Sohla’s Fried Chicken Thanksgiving is a Brilliant, Guaranteed Crowd-Pleaser | NYT Cooking

“Hi, I’m Sohla, here at the
New York Times Cooking studio. And we’re going to
make Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving fried
chicken feast. I’ll do it again. [LAUGHS]:” [MUSIC PLAYING] “Today, we’re going to make
a Thanksgiving fried chicken Feast. Why fried chicken? Ham and I don’t have the
traditional Thanksgiving Spread, like the
turkey spread, Because depending on
where we’re working, By the time it’s Thanksgiving,
we may have made Thanksgiving Dinner like dozens of times. Fried chicken is one of our go
to holiday meals because it’s Not something we
ever make at work. And it feels really special
because you don’t make fried Chicken all the time, and
it’s not going to be dry. You’re not going to miss any
of the Thanksgiving vibes Though. So even though we’re having
a different kind of meal, All those holiday flavors
that you think a lot about, We’re still going to
have sweet potatoes, But we’re going to do
it a little different. For your green bean moment,
we’re going to have a little Smashed green bean salad. It’s going to be
very refreshing. It’ll go really well
with our fried chicken. We’re still going to have
mashed potatoes and gravy, But I want it to
lighten it up. So it’s going to be like a
sour cream and onion mashed Potato with a mustard gravy. Growing up, for
Thanksgiving, we always Had those Pillsbury rolls
that pop out of the tin.

So to give you that
kind of roll moment, We’re making some
butterflake rolls. They’re so buttery,
so pillowy, And it’s perfect for
sopping up the gravy. Dessert, I’m taking the two
pies that define Thanksgiving, Pumpkin and pecan, and turning
it into a Texas sheet cake. So you get the fried chicken
and the Thanksgiving. That’s the theme of this menu,
a fried chicken Thanksgiving. There’s a lot of connections. O.K., we thought about
this for a long time. Ultimate goal, we’re going
to have some friends over To enjoy this fried
chicken feast. I’m going to prep this over
two days, so this is day one. A lot of the cooking is
going to happen today. And then tomorrow, we fry
chicken, heat everything back Up, and then enjoy dinner. You will be able to pull this
off, but you got to plan. I recommend you print
all your recipes out, And you want to read
through everything So you can figure out how
to weave the steps together. So we’re going to
prep everything today, Except bake the sweet
potatoes and fry the chicken. And then we can reheat
everything tomorrow. Because the day that
your guests are coming, You don’t want to be frazzled. And then you can clean your
kitchen because your mother In law’s coming and
she will judge you. The first thing we’re going
to do is brine our chicken. And then next, we’re
going to make our rolls. The rolls have to be
made over two days. This dough actually mixes
for like 15 minutes. So while that happens,
I will make the pickles. And then next, we are going
to make our cake all the way. See, this is how you layer.

I want to see if there’s time
while the cake is whisking To do something else. Yeah, it’s going to
whip for five minutes. So during that
time, I will make The Mornay for the potatoes. We got our gravy. Ooh! We’re going to make a
mashed potatoes today. So while the cake bakes, we’ll
make our mash, and that’s it. That’s not bad. This is not bad. You can do this. O.K. Get suited up. Is it time? Do you want to do
like, slow motion?” [MUSIC PLAYING] “Wow. Did we do it?” “One side is sticking up.” “Below?” “One second. All right.” “So we’re going to start
by brining our chicken. I tested this with a wet and
a dry brine and a buttermilk Brine, and I tried one where
I did a dry into a buttermilk Brine. And at the end of the
day, every single version Was delicious. It kind comes down to
personal preference. I like the wet brine
because it resulted In the juiciest chicken. So it’s 3
tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons salt and just
a teaspoon and a half of MSG. MSG just makes something
taste more of itself.

So for our chicken,
I’m sticking with legs. I prefer the bone-in,
skin on situation. But I have this one friend
who doesn’t eat bones, So I made tenders for him and
they ended up being everyone’s Favorite. So you could turn this
into a tender party. Sometimes, there is a lot
of yellow fat and it can be A little bit too much,
but here, there isn’t any. This is a nice thigh. I’m just going to trim
off some of the skin. If you have a little container
in your freezer of chicken Skin going, you can save this
and render out the fat later. O.K. To split this –” “Wait, wait. Sorry.” “What? Is that a –” “You have a container
of chicken skin? Is this –” “Yeah, yeah, you
should have it –” “Is that a common thing?” “Yeah, you should have
it in your freezer, Like a little container where
you just save these little Bits. And then when you have
enough, render it all out And you have Schmaltz. Whoa. All right. To split this, you want to
go in between the joints. So I learned this
from Ham, and it Works almost every time. Use the back of
your knife to pull The skin just so you can get
a better look at the meat. And see this line
of fat right here?

