Fried chicken, ready to see it everywhere?
The fried chicken It had not yet been dropped among the gastronomic trends that reach Spain. And it wasn't for lack of desire, so the wait was getting too long.
We have seen it countless times captured on the big screen and as part of fast food restaurant menus, but never as a full-fledged dish with which to salivate beyond our means. You can rest in peace, because if lately there is a food that is cramming likes for the social networks it's fried chicken, especially if it's sandwiched between two fluffy, savory buns.
One of the first ways in which it began to be seen in Madrid was by the hand of John Husby , in the restaurant Chuka (Echegaray, 9), birthplace of ramen in the capital but also famous for having the best bathrooms in town.
His is made following the premises of the korean cuisine , with a double fry that is then served soaked in two sauces –the bibim, spicy and acid based on gouchujang; and the sweet chili, based on gochugaru–. "It's very similar to Japanese chicken karaage style , in the sense that both use potato starch in frying. To achieve the perfect crisp, we use vodka and beer," Husby explains of his recipe, influenced by his american roots and the impact other chefs have had on his career. Like the fried chicken in two preparations of the Momofuku Noodle Bar . "They served it on the same huge tray, on one side they put some Korean-style wings and, on the other, American-style drumsticks; all accompanied by an assortment of accessories, sauces and, at the time, moo shu omelettes . Momofuku's owner, David Chang , he's going to nail it when he reopens his chain of fried chicken restaurants, fuku , as soon as the pandemic is over," Husby confesses excitedly.
The Vietnamese wings of poke pok , by Andy Rickter, and Pine State Biscuits in Portland, Ore.; chongqing wings Danny Bowien in Mission Chinese; The Commodore Y Feet 'n' Thighs , in Brooklyn... The list of the chef's favorites makes you want to take a plane to make a route and try them all. "But the style hot chicken It is the one I like. Before, it was very little known outside Nashville but now it is seen more often. Same with him fried chicken served cold , which is perfect on a hot summer day."
It is precisely in USA where Husby tells that the traditionalists They order the frying to be done in a cast iron skillet instead of frying, with the oil covering it halfway. "Thus, evaporation leaves a crispier crust ", he explains. "In addition, spices – such as paprika, black pepper, mustard powder or celery salt – are used in the batter, while the marinated usually has a dairy profile . "On the other hand the Japanese or Korean style batter achieves a crunchy texture with few spices and a stronger marinade, with soy sauce, rice wine and ginger."
Chuka has been settled in Madrid for years, while panpajaropan , made up of Alejandro Pere and Andrea Nunez , is one of the most recent appearances in this to put the fried chicken between two buns. So far, they have done it with two events pop up and they promise to organize more editions in the months to come.
The Beer Garden (Juan de Austria, 23) is the bar in Chamberí where the married couple have taken over the kitchen, preparing the best sandwich that has probably been made in Madrid so far. Our favourite? its spicy version , following the recipe traditional nashville , which they have perfected after many attempts. "Today our kitchen looks like something out of the movie A Beautiful Mind," they joke.
The project was born out of an obsession – and realizing the cultural relevance of fried chicken and sandwiches with the #chickensandwichwars – to find the frying ideal during confinement, which they currently achieve with corn, rice or tapioca starch. "From there it was to do a little introspection of the places in which we have lived and what fried chicken has marked us," they explain. Like when they ate at Delaney Chicken , In New York; Root and Bone either Bobwhite Counter on the Lower East Side; chain Guy's Famous Fried Chicken in Austin; roaster of Grant Achatz, in Chicago; Howlin Ray's in Los Angeles, "where the spicy sandwich is worth every second of the up to two and a half hours in line" or even in the chain of Publix Supermarkets , "which has devoted fans who have even served it as part of their wedding banquet (and rightfully so)."
In the case of Barcelona, it is Fast Eddie's the one that is making fried chicken on everyone's lips (never better said) with a delivery service inspired by, and eye to the data, McDonald's . "I never hide that many of my things are copies of McDonald's, but made with premium products," says Edward White, its founder, emphatically. "When I was a kid, fast food wasn't something my mom would let us eat often, but every once in a while we'd go to KFC or McDonald's and she'd always order me the popcorn chicken or the McFish ' he remembers wistfully.
His initiative was also quarantine result moment in which he, tired of cooking, he realized that the options of fast food (quality) at home were not many. That was how he started with Fast Eddie's, a project by chicken sandwiches made with chicken marinated in a homemade pickle , coated in panko –instead of buttermilk to make them last longer– and housed in soft brioche bread with a touch of anise.
