The Impatient Chef Forgot to take Pictures of his Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe

Image curtesy of clipartpix.com

So, this piece of clip art will have to do.  

Where to begin?  

Heat.  The Impatient Chef likes spicy foods.

Where else?

Taste.  Every bit as important as heat.  

I have tried Nashville Hot Chicken, and attempted to make some from a recipe once.  I did it by the books, which is to say that I made the chicken with some spices in the breading, and made a spice mixture into which I ladled some of the friar oil, and mixed it up before slathering the crispy chicken with it.  

The result?

A resounding "Meh".

I was missing something.  But, what was it?  

Well, living in Nashville, of course.  That is something certainly missing.  I don't know what real, authentic, bona-fried Nashville Hot Chicken tastes like.  After some serious sourpussing over the sheer mileage between here and there, The Impatient Chef gradually hatched a plan.  

The Plan.

A bit of research revealed that really crispy fried chicken gets breaded in corn starch.  The breading had been a little soggy in the sauce for my first batch, so why not?  However, I wasn't too certain about using entirely corn starch, so I though "What about corn flour?"  

Now for the spice.  

The Impatient Chef adores buffalo wings.

Of course!  Use butter instead of the friar oil.  While I was at it, I decided to forgo the spice mixture, and instead use hot sauce.  I opted for Tapatio.  

The Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 pieces of chicken.  I used dark meat.  
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup corn flour 
• 8 tablespoons Creole seasoning (I like Tony Chachere's)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup and 1 tbsp. hot sauce (I used Tapatio)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup AP flour

Equipment:

• A deep fryer, or dutch oven with just enough oil to cover the chicken.  
• 3 pie plates, or shallow dishes for the breading
• Fat skimmer.  
• Fast read thermometer.
• Sheet tray with a cooling grid. 
• Small sauté pan
• Wire whisk
• Shallow bowl
• Pastry brush. 

Directions:

1. Rinse the chicken and pat dry.  
2. Arrange the pie plates in a row.  To the first one, add the flour.  In the second one, crack the egg, add one tbsp of the hot sauce, and beat until uniform in color (but don't get carried away).  Into the third one, add the corn flour, the corn starch, and 4 tablespoons of the Creole seasoning.  
3. Sprinkle 4 of the tablespoons of the creole seasoning on all sides of the chicken.  Roll it in the flour until coated, then the egg mixture, and then the corn starch mixture.  Place the chicken onto the sheet tray with the cooling grid.  Do not discard the surplus corn starch mixture.  
4. Turn on the fryer, or start heating the dutch oven.  The temperature should be 375 degrees.  
5. While the oil is heating, you will notice that the chicken is turning slightly red.  This is the red from the hot sauce in the egg mixture showing through the breading.  Sprinkle a little more breading on all sides of each piece, and pat it down.  You are trying to cover most of the red.  Wait a few minutes and do it again.  I did three rounds of this.  Now, if you are making french fries with this meal, you can heat the oil first, and add the extra breading to the chicken while those are frying.  Otherwise, heating the oil at the start of the recipe means that you will have to keep it heated for 10 to 15 extra minutes while adding the extra breading.  The Impatient Chef loves good food, but hates Global Warming, so using only the BTU's that are necessary is a plus.  
6. Once the oil is heated, carefully add the chicken.  Be careful to not get splattered.  After a minute or so, nudge them with the fat skimmer to make sure that they aren't sticking to the bottom.  
7. After about 5 minutes, melt the butter in the small sauté pan until it barely starts bubbling.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup of hot sauce.    Whisk it until uniform.  Remove from heat.  
8. When the chicken has reached 165 degrees, remove it from the oil and into a shallow bowl.  Pour the hot sauce and butter mixture over it.  Use the pastry brush to spread it over as much of the chicken as possible on both sides.   There should be very little of it, if any, left in the bowl.
9. Serve with your choice of sides and have a box of facial tissue handy.  

Note to spice lovers.  You may experiment with hotter sauces, but be kind to your less adventurous guests or spouses.  This recipe has a nice flavor, and a nice heat.  Why make tomorrow morning any harder than it has to be?  

Disclaimer:

This is not authentic Nashville Hot Chicken.  When I moved to the hot sauce instead of the spice mixture, the recipe became more Buffalo than Nashville.  My wife really liked it, so I will call it a success.  

--The Impatient Chef.