If you cut through there,
you can almost always Get between the joints. I said almost, I was close. But look, it got me to the
bone and I can take a peek And then you can see
where that joint is. There it is. Huh? We’re not going through bone
and we’re going to go right Into our brine as we
break down our chicken. This meal is for
six to eight, and I Think one leg should
be good per person Because we have so
many other sides. But if you’re just
having fried chicken, This might only serve four. Kind of depends on what
else is going on the table. Personally, I really
prefer the organic chicken, Not just because it’s organic,
but because it’s often Smaller. So you get a better
ratio of meat to bone, Because the more
bone there is, The more flavorful
it’s going to be. O.K. That’s it. Easy. Now, I’m going
to cover this up, Let it hang out
in the fridge.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “We’re going to make
butterflake rolls. I love this shape. It’s very retro. You roll the dough out and
layer it and then cut it. And then you flip it on
the cut side and bake it. And when it bakes, it
like butterflakes open. So you’re going to have all
these little pull apart layers That are layered with
so much salted butter,

And the layers pull apart like
slices of white bread and you Can make a little
fried chicken sandwich. We’re going to start off with
Claire Saffitz All Purpose Enriched Bread. So we’re going to start
by making the roux. This is called tangzhong. I’m probably
saying that wrong, But it’s an amazing technique
because it’s a great way To increase the
hydration of your dough.” “Tangzhong.” “I can’t say that. I can’t say that. I’m going to call it the roux. The great thing about using
this roux in your dough Is it helps the
bread last longer. So if you want to bake
this the day before, It’ll still be
fluffy the next day. Bring this to a simmer, and
you’re going to see at first, It’s going to go a little
lumpy because the starches Don’t hydrate fully
evenly at once, But just keep whisking and
it’s going to get really Thick, really smooth, the
texture of mashed potatoes. It’s getting thicker. Don’t stop just yet. O.K., see how it’s beginning
to come off the sides Of the pot? Ah, see how gluey it is? That’s good. If you take it off
a little earlier, The dough is
going to be really Wet and hard to work with. And now, this has to cool. It’s really important for it
to fully cool before you mix The dough.

You can let this
cool at room temp, But I’m going to cover
it, pop it in the fridge, And then make pickles
while I wait.” [LAUGHS] “Wow. O.K. All right, so these
are just classic quick dill Pickles. If you don’t have
Kirby cucumbers, Use whatever
cucumber you have. These are great because
they stay crisp. If you’re not into cucumbers,
you could do anything else With this, like cauliflower,
turnips, beets, apple. Whoa. I always trim off a little bit
of this because I read that There’s some enzyme there
that makes the pickles soft. So we’re going
to quarter these. You can also do
rounds, halves, wholes. Whoa. Whatever you’re feeling. Get crazy. If you do want to
keep them whole, It’s probably going to take a
little bit longer to pickle. And I’m not going
to cut them all. I’m going to cut — Start with the small guys
and then see how many more I need to pack the jar. Wow, this pickle
has a story to tell. O.K. Let’s pack these
and see where we’re at. You really want to
go tight because you Will be shocked by how
much they kind of shrink From the pickling liquid. These are quick pickles
because we’re using vinegar, But non-quick pickles, like
the lactic acid pickles, You just cover it in a
saltwater brine and it

Develops that acidity as
the bacteria eats the sugars In the solution. There’s like room here. I think we are at capacity. For our brine, I’m going to
toast the spices a little bit. Just a little toast. You can also make these
spicy if you want to just Like tuck a serrano in there. So you know these are toasted
when it starts to get a little Aromatic and you hear
some mustard seeds pop.” [POPPING SOUNDS] “Can you hear that pop? O.K. Now we’re going in, water
first just because if you put The vinegar in there,
it’s going to go straight In your face. Vinegar. I’m using distilled white, but
you can change this up with Apple cider or whatever. So this is just like
the most basic, the most Classic pickle. So we want to just bring
this up to a simmer, And then we’re going to
pour it into the jar. O.K. So we have bubblage. I’m going to pour it into
here just to help me pour Because the mouth on
that’s a little narrow. I just want to make sure
the spices get in there. The longer it
sits, the better. So I’m going to let this hang
out on the counter and then Once it’s cool, I’m going
to pop it in the fridge. So now, we’re going
to make gravy. This is a spicy mustard gravy
because my favorite dipping Sauce for McDonald’s chicken
nuggets is spicy mustard. So it’s that in gravy form. So we’re going to start
by making a roux and we’re

