People Should Make Fried Chicken (Sandwiches) Way More Often at Home

Maybe it's just me, but making fried chicken always intimidates me far more than it should. In theory, it's only chicken and some wet-hand, dry-hand with eggs and dredge; it should be easy. But something about the idea - maybe the concept of frying at home - just presents as more than I want to take on. Then I do it, remember how simple and thoughtless it is, and enjoy how well the timing mechanisms allow for an easy cook and clean.

This recipe comes from Eric Rivera, a Puerto Rican chef, lesser known than those who I have stolen from thus far on this blog, but still with a fairly robust résumé. I came across Eric in 2021 or 2022, and I can't quite remember whether it was his Twitter account that found me or me who found his Twitter account. He was formerly - for like 7 years - the Head of R&D at Alinea, the Chicago restaurant that just lost its third Michelin star, so it is not totally impossible that I stumbled across his name during a Wikiracing-esque exploration of cooks, but given his profile, it would have required some serious sleuthing.

It is more likely, in fact, that his aggressive - and insane - Twitter tactics found me, after which I learned more about him. At the time, it was basically the best example of guerrilla marketing that I had come across. Say really insane shit, respond to everyone, call people idiots, accuse famous people of being bad, mix in constant political drivel, all with a fairly clear understanding of how the Twitter algorithm would boost visibility to his account. It worked quite well, and I have the playbook for when I want to push this blog to the masses.

The Twitter account no longer exists, though. Apparently, the marketing was more than a tactic. Eric flew a little too close to the sun, had some personal life issues, and I assume shut the account down thereafter. I won't get into all of that because this isn't People Magazine, I am not entirely sure where it all stands, and honestly, it's a good recipe.

For whatever it is worth, this recipe comes from the Eric Rivera from Seattle who owned a restaurant called Addo and worked at Alinea, not the other Puerto Rican chef named Eric Rivera in Oakland who did time for robbery. That said, our Eric is not spotless. He's a great cook, though.

This is quite simple. It is just mojo, which is a garlic-citrus sauce of sorts, and Tabasco. Get yourself some chicken thighs, and bang them thin with a rolling pin or pan into a shape that resembles what you might picture fried chicken looking like after it is cooked.

I didn't blend it. A rough garlic chop mixed with the other ingredients was all I cared to do. I added an amount of Tabasco to the marinade that seemed reasonable. I wouldn't advise leaving this to marinate with the chicken for too long; the acid in lime juice - or vinegar if you choose to use that instead of lime and orange juice - can tenderize the meat, and if you overdo it, that can have an adverse effect on the meat.

There are a few ingredients in here that you might not already have in your kitchen, but making this dredge is simple, and it is well worth including what you can.

Eric actually sells his own sazon and adobo on ericriveracooks dot com, but I should warn you that I haven't purchased from there in years. This is where I bought all of his eBooks the moment that he released them, where I bought pasta from him, and where I bought enough sazon and adobo to last me a few years. Those appear to have been incredibly wise decisions, as I genuinely am unsure whether the site still operates normally; if you place an order and receive the items, I would encourage buying whatever you find interesting that he is selling.

This makes way more dredge than you need for even four chicken thighs, so portion out what you might use such that you can save the dredge, rather than using it for the chicken then realizing you were dipping egg-covered chicken in it and having to throw out all the unused product.

I find it easier to communicate the instructions here via bullet points:

When you add the chicken to the oil, the temperature may drop dramatically. I have this amazing Breville Control Freak Induction burner that mitigates this issue quite well, but it is probably worth monitoring the temperature of the oil as best as possible to get the cook time right. If it takes some time for the oil to get back up to 300F or 350F, just add a bit of time to the fry, rather than starting the 7 minutes exactly when you drop the chicken in.

We used Eric's simple suggested sauce for this: 50% Heinz ketchup + 50% Kewpie mayo. I do not want to get chastised again for disregarding the bread choice here, so toast some brioche buns for this. I have no further analysis on the bread beyond that.