The Impatient Chef Cocktail Concoction: The Modified Moscow Mule

The Moscow Mule is all the rage these days, and I have to admit that I like them.  The problem is that I suck them down way too fast.  They go down like, well, ginger ale.  A local Distillery, one that I have no problem shamelessly plugging every chance I get, called New Deal Distillery, that resides in Portland, Oregon, has a Ginger Liqueur, and a fine vodka.  Now, I have no use for vodka in anything other than the Moscow Mule and pie crust, but it's okay in the Mule.  New Deal puts a Moscow Mule recipe on its bottle, and it consists of lime squeezin's, vodka, Ginger Liqueur, and soda water.  You can find the recipe here, or buy a bottle to get it (preferred).  I started thinking about how to make this into a cocktail rather than a fizz.  Here's what I came up with:

Ingredients:

2 oz Vodka (New Deal Portland Vodka works well)
2 oz New Deal Ginger Liqueur
1 oz fresh lime juice
raw sugar + boiling water (see directions), or 1/2 to 3/4 oz simple syrup (depending on your taste)

Directions:

In a measured shot glass, add raw sugar to the 1/2 oz mark.  If it is coarse raw sugar, fill it slightly higher.  Fill with water to the 1 oz mark.  Microwave for about 20 seconds.  Less may be necessary.  You just want it to be warm enough to dissolve the sugar.  Stir to dissolve.  Set aside while making the rest.
In a cocktail shaker, add the lime juice, vodka, and Ginger Liqueur.  Add ice.  Then add the sugar water.
Shake until the shaker is frosted.
Serve in a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a twist of lime.

Tasting notes.
This is not a sweet cocktail.  The New Deal Ginger Liqueur packs a whollop.  The sugar mellows it a little.  It's a sipping cocktail like I wanted.  It's a little puckery because of the lime, and the ginger is real, and pronounced.  It passed my wife's "Oh my God, it's good" test.

Enjoy.

The Impatient Chef Recipe: Beer Butt Chicken

Well, folks.  There comes that time in a chef's life that all pretensions must be thrown aside, and we have to try a recipe just because it's funny.  However, a question that these discerning home chefs have asked for decades is thus:  Does inserting a beer can into the nether regions of a chicken do anything for the flavor?

The answer:  In a word, no.  

But, what if there was a way to make it work?  Fortunately, there is.  

The traditional way to cook this somewhat humiliated bird in the beer can fashion is to empty out half of the beer, and fill the can the rest of the way with italian dressing.  After it finished bubbling out of the can, it is inserted into the chicken, and baked standing up. 

I propose three changes to this recipe:

1. Make homemade Italian dressing.  You can tailor it to the needs of your bird.  Hint: extra salt and garlic.
2. Add dressing to the half can of beer you poured out.  Loosen the skin of the chicken, and pour it through, letting the excess drip into the pan.
3. Cover your bird with foil to keep the flavor in.  Baste it on occasion with the liquid.
4. I lied.  There are four changes.  Get a good beer.  A hoppy IPA would be profoundly better than a mass-marketed lager. 

Tools:  

• Blender 
• Aluminium foil 
• Baking twine 
• A high-sided roasting pan, or iron skilley
• An oven with some head room 
• A two-cup measuring cup 
• A sense of humor

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup vegetable oil (grapeseed or canola)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp tarragon
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 tsp mustard (as an emulsifant) 
• 7 cloves garlic
• 1 16 oz can of beer (IPA, or other flavorful beer)
• 1 chicken (preferably deceased and plucked)

Directions:

The day before you want to bake the bird, make the dressing.  
Add all of the ingredients except for the oil, beer, and bird to a blender, and blend until the garlic is minced.  With the blender still on medium speed, open the lid, and slowly pour the oil into it to create an emulsion.  Refrigerate overnight to let the flavors mellow and blend.  

