Onion Crusted Fried Chicken Salad
This recipe for Onion Crusted Fried Chicken Salad is from Commander's
Palace restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana
Ingredients:
- 6 medium chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless
- Kosher salt
and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 medium
onions, 1 cut in very small dice, 1/2 sliced very thin
- 1/4 cup cane,
cider or malt vinegar
- 2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and sliced
1/4 inch thick
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 cups
all-purpose flour
- 3 cups vegetable shortening, canola oil, or corn
oil, for frying
- 2 small head Bibb or Boston lettuce, trimmed, washed,
halved, and cored
- 2/3 cup Blue Cheese Dressing
- 2 roasted red
peppers, store-bought or homemade, sliced
- 1/4 pound blue cheese,
crumbled
Directions:
- Remove the tenderloin strips from each chicken breast half, and cut each
breast half into three long strips.
- Place the chicken pieces in a large
bowl, season with salt and pepper, add the buttermilk, stir, and
refrigerate for an hour or two.
- Place the onion slices, vinegar,
cucumbers, pepper flakes, and additional salt and pepper in a small
bowl. Toss to combine, and set aside for the cucumbers to marinate.
- Place the flour, diced onion, and some salt and pepper in a large
bowl, and mix with your hands just enough to coat the onion with flour,
but don't allow the onions to stick together.
- Now coat the
marinated chicken. Take a piece at a time with one hand, shake off
excess liquid, and place it in the flour mixture. With your other hand,
press the chicken with your knuckles so the onion adheres, then flatten
out the chicken. Shake off excess, and repeat with remaining chicken.
- In a large, heavy pot, heat the shortening or oil to 350 degrees
F. on a deep-fry thermometer Gently place about 8 strips of chicken in
the pot, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the bottom starts to
brown.
- Turn the chicken over, and cook until the piec
- es are golden brown
and begin to float, another 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the cooked chicken
to a rack that has a sheet pan as an underliner. Repeat until all
chicken is fried.
- Serve with marinated cucumber at the bottom of
each plate, some lettuce in the center, and 3 pieces of chicken on each
side of the lettuce.
- Drizzle blue cheese dressing on top of each salad,
place some roasted pepper strips on top, and sprinkle with the crumbled
blue cheese.
Chef Jamie’s Tips: Chicken breasts vary in size, so
you may need to adjust the cooking time. Some Bibb and Boston head are
big, so two heads is only an approximation. You can also substitute
hearts of Romaine. A couple wedges of tomato, when they’re in season,
make a nice addition.
Name of chef: Chef Jamie
New Orleans Restaurant
Recipes