Northern Fried Chicken Recipe | Cook the Book

By
Caroline Russock
Caroline Russock is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Caroline Russock
Caroline Russock is a writer who splits her time between Philadelphia and the Caribbean covering food, travel, leisure, lifestyle, and culture.  Her writing is featured in PhillyVoice, Eater, Eater Philly, Serious Eats, and The Tasting Table. 
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Updated May 22, 2020
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Caroline Russock

All of you fried chicken traditionalist out there take warning: This is not a typical Southern fried chicken recipe. There are ingredients and techniques within this recipe for Northern Fried Chicken from Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Bruce Bromberg and Eric Bromberg that will go against all previous fried chicken notions.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's get down to the genius and timeliness of this recipe. In the week following Easter folks are always looking for creative uses for their leftover eggs, but this recipe addresses another holiday leftover: Passover matzo. The Bromberg Brothers' fried chicken is coated in a mix of matzo meal and flour, which gives it a crust that is worlds away from your typical fried chicken. It's lighter and crisp in a way that brings to mind a cornmeal crust. Using egg whites to adhere the coating to the chicken ensures that the crust stays put, even if your chicken sticks to the bottom of the frying pan. The last bit of atypical preparation is sprinkling the hot chicken with the Bromberg's Fried Chicken Seasoning once it comes out of the fryer. Since the coating isn't seasoned at all, this post-fry application of the Old Bay-like spice mix is where the majority of the flavor comes from.

So, there you have it: Northern Fried Chicken thought up by two French trained Jewish boys from New Jersey. This fried chicken was like no other recipe I've ever attempted at home, or eaten out for that matter, but it was really tasty. On the scale of making fried chicken it wasn't all that time consuming since there was no need to soak or preseason. All and all, pretty good, and even better when served with some honey as the Brombergs recommend.

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Recipe Details

Northern Fried Chicken Recipe | Cook the Book

Prep 20 mins
Cook 30 mins
Total 50 mins
Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 6 cups soy oil
  • 1 (3-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 breast pieces)
  • 4 large egg whites, whisked
  • 1/2 cup matzo meal
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • Perfect Roast Seasoning (recipe follows)
  • 1 teaspoon Fried Chicken Seasoning (recipe follows)
  • Mexican honey (or any honey you prefer), for serving
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons hot paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

  1. Fill a large pot with about 3 inches of oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until a deep-fat thermometer reads 375°F.

  2. Rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Place the egg whites in a large shallow bowl. In a separate shallow bowl, combine the matzo meal, flour, and baking powder. Dip each chicken piece in egg white and let excess drip back into the bowl. Next press each chicken piece into the matzo mix and tap off excess.

  3. Working in 2 batches, if necessary, fry the chicken until dark golden, about 10 minutes for white meat and 13 minutes for dark meat. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle immediately with the perfect roast seasoning, then coat the pieces with the fried chicken seasoning. Serve with gravy if you like, and honey, for dipping.

  4. Perfect Roast Seasoning

  5. - makes about 2/3 cup -

  6. Combine the salt, pepper, and thyme, and store in a covered container.

  7. Fried Chicken Seasoning

  8. - makes about 3 tablespoons -

  9. Combine the paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, basil, and cayenne

  10. pepper, and store in a covered container.

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