On baking day, 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Pour half of the beer into a 2 cup measuring cup (or any container with a pouring spout) with room to add half of the dressing, and, of course, add half of the dressing.  You may have to stir it first it it has separated.  Then stir the beer / dressing mixture briefly.
3. Add the other half of the dressing to the remaining beer in the can.
4. Loosen the skin on the chicken in as many places as you can by pulling in back, and sliding your hand in, and working it until there is a cavity between the flesh and skin that will hold liquid (or at least the solids).  
5. Over the roasting pan, insert the beer can containing half of the beer/dressing mixture up the chicken’s cavity.  Feel momentarily embarrassed for the poor little guy.  Place it standing up in the baking tray  or iron skillet.  
6. Over your roasting pan, pour the dressing/beer mixture in the measuring cup through the chicken skin in as many places as possible.  It’s okay if a lot of the liquid ends up in the tray.  
7. Use the baking twine to force the poor little guy to stand up in the pan or skillet.  Cover loosely with aluminum foil.  I used four toothpicks (blunted on one end) around the top to hold the foil away from the bird.  I stuck them in at 45degree angles, and laid the foil over top, making sure that there was no place for the steam to escape.  Seal the foil tightly around the pan as well.  How tight you can make the seal with the foil is the key to this recipe.  
   
   
   
   
8. Bake until the internal temperature is about 150 degrees.  Remove from the oven.  Remove the foil, and increase the temperature to 450 degrees.  Place back in the oven and bake until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.  This should be enough to make the skin nice and crispy.  
9. Remove the poor little bugger from the oven, and remove the beer can.  Carve and enjoy. 
   
   
   
   

Unlike Beer Butt Chickens I've had in the past, this one was moist, and flavorful.  That hoppy aroma came through, and the herbs have it a pleasant flavor.  This is definitely an improvement on the concept.  It's not just for show.  

Enjoy!

--The Impatient Chef

The Impatient Chef Cocktail Recipe: The Bitter Old Man

So, The Impatient Chef ran out of his favorite cocktail gin on Thursday.  Friday evening rolled around, and the medicine cabinet still was a bit bare in the gin department.  Not only that, but the cocktail books did not reveal anything that looked appealing without a good gin.   Did that stop The Impatient Chef?  

Almost.

But, necessity is the mother of invention, and there was a liquor that I wanted to try, and I actually had it.

It’s called “Torani Amer”.  Not to be confused with the Torani syrups you may order in your latte, this is a tad astringent, and a little bitter.  I bought it a few years ago for a drink that I never got around to making.  Sans gin, I still couldn’t make it.  

What next? 

Invent a cocktail.

First the base spirit.  I was considering Old Tom Gin, or Laird’s Applejack. I smelled the various ingredients, and went with Applejack.  The drink would have three bitter parts: Torani Amer, Green Chartreuse, and Orange Bitters, and then the name struck me.  It would be called The Bitter Old Man.  Laird’s Applejack is a very old spirit, but Old Tom Gin would have worked with the name as well.  

Here Goes:

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Laird’s Applejack
• 1/2 oz Torani Amer
• 1/2 oz fresh orange juice
• 1 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1 bar spoon Parfait Amour
• 3 dashes orange bitters
• 3 dashes Green Chartreuse
• Lemon juice
• Lemon peel

Directions:

1. Even though this has orange juice in it, I decided to stir it instead of shake it.  So stir everything but the lemon juice and peel with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Cut a lemon in half, and squeeze it briefly over the cocktail, getting perhaps 10 drops.  Garnish with a twist of lemon.  
2. This cocktail is not for the faint of heart, not because it tastes strange, or weird.  It does taste similar to other cocktails I have had.  Where it is quite different, and where fans of dark chocolate, black coffee, and the negroni will perk up and listen, the aftertaste changes flavors at least three times, getting more bitter and astringent for about 10 seconds.  It isn’t overwhelming, but it’s a noticeable, and interesting sensation. 
3. Enjoy if you dare.  

The Impatient Chef Presents: Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Yukon Golds

The Impatient Chef is at best, like all cooks, a recipe thief.  In this case, the thievery was done from a place in The Dalles, Oregon, called Rivertap.  The Impatient Chef has reviewed Rivertap favorably here.  This recipe should not, in any way, prevent you from eating there if you are within striking distance, and to be perfectly honest, theirs are better.  I made them based on my approximation of how they do it.  There is some secret to Rivertap's supreme yumminess which The Impatient Chef is in no danger of revealing in this post.  This recipe will get you part way there, though.  

These babies never fail to please.   

Makes 16.  

Ingredients:

• 4 smallish, roundish yukon gold potatoes (the more spherical, the better)
• 8 jalapeño peppers, cut in half lengthwise, and with the membranes and seeds removed
• 8 strips of bacon, cut in half
• Cheddar cheese, shredded
• Ranch dressing.

