Pollos Hermanos inspired by Breaking Bad

• servings: 4 servings
• total time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the Chicken & Spice Brine

15 g cayenne pepper

10 g aleppo pepper

10 g ground coriander

15 g red pepper flakes, ground

15 g kosher salt (add for dry brine)

1 whole chicken

Frying oil

Flour

For the Chicken Batter

100 g all purpose flour

100 g cornstarch

sprinkle spice mixture

250 g water

30 g vodka

2 large eggs

for the Fries & Batter

2 russet potatoes, spiralized

Boiling water

15 g paprika

60 g all purpose flour

15 g cayenne pepper

6 g onion powder

Kosher salt

3 tbsp spice mixture

150 g water

1 quart peanut oil

Directions

For the Chicken

Into a small bowl, combine cayenne pepper, Aleppo pepper and ground coriander, and red pepper flakes that have been ground in a spice grinder. Whisk to combine. - 15 g cayenne pepper - 10 g aleppo pepper - 10 g ground coriander - 15 g red pepper flakes ground

Set aside 3 tablespoons for the curly fries. Turn the rest into a dry brine for the chicken by adding 15 grams of kosher salt. Whisk to combine. - 15 g kosher salt (add for dry brine)

Using whole chicken, cut into the classic 10 piece fried chicken pieces. - 1 whole chicken

Load the pieces onto a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and generously sprinkle on all sides with the dry-brine mixture. Place in the fridge uncovered for 4-24 hours.

For the Batter

in a medium bowl combine all-purpose flour and cornstarch, an optional sprinkle of the spice mixture, water, vodka, and large eggs. Whisk together until a pancake batter consistency is reached. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours. - 100 g all purpose flour - 100 g cornstarch - sprinkle spice mixture - 250 g water - 30 g vodka - 2 large eggs

Using the batter, along with a pie pan of flour, dunk each piece of chicken into the flour followed by the batter making sure each piece is thoroughly coated. Rinse and repeat for all chicken pieces. - Flour

In a 375°F pot of frying oil, carefully place the chicken pieces into the oil (facing away from you, no splashes!) and frying 7-10 minutes depending on the size of the piece. Turn every other minute or so to make sure no scorching is developing. Once golden brown and 175°F-185°F for dark meat, 165°F for white meat, remove. - Frying oil

Drain and cool on a paper towel-lined baking sheet before serving.

For the Curly Fries

Using a spiralizer, lock in russet potato, and over a bowl of boiling water begin spiralizing the potato. Rinse and repeat with remaining potatoes. Make sure all the potato twists are underwater. - 2 russet potatoes spiralized - Boiling water

Let sit for 15 minutes then drain.

Once drained, dump the potatoes onto a paper towel-lined baking tray and sandwich between paper towels and pat until as dry as possible.

After the potatoes are fully dry, grab some scissors and cut the potatoes into shorter pieces. Not too long, but not too short due to curling up in the frying oil.

Once the potatoes have been snipped, place back onto the baking sheet covering with a paper towel while the batter is made.

Into a large bowl, combine paprika, all-purpose flour, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and a tiny pinch of kosher salt. Add in the reserved spice blend and whisk to combine. - 15 g paprika - 60 g all purpose flour - 6 g onion powder - 15 g cayenne pepper - Kosher salt - 3 tbsp spice mixture

Add in water (or however much is required) and whisk together until a little lighter than the consistency of paint. - 150 g water

Once the right consistency is reached, dump in the potatoes and give them a toss until thoroughly coated and battered.

In a cast-iron skillet filled with peanut oil heated to 350°F, carefully and gently lower the fries into the oil in batches and spread out evenly and fry for 2-5 minutes until a deep reddish-brown. - 1 quart peanut oil

Remove and drain on a paper towel-lined baking sheet and generously season with kosher salt while still warm.