Actually going to use
oil instead of butter. A lot of times,
gravies use butter, But here, I found the
butter kind of mellowed out The mustard flavor,
and I really Want the mustard to shine. So we want something
more neutral. Traditionally, for gravy,
you want the highest quality Broth possible, but
not with this gravy. It’s wild. I tried this with like really
good, gelatinous brodo, And it just mutes the
flavor of the mustard. So get, regular, low
sodium boxed stock. Don’t get too fancy with this. We’re doing this
over medium heat. We want these to get brown. So the first time I did
this, it was an accident. I accidentally burnt
them and it actually Added so much flavor. So now, we’re going to
intentionally burn it. I tried this with a
few other mustards. I did like a combo,
some grainy, some Dijon. I tried powder. But you want Colman’s mustard
if you want that authentic McDonald’s taste. O.K., we have some light
browning on our shallots. Now, let’s add our flour, and
I’m going to switch to a whisk Now just to avoid lumps. And our shallots are
going to get really dark And our flour is going
to get like, blond. We don’t want the flour to
be too toasty because it kind Of overwhelms the
flavor of the mustard. The idea is everything
we’re doing is to highlight The mustard. O.K., see our shallots,
they’re getting darker.

See how toasty they are? It’s starting to
smell a little burnt. That’s what we want. Now, add your stock a little
bit at a time at first. You just want to
work out those lumps. If you add it too quickly,
it’s very hard to work out The lumps after. And we are going
to strain this, But it’s just better to
just avoid the lumps. Oh, this is exactly
like the tangzhong. Wow. It’s the gravy version. No matter what we’re
having for Thanksgiving, I try to make the
gravy in advance. And then if you’re doing
like a traditional gravy, Just add your
drippings at the end. See how smooth that is? Look at that. No lumps. At this point, you can just
add the rest of your broth And you will be lump-free. Color really adds to flavor. So in order to make
this feel mustardy, I want it to be very yellow. So I’m adding a little
bit of turmeric, But it’s just for color. I don’t want flavor. It’s going to be just a
few minutes of simmering. We want it to
thicken up a little. There’s no mustard, but it
already looks mustardy, right? And we’re going to add
salt at this point. Salt, pepper. You need to make sure
this is well seasoned, Otherwise that mustardy
heat won’t come through.

So you can see, coats
the back of the spoon. I think that’s good. I’m going to add the mustard
and then taste again for salt. I’m going to take it off
the heat at this point. And I’m not going to go
crazy with the seasoning Because tomorrow,
when I reheat it, I’m going to adjust
the seasoning again. So now I’m just going to
strain this and chill it. It would feel so annoying to
get another container just For this little bit. And then I’m going to let this
cool at room temp and then We’ll put it in the fridge. Ooh, it’s hot. Well done. We can do this. I think the tangzhong
is ready now. We should bread. So this is nice and cool. Not quite like fridge
cold, but room temperature. We’re going to add
eggs, oil, sugar, salt, Yeast and the
rest of the flour. Mix it until it’s a
coarsely textured dough. Three minutes, low speed. So I’m going to get
started on the Mornay. This is for the
sweet potatoes. Mornay is just cheese sauce. This is the base
for mac and cheese. So we’re going to start
by making another roux. That’s the theme
of Thanksgiving. That’s the meaning
of Thanksgiving. I think we figured it out. It’s roux. It’s interesting because now,
this is like a totally — We did a milk roux,
we did an oil roux,

And now we’re doing
a butter roux. Wow. We’re seeing a
little foaminess, Then we’re going to add
our flour all at once. Now, we don’t want any
color on this flour. It starts out
looking very yellow And it kind of lightens up. It gets nice and foamy, and
I’m going to add my milk. And it’s exactly the same
as when we made our gravy, A splash at a time. Every time I’ve made like
a roux thickened sauce, Someone in the comments is
like, but Jacques Pépin, He adds all the
liquid at once. He’s too skilled to know
how to teach people well. Before you add every addition,
make sure you mix it until It’s nice and smooth. And I’m not even using
a whisk and it’s fine. And at this point,
it’s safe to go for it. So you’ve just got to be
careful with the first half And then dump it all in. Now, same deal as the gravy. Let it simmer
for a few minutes To cook out that flouriness. So we’re just going to let
this simmer a little bit And then we’ll finish it with
the cheese and do our final Seasoning tomorrow. Right now, it’s béchamel. When we add cheese,
it’s Mornay. But either way,
it’s delicious. Huh? Oh, I forgot the garlic! [GASPS]: I’ll add it now. O.K., guys. Whoops.