Equipment:

• A deep frier, or large cast iron dutch oven.  
• Thermometer
• fat skimmer, or other utensil to remove spuds during initial fry.
• 16 toothpicks

Directions:

1. Start your frier or dutch oven with the oil of your choice (peanut oil is preferred).  Heat to 320 degrees F.
2. Cut the spuds in half, and then the halves into thirds.  Try to get them as even as possible, but there is a workaround if you don’t. 
3. Fry the spuds for 8 to 10 minutes, getting them out after 6 minutes if they float.  Some may float too early because they will develop air pockets around the edges.  Use your better judgement in removing them when they are actually done.  
4. Once they are fried, remove put them onto a plate, and place them into the refrigerator while you prepare the jalapeños and cut the bacon.  
5. Increase fry temperature to 375 degrees F.
6. Once the spuds are cool enough to handle, place them into the jalapeño halves, and wrap with the bacon.  Skewer them with toothpicks, being sure to secure the bacon ends to both the jalapeños and spuds. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Once fry temperature is 375 degrees, fry the spuds until the bacon is crisp. 
8. When they are done, place them on a platter, sprinkle with the shredded cheddar, and serve with ranch dressing as a dipping sauce. 

Enjoy!  

--The Impatient Chef.

The Impatient Chef Goes Cajun in "The Great Shrimp Boil".

The Impatient Chef has on occasion delved into Southern Cooking.  It seemed only reasonable to go for the holy grail: The Shrimp Boil.

What is that you say?  It really should be a crawfish boil?  The Impatient Chef prefers shrimp.  Crawfish, as I've had them in the past are, shall we say, an acquired taste, not a required taste.  

This was my first attempt, and I decided to do it without a recipe. My goal was to create the taste I had at a local cajun restaurant a few months ago.  I flavored it a little at a time until I came up with the taste I wanted.  I will be doing it again soon, and may improve upon the recipe.  My wife cleaned her dish completely and waxed poetically about it, so I think it was a success. 

This is a spicy dish.  It isn't the kind that requires a Last Will and Testament, though.  You can survive it.  It has a pleasant burn.  

Feeds 6 because The Impatient Chef cannot feed the whole neighborhood.  Look up some recipes, they call for gallons of boil broth.  

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined (keep the shells)
• 3 ears of corn
• 4 andouille sausages
• 1 1/2 lbs new potatoes (small and red), or other, just not russet.
• 8 cups water (including the shrimp broth)
• 7 large cloves garlic, pressed
• 3/4 cup hot sauce (Franks, or Louisiana Hot)
• 1/4 cup Old Bay Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you dare)
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tbsp Tony Chachere’s Cajun seasoning, or Buck’s Zestier BBQ seasoning

Directions:

1. Steam the potatoes until done.  I used an old fondue skewer to check for doneness, rather than cutting them open.  See “Notes on Potatoes” at the end of the recipe for why I did this.
2. While the spuds are steaming, shell and devein the shrimp, place them into a small bowl of cold water.  Hold for last.  Put the shrimp shells into a medium sauce pan, cover with water, and boil for 10 minutes uncovered to make shrimp broth.  
3. While the shells are boiling, chop the sausage into 1” pieces on an angle.  Cut the corn cobs into 1 1/2 inch pieces.    
4. When the Shrimp shells are done, strain liquid into a 8-cup measuring cup.  If you don’t have that size, use smaller ones to measure out the correct amount of liquid: 6 cups total.
5. When the potatoes are done, remove them from the steamer, and set them aside.  
6. Add the liquid to a large pot, and add the Old Bay, hot sauce, Cajun or Buck’s seasoning, cayenne pepper, butter, salt, pepper, and pressed garlic.  Stir.  Taste.  Adjust.  
7. Bring to a boil, covered, stirring occasionally.
8. Boil the broth for 5 minutes, and, add the potatoes, sausage and corn.  Stir.  
9. Taste.  
10. Boil for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, trying not to break the potato's skins, then add the shrimp.  Boil for 1 minute.  It does not matter whether the broth boils.  Turn the heat off after a minute.  
11. Serve.  
12. Enjoy.  We like to have buttered sourdough bread, or some rice with this meal. 

