tbsp vinegar 

3 tsp cinnamon 

4 tsp cayenne pepper 

3 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp pimento seed, grounded 

1 tsp cloves

2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

4 sprigs of thyme 

1 cup of all purpose flour

2 lbs of sweet potatoes, diced

4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

2 whole garlic cloves

1 cup of chopped celery stalks 

2 tbsp rosemary sprigs
2 scallion stalks, chopped
1/2 of a medium onion, diced finely

2 tbsp sage 

1/4 cup olive oil 

3 cups vegetable oil 

1 lb brussels sprouts, shredded

1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/2 of a Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced

1 tsp dill 

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

Salt 

2 tsp pepper 

2 tbsp dry white win

1 stick of butter

1 cup evaporated milk 

2 tbsp dark rum 

1 cup brown sugar 

Today's recipe will be composed a little differently because meal prepping this dish before starting the cooking process is gonna make your life surprisingly easier. So, first let's look at the prep. 

The Chicken Marinade

• In a container add whole milk and vinegar and mix well and let is sit for 10 minutes. 
• Remove chicken from packaging and wash with water and vinegar or lemon and drain excess water and add to a bowl. 
• Add 2 tsp of cinnamon, 3 tsp cayenne, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp lemon pepper, 2 tsp garlic, thyme, cloves, pimento to the chicken in the bowl. You gotta get a little messy here, ensure the seasonings are evenly distributed on the chicken. 
• Pour in the milk and vinegar mixture on the chicken cover the bowl with a plastic wrap or transfer the chicken and the marinade into a ziplock bag. Let this marinate for at least 6 hours for best results. This can be done up to 24 hours in advance. 

The Dredge

• Add flour to a bowl. 
• Add remaining powdered seasonings, and a tsp of salt. 
• Add the leaves of a single sprig of thyme and combine well and set aside for later. 

The Sweet Potato Prep

• Scour the sweet potatoes to remove excess dirt. 
• Dice the sweet potatoes in about 1 inch pieces. 
• In a large pot add about 6 cups of water and generous pinch of salt and bring to a boil. 
• Add the sweet potatoes and let them cook for 5-7 minutes. Do not overcook! 
• Drain the excess water and set the potatoes aside for later. 

The Slaw Prep

• Slice the brussels sprouts in half and remove the core. 
• Lay each half on a flat side and thinly slice into ribbons. 
• Slice a Granny Smith apple in half and remove the core. 
• Slice the apple into thin 1 inch pieces. 
• Shred the carrot using a grater and combine with the apple and brussels sprouts in a bowl.
• In a small bowl whisk together, dry white wine, Greek yogurt, dill salt and pepper and set aside. 
• Add the yogurt mixture to the vegetables and the apple and mix well. 
• Put the slaw in the fridge to sit for at least 2 hours. 

So, there you go, the simple art of meal prep...now let's to get to cooking and putting everything together. 

The Fried Chicken 

• Remove the chicken from the fridge at least 30 minutes before you're ready to cook it. We will get into why later. 
• In a cast iron skillet or dutch pot add about 3 cups of vegetable or canola oil. Let this heat up on medium heat to about 350 degrees Celsius. 
• Add the two garlic cloves to the oil, don't worry if they brown up.
• Dip chicken into the flour dredge, then back into the milk mixture, then into the flour again. So, flour, milk mixture, flour. Do not shake of excess flour! 
• Once your oil's at the right temperature, add the chicken. Careful not to overcrowd the pot, so fry about 3-4 pieces at a time depending on the size of the pot. 
• Fry until the outside of the chicken has a deep golden brown look this should take roughly 11-15 minutes. The internal temperature of the chicken when it's done should be 165 degrees Celsius. 
• Remove from oil and set on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Repeat these steps with the remaining chicken.

