Anthony's fried chicken

Tam West

Auckland Grammar School has released its first cookbook, an ambitious idea conceived over lunch in New York. Cleverly launched in time for Father's Day, A Taste of Grammar was collated by expat Old Boy Anthony Hoy Fong, the school's most famous culinary figure, who met with headmaster Tim O'Connor eight months ago in the Big Apple. The book was a big project. Anthony received 300 recipes from parents, students, old boys, teachers and housemasters, which had to be pared down to 150 recipes to coincide with 150 years of Grammar education. The cookbook is available online at ags.school.nz.

Buttermilk brine

600 ml	Buttermilk, or use milk with 2 Tbsp sour cream
2 Tbsp	Flaky sea salt
1 Tbsp	Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp	Paprika
4 cloves	Garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp	Honey
2	Bay leaves
1 Tbsp	Lemon juice

Flour coating

3 cups	Flour
2 Tbsp	Garlic powder
1 Tbsp	Onion powder
2 Tbsp	Paprika
1 tsp	Cayenne pepper
2 tsp	Sage, rubbed
1 Tbsp	Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp	Flaky sea salt

Chicken

1 medium	Whole chicken, organic, cut into 10 pieces (Main)
1 serving	Oil, for frying
1 handful	Fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme sprigs
1 head	Garlic, cut in half, horizontally
1	Lemon, cut into wedges to serve

Directions

1. Brine chicken: Combine brine ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Add chicken pieces and mix to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Remove chicken from brine and set on a rack to drain. Preheat the oven to 150C.
3. Coat chicken: Combine flour and seasonings in a large bowl. Working with 1-2 pieces of chicken at a time, coat each piece well in the seasoned flour. Toss in flour and gently pat into chicken so it sticks and gets covered completely, including in all the cracks. Shake off any excess flour and set on another rack until you have coated all the chicken pieces.
4. Fry chicken: Place oil in a large, heavy pot or deep fryer. Add herbs and cut garlic head. Heat oil over mediumhigh heat to 180C. As the oil heats up, it cooks/crackles the herbs and garlic and infuses the oil. Remove herbs and garlic when crisp and crackled — after about 7-8 minutes. Once oil is up to temperature, carefully place chicken in oil to cook. Cook 3-4 pieces at a time, so the pot doesn't get overcrowded. Cook chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy.
5. When done, remove, drain and place on a clean oven rack and finish cooking in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Season and serve with lemon wedges, the fried herbs and garlic to garnish

More recipes fromA Taste of Grammar

• Vegetarian sausage rolls
• Brown loaf