Southern Fried Popcorn Chicken. Rob Loud Photography.

Let me know how you liked this recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1 qt oil for frying
1 lb chicken thighs, no skin, no bones
1 egg
3 tbsp Franks Red Hot Sauce
2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp butcher ground pepper
2 tsp kosher salt

METHOD:

1. Preheat oil to 375 degrees. I recommend using a table top fryer. Otherwise you will run the risk of a fire.
2. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces, about 1/2″ each.
3. Combine the eggs, hot sauce, and chicken and let the chicken marinate for five minutes.
4. Combine the flour, garlic powder, ground pepper and salt.
5. Take the chicken out of the eggs mixture and shake off any excess liquid. Place into the flour mixture, and evenly coat.
6. Gently fry the chicken in the fryer until golden brown and crispy.
7. Serve with your favorite bbq sauce.

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Photo: Willie Mael Scotch House, New Orleans by Smithdan via Flickr

fried chicken in the known universe. Which makes the recent New York Times story dismissing southern fried chicken for its supposed lack of flavor, a complete puzzlement.

Today, we had the pleasure of making a pilgrimage to Willie Mae’s modest eatery, which is located a quick cab ride from the French Quarter.

First, this fried chicken’s crust is like no other. It accomplishes the amazing feat of being both pillowy and buttery—but without the slightest trace of greasiness. The chicken is  fried to a perfect state of crispness with a consistency that resembles tempura more than it does classic American fried foods. So deftly is this chicken immersed in its hot oil bath, that it manages to display the lacy texture of fresh-spun cotton candy. Inside this wrapper, all is moist succulence. And though the Times insists that southern fried chicken lacks seasoning, Willie Mae’s sparkled with peppery goodness.

The fact that Willie Mae’s exists at all is a small miracle.  Fundraising appeals went out after Katrina to rebuild the flood-ravaged eatery, which reopened in 2007.The outside of the small building boasts a fresh coat of white paint while most of the rest of the neighborhood is dotted with wooden bungalows pockmarked with peeling paint and rotting wood. A constant stream of taxis drops off hungry aficionados from near and far. The seductive aroma of frying chicken drifts through the door. No one budges from their place in line.

Photo: Willie Mae's fried chicken by Kent Wang via flickr.

The day we were there lots of folks were sporting royal blue Florida Gator shirts for the big game with LSU. But there were also just plain fried chicken lovers, like the two guys from Virginia sitting at the next table.

“Delicious,” pronounced one, licking his fingers. “This is up there with the best.”

At Willie Mae’s, the staff is southern friendly. Lots of “yes, ma’ams.” Like in the rest of the south, iced tea is mellow without that sharp tanic acid aftertaste you find in the north. Excellent butter beans, richly flavored with pork, accompanied our chicken.

So, if you have the time and the money, skip New York’s fried chicken pretenders, hop on a plane to New Orleans, and taste what the real pros can do.

$10 will get you a plate of chicken and a side.  Another $2 gets you iced tea.

Willie Mae’s Scotch House
2401 Saint Ann Street
New Orleans, LA
504 822 9503

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1. Help a New Orleans Culinary Treasure
2. Super Bowl Recipe: Southern Fried Popcorn Chicken
3. Southern Food: Upper West Side vs New Orleans

Mother's Restaurant, New Orleans. Photo: Mother's.

Broadway at 109th Street. There you can munch on their crispy-on-the-outside, moist-on-the-inside fried chicken. There’s also some pretty good iced tea to wash it down with. But for a true taste of the south, you need to travel to a place like New Orleans, as I have this week, and find an eatery like Mother’s, where the grits, po boys and iced tea are unlike anything you can get in New York.

Rack and Soul's fried chicken, a taste of the south on the Upper West Side. Photo: Rack & Soul.

The homey legendary New Orleans diner is staffed by friendly African-American ladies who call you “baby,” while dishing up fabulous grits, eggs, and sausage.  It’s ballast for the rest of the day, if not for the rest of the week.

Another bonus at this New Orleans pit stop—and something nearly impossible to find in New York—is perfectly brewed ice tea, or “tea,” as it’s called in these parts. In New Orleans and in other parts of the south, the choice is unsweetened or sweet tea.

Here are some New Orleans foods I’ve discovered that are not known in New York:

• Calas: Calas are a recently revived New Orleans food. Originally from Africa, slaves brought calas, made from rice, to the south and hawked them on the streets of New Orleans beginning in the mid-19th century. Something like a fritter, calas are deep fried, then sprinkled with sugar.
• Creole Cream Cheese.  No, this is not the stuff you put on a bagel. In the old days, before refrigeration, the people of New Orleans would take spoiled milk, wrap it in cheese cloth and hang it from a tree out back. Served for breakfast, it’s sprinkled with sugar.

Mother’s
401 Poydras St
New Orleans, LA
504 523 9656

Rack & Soul
258 W. 109th St.
New York, NY
212 222 4800

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