 

The Herb Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• In a large skillet on medium heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil then garlic and rosemary and let those cook until the garlic starts to brown a little. 
• Add celery stalks and let those cook out for about 7-10 minutes until they start to get a little crispy...not burnt...CRISPY!
• Add scallion and onions and let those cook for an additional 2 minutes. 
• Crank up the heat a little and add your semi cooked potatoes and add remaining olive oil so that the potatoes can get crispy. 
• Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste. 
• Constantly stir the potatoes so as not to burn them but to ensure that they are being cooked evenly. You can reduce the heat after about 8 minutes back to medium heat and let the potatoes continue to cook for an additional 10-15 minutes and remove from heat. 

Caramel Rum Sauce

• In a heavy bottom sauce pan, over medium-high heat add the butter, brown sugar, 1 tbsp of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes and stir occasionally. 
• In a separate cup combine vanilla and evaporated milk. 
• Once the mixture has been boiling for 5 minutes, slowly pour in the evaporated milk/vanilla mixture. It's gonna bubble up...just keep stirring till it comes together. 
• Cook for just 1 minute more, remove from heat and then add dark rum and mix well and set aside. 

 

Plating 

• Put the pan roasted sweet potatoes at the bottom of the plate. 
• Place the fried chicken on top and drizzle the caramel sauce on top of the chicken. 
• Add spoonful of slaw on the side so it's not touching the potatoes. 

Danzii's Tips

• Alright alright...I know that recipe was a lot to take in. So first thing's first...what's the milk and vinegar thing? It's a good substitute for buttermilk. I thought about the recipe when it was too late to go to the supermarket to find buttermilk, moreover, I don't remember ever seeing buttermilk at the supermarket locally. So, I used a substitute. Lemon juice could also be used as a substitute if you didn't have any vinegar. As you add the vinegar to the milk it will curdle, just keep mixing all good. 
• What's the point of buttermilk? It helps to tenderize the chicken. The enzymes present in buttermilk also help in breaking down the protein in the chicken, resulting in tender, flavorful fried chicken. 
• I don't have a thermometer...well...buy one. Azan's have them for under $1000.00 my Jamaican folks. It's a really great investment if you want perfect fried chicken 100% of the time.  
• So, the reason why you have to let the chicken sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before you fry it is because cold chicken will reduce the temperature of the oil you're cooking with and then your chicken won't cook evenly. Also you'll end up soggy outer coating. 
• Make sure you don't use oil with a low smoke point, so for example, if you've read most of my blog posts you'll see how much I use olive oil...this is a bad oil for frying chicken. Why? It'll leave your chicken having an odd bitter taste. Also, there are certain high end olive oils with high smoke point, but when you think about how much you'll pay for this olive oil and the volume of oil you'll need for deep frying...yeaaaah, vegetable oil? Much cheaper. 10/10 would recommend. 
• When the chicken starts looking golden brown, briefly remove it from the oil, stick the thermometer in and you should have a reading of 165 degrees Celsius, that's how you'll be able to tell it's done.
• Don't put fried chicken to drain on a paper towel, because then it'll continue to steam and you lose your crispy coating.  
• No brussels sprouts? All good, use their bigger cousin, cabbage. 
• For the caramel sauce traditionally, heavy cream is used, but I never had any so I used evaporated milk. 
• No, you don't have to use purple sweet potatoes, but you can if you can find them use them they taste great and make your dish prettier. I found these at General Foods. 
• I put the potatoes to sit in lemon juice and water to prevent discoloration before I started cooking them.
• I parboiled the potatoes because our local potatoes take a little longer to cook in my opinion. 

I'm a firm believer in brunch, so I bought cute plates for that specifically, here's the finished product:

Since I can't call up my friends  and go out for brunch, I brought brunch to myself..my mom and Kareem. The potatoes, the fried chicken and the indulgent caramel sauce is everything I want in a good brunch. I really enjoyed this...and I am sure you will too. Make this for you and your mom during quarantine...I'm sure she'll love it. Try it out and let me know how it goes! Well, that's all I wrote, until next time...from my kitchen to yours, "Bone Apple Teeth!"