Garry Watson, chef owner of Gordon’s Restaurant with Rooms in Inverkeilor, celebrates American cuisine to celebrate today’s Independence Day.
American independence is celebrated on July 4 and is all about dressing up in ridiculously patriotic attire, decorating the backyard in American flags, turning the music up and having people over for an all-day picnic barbecue.
While the parades and fireworks are wild and fun, the food eaten on Independence Day is simple and, for lack of a better word, American.
It’s usually cooked outdoors at regular intervals throughout the day because the food keeps flowing from the grill and people keep adding dishes to the picnic table in a pot-luck style.
Comforting American dishes including hot dogs with slaw, mac ‘n’ cheese, deep-dish pizza, Boston beans, devilled eggs. Or fire up the grill and put on Epic cheeseburgers (of all sorts), American-style BBQ Bourbon ribs, smokey meats, hush puppies, buffalo wings, corn and shrimp cakes, buttermilk fried chicken and more.
Refreshing salads accompany these dishes and then follow the best desserts like cherry or pumpkin pie, cup cakes, summer berry cheesecake to maple syrup waffles.
Southern fried buttermilk chicken
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 boneless chicken breasts
- 2 boneless chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp milled black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- A good pinch of cayenne pepper
- 150ml buttermilk
- 4 rashers bacon
- 150g fresh white breadcrumbs
- Sunflower oil for frying
Method
- Slice each chicken breast and thigh into four pieces. Mix the mustard and seasonings together and brush them over the chicken pieces. Place the chicken in a bowl, pour over the buttermilk and turn the chicken pieces to ensure they are evenly coated.
- Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan to a depth of 1cm. Fry the bacon until crisp. Lift out the rashers and, as soon as they are cool enough to handle, crumble them into small pieces and mix with the breadcrumbs.
- Heat some more oil in the pan. Coat the chicken pieces with breadcrumb mixture and fry for seven to 10 minutes in the hot oil until golden brown.
- Tip: Cooking temperature is crucial in this dish. If the oil is too hot, the coating will crisp up before the middle of the chicken is cooked. Be prepared to add more oil to the pan if it starts to smoke; this will lower the temperature.
