Gypsy Fried Chicken

It has been years and more years since I have made fried chicken. All the food health literature has made me scared of everything deep fried or fried. On Saturday I happened to read two articles about fried chicken, the common denominator being chef Thomas Keller who is renown for his fried chicken. He is a keen advocate of brining and I was tempted to try this but I could not abide the idea of all that salt in the brine. I settled for a compromise and it worked out very well. It is milk marinated chicken, coated and then deep fried. I had recently been told by a chef to marinate chicken over night in milk and this too was influencing my decision to use the following recipe.

Here it is:

2 pounds chicken thighs or breasts. Marinate these for 12 to 24 hours in 2 cups of milk and the juice and peel of one lemon. Ensure all the chicken is covered. Before cooking, drain and bring to room temperature. If you fry chilled chicken it takes longer to cook and you want to get the chicken quickly into the pan and out again.

1 tbsp paprika 2 tsp kosher salt 1 tsp cayenne 1/2 tsp ground pepper 1/2 tsp thyme 1 cup all purpose flour in a plastic bag that you can close tightly Canola oil After you have drained the milk and thrown the lemon away, lay the chicken on a flat cookie sheet. Mix all the spices except the flour. Sprinkle and pat on both sides of the chicken. Do this at least an hour before frying to let the chicken warm to room temperature. Heat the oil in a large cast iron pan to 350 degrees. Pour in at least 1/2 inch of oil. Place each piece of chicken in the plastic bag - do one at a time - and shake. Fry chicken ensuring each piece is an island and the oil bubbles around it. How long? If you are frying thighs that have been flattened, it is about 3 minutes a side. Breasts are thicker and take longer. After the first batch is fried, keep warm on a heat proof plate lined with paper towels in a low heat oven. This chicken is very crisp on the outside and moist in the inside and the spices really work well together. We had the chicken for the main course. Our friend then played a violin built in 1768. He played Bach and then turned to gypsy music. He explained the gypsies originated from India and speak a language close to Hindi. The first piece was called CSingeralas and the water glasses bounced on the table cloth. He then turned to morning music. This piece was placed after every one had danced all night and were too tired to dance. This time the cutlery bounced. Gypsies have amazing energy. You might not be able to invite a master violinist to your home, but you can get the energy and yums from the fired chicken.