This is just what happens
when you multitask. But it’ll be O.K. But you were
supposed to add the garlic To the roux, just briefly,
right before adding the milk. Now we set this aside. O.K. Our bread needs
a few more minutes. While it finishes up,
I’m going to quickly prep The green bean salad. And what’s awesome about this
is we don’t have to blanch Our beans. We’re going to smash. We’re going to smash
them and salt them, And you need them to sit
salted for like at least four Hours, six hours. And that salting
kind of tenderizes it And makes it more
pleasant to eat. If you don’t
season this enough, They’re going to stay tough. They’re not going
to break down. We’re putting this
on undressed lettuce. So if this is aggressively
seasoned, that’s fine. So toss it for a moment,
but we’re going to pop this In the bag, pop
it in the fridge, And we’ll finish
it up tomorrow. But now, we’re going
to make the dressing, But I feel like my dough
won’t be ready for butter. And I forgot I was supposed to
scrape it a couple of times. That feels firm. It feels elastic. You can see it’s like
really stretchy now. I’m going to add half
the butter mix, scrape, And then the other
half of the butter. O.K. While that
does its thing, We’re going to make our
dressing for the salad. And this also, like the
beans, it’s best to make this

In advance because you
want the shallots to pickle A little bit. Super easy. We’re just going to shake it
up until that cranberry sauce Dissolves. Tomorrow, I’m going to add
some freshly squeezed lemon Juice to this and some
dried cranberries. Lemon juice can kind of get
bitter if you squeeze it too Far in advance, so we’re going
to freshly squeeze our lemon Juice tomorrow. Oh, wow. Perfect timing. That butter got incorporated,
so I’m going to scrape again, Add the rest of the butter. The beauty of the butterflake
roll is the way it’s shaped. So you can use any favorite
enriched bread dough That you make a lot. So it doesn’t have
to be this one. You could do this with a
challah or something that Just has some butter in it. O.K., let’s test this. I think we’re there. Look at that. It’s not tearing. It’s falling off the hook. The final step
in this recipe is You scrape the dough
onto a floured surface And fold it a few times. I kind of got sick
of doing that, So I just fold it in the bowl. If you were only making this
bread, then yes, go all out And do it exactly as advised. But we got so much going on. O.K., we’re going
to cover this.

We’re going to let this prove
at room temperature for 30 Minutes, and then it’s going
to go in the fridge and we Will form it tomorrow. Wow. Let’s see how far
we’ve come, yeah? The best part about making a
list is crossing stuff off. Shall we make cake? So we’re going to
make our pumpkin cake. It’s supposed to combine the
best of both holiday pies. So the cake part is going to
be a pumpkin cake with all Those warm spices. And then on top, we’re going
to put a sticky pecan topping. It’s going to be a sticky
butterscotch with pecans On top. Everything you want. Everything you need. So I’m doing this
in a 9 by 13. I love a metal pan because
it’s going to make sure that The cake rises very evenly. I’m going to grease
my pan just lightly, Just so that the paper sticks. You could use a paper
towel, but, you know, Your hands are
always the best tool. And then afterwards,
you’ve just moisturized. All right, now for the batter. First, we’re going
to whisk up our dry. So this is a really
simple muffin method cake. You got your wet and
you got your dry. I wanted to keep it
as simple as possible. Cool. Now, the wet. We have room temperature eggs. I found the room
temperature eggs just Got a little bit more
volume, and the final cake

Was a little bit more plush. If you forget to
pull out your eggs, The easiest thing is to cover
them with warm tap water While you mise out the
rest of your ingredients. And by the time you’re
ready for the eggs, They will be room temperature. This is dark corn
syrup, but you can Use any kind of corn syrup. And there is no substitute
for the corn syrup. Oftentimes, when there’s
a recipe with corn syrup, People always ask,
can I use honey? Can I use maple? But just because they’re
all liquid sugars, It doesn’t mean
they’re the same. They’re actually
completely different, And they work in completely
different ways in your baked Goods. And don’t worry, it’s not the
same thing as high fructose Corn syrup. — thing that we need that is
absolutely essential to this Recipe. Corn syrup is pure glucose,
so it never crystallizes. It makes things — This is going to stay
moist for tomorrow Because of the glucose,
because of that corn syrup. If you substituted this for
honey, it would be so sweet. Am I going too far on a rant?” “No. Actually, this is
what I want to hear.” [LAUGHS] “Because I’m
fascinated by, like, Why does it have
to be corn syrup?” “It has to be corn syrup. If you want the benefit of
sugar, that tender texture,

