Culinary Hotline 23 February 2022

Chef Clem on our foodie panel helps you out with your culinary conundrums.

Recipe by: Clem Pedro

Ingredients:

Quick chicken livers

4 Tbsp butter, and 1 Tbsp canola oil
250g Free range chicken livers
½ Cup Woolies peri peri sauce


Chicken brine


2 litres of water
1 Cup of salt
1 Cup of sugar
3 cloves of garlic
A sprig of thyme
4 slices of lemon
1 Tbsp peppercorns 
1 whole spatchcock chicken, or 8 pieces of free range chicken

 

For the fried chicken:
Ingredients:
8 Pieces of brined, free range chicken, a combination of legs, thighs, wings and breasts
2 Tbsp Onion powder
1 Tbsp Ground paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 Cup Hot sauce
1/2 Cup Milk
3 Cups Flour
Oil for deep-frying
Lemon for squeezing over

Method:

For the Quick chicken livers:
Add your butter to a pan along with the oil over a high heat. Once the butter begins bubbling and frothing add your chicken livers that have been drained. Cover with a lid and allow them to cook for a minute. The livers will pop in the pan so keep the lid on for this part.
Remove the lid after a minute and add your peri peri sauce and allow the livers to cook for another 2 minutes before serving with crispy garlic bread.

For the Chicken Brine:
Add the water to a large pot along with the salt, sugar, garlic, thyme, lemon slices and peppercorns.
Bring to a simmer over a medium heat while stirring until the sugar and salt have completely dissolved, before removing from the heat and cooling completely.
Add your spatchcock chicken or chicken pieces to the brine, and place in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, up to 8 hours, before removing and preparing for either roasting or frying.

For the fried chicken:

Add the brined chicken portions to a large bowl before adding 1T onion powder and paprika, season lightly with salt and add the black pepper. Pour in the hot sauce and mix through giving the chicken some time to absorb the flavours of the spices and sauce. 5 minutes should do. Add the milk and combine.
In a separate bowl add the flour and remaining onion powder, lightly seasoning with salt and pepper.
Add the chicken to the flour, pressing down lightly to ensure every bit of the chicken is covered in the flour before gently tapping to shake off any excess flour. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Heat the oil for deep-frying. Gently place the chicken in the oil and fry for about 15 minutes or until the chicken is golden and crisp on the outside with the inside of the chicken cooked through. A great way to check that the inside is cooked is by piercing the thickest part of the chicken and if the juices run clear then the chicken is cooked. Continue to cook the remaining chicken in the same manner being sure not to overcrowd the pot, causing the temperature of the oil to drop.
Add a squeeze of lemon juice to the fried chicken to add a fresh, zesty kick to the dish.

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