Josh Fumo’s Hamilton Hot Chicken
Our friend Chef Josh has kindly shared his recipe for the Hamilton Hot Chicken, served at his restaurant Berkeley North on King William St, in downtown Hamilton. This recipe is a little more challenging than a classic fried chicken, but still super familiar for those used to fried chicken. Treat yourself and order it from Berkeley North and once you fall in love with it, try making it for yourself. Oh yeah, did we mention that Chef Josh and the team at Berkeley North use chicken from J.Waldron Butchers? Enjoy!
Tools Required:
Food scale
Blender
Large pot
Tongs/strainer wand
Deep-fry thermometer/candy thermometer
Canola oil for deep frying
Gang, who are we kidding here - I’m not breaking new ground by telling you that people seem to enjoy fried chicken. We don’t just enjoy it, we crave it. We demand it. We rank chicken chain restaurants as if someone’s going to write it on our tombstone one day. There’s something so satisfying about sinking your teeth into a crispy, juicy, salty piece of fried chicken, and this is one of my favourite ways to do just that.
And while I’m on my soapbox over here, I’ll give you my trade secret on taking your fried chicken to the next level: buy a good quality chicken. The difference between a commodity chicken and a beautiful bird raised by conscious farmers is night and day. Sure, a good chicken might not cost $12 like the one you can pick up at the grocery store, but that extra cash adds a ton of flavour and a better quality of meat. Not only that, but your money goes towards good folks that work hard to attain and maintain quality, so that we can in turn feed others with ingredients that we are proud to use. It’s worth it, I promise!
This recipe is a favourite of mine because it uses every little bit of the chicken. I know, it is a bit longer of a process than simply cut->bread->fry, but the end result is worth it all. The flour we’re using is perfectly crispy and loaded with spices. You can coat your chicken with anything you want (Valentina’s Hot Sauce and butter, anyone?), but I’m a huge fan of our hot chicken spice mix, a sweet and spicy blend of chillies and spices that makes you want to eat more the second you’re done. Serve with as many pickles as you can.
P.S. - If you don’t have one, buy yourself a scale! They’re not expensive, and they add an insane level of consistency to your cooking. 10000% worth it.
Seasoned Flour
500g all-purpose flour
125g cornstarch
30g paprika
25g kosher salt
20g each onion and garlic powder
15g each cayenne pepper and black pepper
5g baking powder
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
Hot Chicken Spice
40g dried chilies (a mix of ancho, guajillo + chipotle; alternatively, if you can’t find a big variety at your local grocer, you can use a single kind of chilies, or an equal weight of chili powder)
30g brown sugar
15g kosher salt
10g cayenne pepper
5g each garlic and onion powder
If you’re using ground chili/chili powder, simply combine everything in a bowl and set it aside. If you’re using whole chilies, add all ingredients to a blender and blitz on high speed until everything has turned to powder. Transfer to a container and set aside (try not to breathe in too much of this dust, it’s zesty!).
The Chicken
1 whole chicken, broken down into 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 wings, and 4 breast pieces (cut each breast in ½ for nice sizing)
2L chicken broth*
2 bay leaves
Salt to taste
TIP: In a perfect world, once you break down your chicken, take the leftover bones and add them to a small pot with enough water to cover, then bring up to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. You can then use that stock to poach your chicken before coating.
In a medium-sized pot, add your stock, bay leaves, and salt. Taste the stock - you’re looking for it to be nicely salted like you would want out of chicken soup. Add your chicken legs, thighs, and wings to the stock (not the breasts yet) and turn the heat to medium. You’re looking to bring the stock to a simmer but NOT a boil. Please don’t let it boil, okay? Do you promise you won’t let it boil? A slow-simmering stock is the best heat to slowly cook the meat, allowing it to soak up the lovely flavour of the stock without drying out. Allow the chicken to simmer for 10 minutes before adding the breasts. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. Cut the heat and allow the chicken to sit in the stock for another 5 minutes before straining the chicken out of the stock and onto a sheet tray or into a roasting pan.
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, mix the pieces with your hands to coat them in the small amount of stock they’re sitting in. Working one piece at a time, transfer the chicken to the flour mixture and coat completely, using your hands to lightly squeeze the flour into the chicken. Once all your pieces have been coated, allow them to rest in the flour for at least an hour and up to four hours. The longer the chicken sits in flour, the better it will stick to the skin and meat, the crunchier your end result will be.
Frying the Chicken
Fill a heavy-bottomed pot ⅓ of the way with canola oil (ideally 3 inches or so). Place over medium-high heat. Use your thermometer to bring the oil up to 340F, keeping it from getting too hot and smokey. Using a ladle, add roughly ½ cup of hot oil to your chicken spice mix. Stir until the oil has become coloured with the spice. Set aside.
Remove the chicken from the flour and gently shake to remove any loose or excess flour. Working in batches, fry the chicken for 3-4 minutes, until the crust has darkened to a golden brown. Use tongs or a strainer wand to remove the chicken from the fryer and place it directly into the spiced hot oil. Coat the chicken with the spices before transferring to a wire rack or a heap of paper towels. Repeat this process until all the chicken has been coated. Arrange the pieces on a large dining place.
Serve with lots and lots of your favourite kind of pickles (or plenty of ranch dressing).
Enjoy and let us know how it turned out for you with a tag.
@j.waldron_butchers
Follow:
Chef Josh: @josh_fumo
Berkely North: @berkeleynorthkitchen
This is the first in what will eventually become a collection of recipes available using good meats and fresh cuts from J. Waldron Butchers located on Barton Street in Hamilton, Ontario. If you have a recipe that you would like to share, please reach out through the contact page, and let’s connect.