         

Notes on Potatoes:  On my second try at this recipe, I chose small, red potatoes.  Ones that were small enough to cook whole.  The thought being that I would get a cleaner broth.  I started by steaming the potatoes, whole, until done, and setting them aside while I prepared the boil broth.  It was a success.  The multi-colored fingerling potatoes shown in the picture had to be cut up, and by the end of the boil, there was a bit of sediment in the bottom, which became worse upon reheating.  Being frugal, we like to eat everything we cook, and the end of the broth was not as pleasurable as the beginning.  With the small, whole potatoes, the broth was indeed very clean.  I cut them apart once in my bowl, and they absorbed plenty of the spicy goodness.  While this method is not traditional, I think it made for a better taste and texture.  

Another change to the recipe was the addition of 2 more cloves of garlic, and I upped the hot sauce to 1/2 cup.  

The Impatient Chef and the Quest for a Veddy, Veddy British Cream Tea, Part 4, Putting It All Together

In this final installment of The Impatient Chef’s Veddy, Veddy British Cream Tea we put it all  together.  Baking day came on a Sunday.  It was time to make the scones.  

As I mentioned before I used Mary Berry’s scone recipe.  These scones are light and airy, and flavorful, unlike the wedges of crumbly drywall that are commonly disregarded in American coffee shops.  

Equipment: 

You will need a fluted 5cm/2in cutter.

Ingredients:

• 450g / 1lb self-raising flour (recipe after this recipe)
• 2 level tsp baking powder
• 50g / 1¾ oz caster sugar
• 100g / 3½ oz butter, softened, cut into pieces
• 2 free-range eggs
• a little milk
• handful sultanas (optional)

To Serve:

• Strawberry jam
• Clotted (or Devonshire) cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425f (400f convection).  Lightly grease a baking tray (two if they’re smaller).

1. Put the flour, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Crack the eggs into a measuring jug, then add enough milk to make the total liquid 300ml/10fl oz. Stir the egg and milk into the flour – you may not need it all – and mix to a soft, sticky dough. 
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, knead lightly and work in the sultanas, if using. Roll out to a rectangle about 2cm/¾” thick.  I divided the batter, used sultanas in half of the scones. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Cut into as many rounds as possible with a fluted 5cm/2in cutter and place them on the prepared baking trays. 
5. Brush the tops of the scones with a little extra milk, or any egg and milk left in the jug.
   
6. Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until the scones are well risen and a pale, golden-brown colour. Lift onto a wire rack to cool. Eat as fresh as possible.

To make Self-Raising Flour

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (120g) pastry flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl; use as directed in your recipe.

Recipe Tips

Once the scones are cool, they can be frozen. To eat, defrost at room temperature and then reheat in a hot oven for 10 minutes. The scone dough should be slightly sticky to give the best results. Don’t over handle the dough or it will be tough and don’t be tempted to roll it out too thinly or you won’t get good deep scones. For larger 5cm/2in scones, bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Let's review.  
Pastry Flour from Bob's Red Mill in Milwaukie, Oregon.  https://www.bobsredmill.com
Jam from the Apple Valley Country Store in Hood River Oregon.  https://applevalleystore.com
Scone Cutters from Kitchen Kaboodle in Portland, Oregon.  https://www.kitchenkaboodle.com
Devonshire Cream from Cost Plus World Markets.  https://www.worldmarket.com
Scone recipe from Mary Berry.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/tea_time_scones_77839
Fortmason Tea from the Death Star.   https://www.amazon.com

Serving

Get your nicest tea pot, and tea cups.  I have found that Goodwill is a good place to find tea cups, just don’t expect complete sets.   The Impatient Chef prefers loose leaf tea.  Brewing tea is an art.  Pay attention to brewing times and temperatures. For Fortmason Tea, brew it just like Earl Grey—boiling water is fine, and steep no longer than 4 minutes.  A tea cozy is also a must.  Some small plates provide a nice place to put the scones.  Butter is optional.  Put the Devonshire Cream and jam into some small dishes.  Split the scones, add the cream and jam, and enjoy!  

But, we're not finished yet.  There is some controversy in Merry Olde England over whether to spread the cream first, or the jam.  Because people are regional and fiercely proud of their traditions (The Impatient Chef remembers Dr. Seuss's "Butter Battle Book", and how it exemplifies the futility of such fierocitude), the cream first or jam first controversy takes up an inordinate amount of bytes of the internet on all places in the .uk section of the https://www.  Being American, The Impatient Chef can do it both ways as whim permits.  You do the same.