Delivery is how Fast Eddie's finds its distribution mode, a method that Rooster also works with, in the Madrid neighborhood of Malasaña , a restaurant that was born after what they say were millions of tests to find the "crunch" they wanted. "Even after finding it, we didn't know how to stand out from the rest of the existing proposals", he explains. "So when we discovered the american recipes , was the moment in which we found the key: the spices ", Oriana tells of her business, a family project that was born in 2019. With it, they have found a way to position themselves as one of the best chicken delivery options that exists right now in Madrid, serving their product inside a sandwich, packaged in the middle of some homemade waffles or topped with a cabbage salad, french fries and melted cheese.
With physical presence and delivery, Chick Fried Chicken, also in Malasaña, has also achieved its goal for several years with fried chicken. Your differentiating point? unite it with craft beers : wheat, saison, altbier, APA and IPA, the obsession of Paul Salcedo , an Argentine lawyer who decided to change Buenos Aires for Madrid and the law offices for a restaurant.
The chicken sandwiches that he serves are very light, the result – along with other dishes on his menu – of those dishes that he tried when he lived in New York. "The coleslaw, for example, is inspired by the one I tried in Blue Smoke, the BBQ restaurant that he had until recently Danny Mayer , in Flatiron", comments Salcedo. Although he also confesses that he could not resist the soul food of restaurants like the Red Rooster in Harlem ; or what Nola, in the neighborhood of Palermo, in Buenos Aires , has influenced his way of conceiving the concept of his restaurant.
And how does he achieve his own perfection? Serving the sandwiches with a hamburger brioche bun homemade and with a batter (frying dough) seasoned with tempura-style . "Thus, by immersing the pieces in the oil, the batter is immediately cauterized, preventing the absorption of oil and causing the chicken to cook from the steam of its own juice," he details.
Mama Uma , on the second floor of the Madrid Barcelo Market , is another place that has experimented with its own version of fried chicken. Although his specialty is kimbap , a kind of giant maki roll that they make with organic nori, white and brown rice, quinoa, carrots, pickled turnips and proteins such as bulgogi either tonkatsu ; fried chicken drives them crazy.
"It's one of the dishes I'm most proud of," says Gonzo, who owns the place along with his partner, Jiwoo. "We make ours with free-range chicken that we buy in the market and that we marinate from 12 to 24 hours . Then I we fry twice in tempura with a mixture of flours and spices", he reveals.
Among Madrid and Barcelona is where it is the fucking ken , that is, Ken Umehara, a artist who has been juggling coordinating art and cooking for several years now at Satan's Coffee. Thanks to the coffee, he has also collaborated with other places such as Nomad Coffee, Brutal Bar and Acid Bakery –That he also just launched his own version of the chicken sandwich this week–. "I've been thinking about doing a fried chicken event for years, but I didn't dare to do it in Barcelona . Here people are a little more closed and more reluctant to certain ingredients", explains Umehara. "That's why when Fede, from Acid, gave me the opportunity, I decided to do it in Madrid ", account of why this idea had been kept for so long. "It was from one day to the next. I told him 'I have a fucking recipe'. And in two days we set up the event," she explains with a laugh.
wrapped in a brioche bread made by Acid Bakery Ken got down to business. "In my sandwiches I use the thigh of the chicken because it is juicier and more flavorful, it has fat. The breast is drier", he details. After marinate it in a liquid mass of milk, eggs, soy sauce –"for me, soy is love ", he says–, spicy powders, ginger and garlic, accompanied it all pickles such as mushrooms, radishes, daikon -Japanese turnip-, bonito flakes and algae.
Puto Ken is one of those characters with whom you want to drink a few high balls Yes or yes. and we say high balls and not beers or drinks because these are the ones that always accompany his dishes when he organizes an event. " I like them because they make you drunk like a bucket They are not fine at all. People usually drink some natural wines or whatever is fashionable, but not me. I want to get my customers drunk and get drunk with them . In addition, it is a drink that you can accompany with many meals because it has a neutral flavor... but not exactly, do you understand me?", jokes the chef who has also founded Blub, his own brand of soft drinks, kombuchas and ginger beers that he promises to bring down very soon in the capital.
Fried chicken and kombuchas? Coffee and chicken sandwiches? And why not?... Now is the time. Especially if everything comes from the hand of young people, with the desire to devise new things and make their public enjoy food.