Crispy Chicken with Tarragon Salt

Have you ever walked past a fast food restaurant and sometimes find the smells of foods being deep-fried hard to resist? This is what happened to me the other day but I resisted the temptation and instead decided to produce a batch of my own Colonel Sanders chicken!  This recipe calls for sea salt which is the evaporation of sea water and is different to table salt.  I’ve been using sea salt for many years once I found out that table salt is stripped of trace minerals as well as calcium, magnesium and potassium during the kiln-dried processing.  Kiln-drying involves scorching salt at high heat to remove moisture.  Sea salt contains a variety of minerals that play a role in keeping the body’s electrolytes in a healthy balance.   Keep in mind, though, that the daily sodium consumption for a healthy adult is 1,500mg.  If you are serving the chicken with canned vegetables, read the label for sodium content.

Serves 4
recipe from Donna Hay magazine
print this recipe

1 litre chicken stock
4 sprigs tarragon
4 closes garlic, smashed
250ml (1 cup) dry white wine
1.5kg whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
rice flour, for dusting

Tarragon Salt:
60g (1/2 cup) sea salt flakes
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon leaves

To make the tarragon salt, place the salt and tarragon in a mortar and pestle and grind until well combined. Set aside. Place the stock, tarragon sprigs, garlic, wine and chicken in a large pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and for for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Allow the chicken to cool on a wire rack.

Heat the oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat until hot. Dust chicken in rice flour and deep-fry in batches, for 3 to 4 minutes or until crispy. Sprinkle with the tarragon salt.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: Tarragon is a beautiful herb to pair with chicken. Poaching the chicken first made the meat very tender and I froze the stock for future use.  If you have any leftover tarragon, freeze whole sprigs in an airtight baggie for 3 to 5 months.