Fried Buffalo Chicken with Celery Root Puree

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Jason Santos’ fried chicken is classic comfort food. The addition of a tangy blue cheese sauce and creamy celery root puree elevates the spicy, crispy dish by making good use of Hood’s Cream, Buttermilk and Sour Cream.

Details

Servings: 4

Ingredients

fried-buffalo-chicken-celery-root-puree For the chicken
  • 4 chicken thighs, boneless & skinless
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 1/4 cup hot sauce
For the chicken dredge
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 cups corn flour or masa harina
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
To finish the chicken
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the buffalo sauce
  • 3 onions, sliced
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 pounds butter
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 3 cups hot sauce
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • pinch xanthan
  • honey
  • salt and pepper
For the blue cheese dressing
  • 4 ounces blue cheese
  • 1/3 cup Hood Sour Cream
  • 1/3 cup Hood Buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • salt and pepper
For the celery root puree
  • 2 cups celery root, peeled and chopped
  • 5 cups Hood Heavy Cream
  • 2 cups mixed leaves of parsley and celery
  • celery salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions

For the chicken
  1. Mix the half and half and hot sauce together. Put the chicken thighs into the mixture and allow to soak for a minimum of one hour.
  2. Heat several inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot to 350 degrees.
  3. Mix all the dredge ingredients together. Dredge the soaked and drained chicken thighs and then fry in the preheated oil for approximately four to five minutes or until cooked through. Season with the salt, pepper and cayenne while still hot.
For the buffalo sauce
  1. Sweat the garlic and onion in 1/2 pound of the butter. Then, add the spices to toast.
  2. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, add the hot sauce and the brown sugar. Puree the sauce with the remaining 1 ½ pounds butter and season with salt, pepper and honey to taste.
For the blue cheese dressing
  1. Combine all of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the celery root puree
  1. Place the celery root and Hood Heavy Cream into a pan and simmer until the celery root is tender, about 30 minutes.
  2. Cool, then put in the blender with parsley and celery leaves and salt to taste. Blend it on high, slowly adding in the olive oil to emulsify the mixture.

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