Winner Winner. Fried Chicken Dinner.

Fried Chicken Dinner, Breakfast, and Lunch too. I have been craving fried chicken day in and day out ever since I saw the mouth watering sandwiches that David Chang has been cooking up at his latest restaurant Fuku. Fried Chicken is starting to trend all over America, even Shake Shack recently release their own chicken sandwich. Just thinking of juicy tender chicken with flaky and crispy batter, #drools. I had to get in on this craze, so I set out on a journey to make delicious fried chicken.

What better day to start my fried chicken expedition than on July 6th, National Fried Chicken Day. I turned to the all knowing Google and humbly asked for a for the best fried chicken sandwich recipe to appease my cravings. It spat out more recipes than I would ever need, but Bon Appetite's recipe won me over at first sight as it consisted of a spicy mayo and slaw, and the fact that it didn't require a brining step. I was hungry, and I didn't want to wait overnight for my chicken to be plump and juicy. I substituted the chicken breast for chicken thigh to give my chicken a little extra resilience to over cooking, and like David Chang, I am a firm believer that dark meat is the more delicious part of the bird. I stopped by Trader Joe's to pick up the necessary produce but I came up short as they did not have a head of lettuce for my slaw! Ridiculous right? I settled for some Kale, which was surprisingly pleasant and hip.

Bon Appetite's Fried Chicken Sandwich

It was a very safe and delicious recipe and came out great despite my lack of chicken frying experience, but I wanted more chicken! I decided to take a chance and tried a Ramen Crusted Fried Chicken from the Momofuku boss himself. In theory it sounded delicious. Your lovely chicken parts soak in a sugary salt brine, and you batter these pieces with a ramen flour of grind up instant noodles. The chicken is then dipped in buttermilk, instant ramen spice packets and floured. Everything seemed to come together nicely until I took a bite out of my chicken. The crust came off in large pieces and the chicken was unbelievably salty from the brine. I should have tasted the brine before hand. A Dave Arnold rule of thumb, you want to add salt until it tastes like the ocean and add salt until you start to taste a sweetness. It was a sad day for fried chicken. I had to peel off all the crust and rinse the chicken under the sink to get it to an palatable level.

David Chang Ramen Fried Chicken

I had to redeem myself after my failed Fried Ramen Chicken. I turned to Kenji Alt-Lopez of the Food Lab/Serious Eats for some appetizing fried chicken. I settled for his Chicken Fried Chicken recipe because who doesn't love fried chicken with gravy. With a few chicken fryings under my belt, it was easy to whip out delicious fried chicken. The spice blend was just right and the crust was perfect. Could not be happier with how it turned out... well that was until I added a hash brown waffle and kimchi. No regrets.

Kenji Alt-lopez/Food Lab Chicken fried Chicken Recipe

I am still not tired of fried chicken so I will be continue this delicious journey to find the best techniques. Do you have any favorite fried chicken techniques, recipes, or dishes? Let me know in the comments so I can give them a shot.