But don’t want to increase the
sweetness, you use corn syrup. People are like, can
I use maple syrup? It’s like, no, dude. No, you cannot. All of it spikes your insulin. All of it’s bad for you. Use the one that’s
good for the cake. I need to plug it in. So we’re going to whip
this until it gets lighter. It’s going to get thicker. It’s going to hold the
trails of the whisk. It’s going to take
like five minutes. O.K. See how thick
and fluffy that got? That’s because our eggs
were at room temperature. While this is whisking,
I’m going to slowly drizzle In my oil. O.K., cool. So to finish up this cake, I’m
going to add the remaining dry And wet ingredients
in batches. And you do that because if you
add all the flour in at once, And then the
pumpkin, you end up Just mixing it a little
bit too much to get It to evenly incorporate. So for pumpkin pie, I like
to roast my own squash. But for cake, I always use the
canned because with a cake, It can really
throw things off. So the canned stuff
is very consistent And it has that very
recognizable pumpkin taste. I feel like the corn syrup
thing’s like the MSG thing. So pour this in. All right, we’re going
to spread this out. The main thing is making
sure you get in the corners. I feel like the corners
often get neglected. That looks good.

We’re going to give
it a quick tap. That’s just going to
push up any big bubbles. Like that. Minimize some of
our tunnelage. We’re going in the
oven, 30 to 35 minutes. Now, we’re going to make
the mashed potatoes. These potatoes are inspired
by the mashed potatoes At Claim Jumpers. Nobody here has heard of it
because I think it’s a West Coast thing, or maybe
it’s a California thing. It’s like a gold rush themed
restaurant and they have this Mashed potato that I
really loved as a kid. This is going to be
a little bit chunky, A little reminiscent
of potato salad, which Is why I thought it would go
well with our fried chicken Meal. So we got two
kinds of potatoes. The red skin is going to
be a little bit waxier, And we’re going to leave the
skin on and it’s going to give Us a little texture
in our mash. And the Yukon gold,
they’re much creamier, And we’re going to peel these. Double the fun. I know none of you have
heard of Claim Jumpers, But I promise it’s like real. And their mashed
potatoes, they’re famous. Now, we’re going to
start on high heat, Bring it up to a boil, and
then knock it back down To a gentle simmer. Otherwise, the potatoes
can fall apart. Season generously. Potatoes, you always
want to start cold. If you drop your
potatoes into hot water, The outside is going to
cook faster than the inside

And you end up with a little
graininess to your potatoes. Since we got a little bit of
time while our potatoes cook, We’re going to prepare some
of our beverage for tomorrow. There’s no official
recipe for this. We’re just going
with the vibes. O.K., so I want
to make a punch. The moms who really
want to level it up Would put like a ring of
ice to keep the punch cold. We’re going to do
a cranberry punch, So I’m to freeze
some cranberry juice. All right. I’m going to brew
a bunch of tea. Strong tea is the
key to a good punch. We want it to be a
little bit bitter To help cut all the booze. We’re putting a lot of
rum and whiskey in this, So I guess it’s not exactly
like your mom’s punch. The potatoes still
haven’t boiled. And I guess we’re going
to make caramel next For the cake. While it’s warm, we’re
going to make the caramel, Because we want to pour it on
while it’s still a little bit Warm. Otherwise, it just kind
of tears up the cake. So we’re going to
use corn syrup again. It’s not really a caramel,
it’s more of a butterscotch. So we’re not toasting
the sugar at all. We’re just going to cook it
until it vigorously bubbles. We want a really sticky,
sticky sauce on top Because I want it to remind
you of pecan pie, that Goopy topping. O.K., that’s good. So we’re going to turn this
off and I’m just going to stir It a little just to cool
it off, just a touch,

Before we add the vanilla. If you pour it on right away
when it’s like super hot, It just like runs
to the corners. You want the cake a little
warm and the caramel a little Warm. You don’t have to worry
about it being totally even Because it’s going to
even out on its own, And we’re going to cover
it all with pecans. If you can buy them
toasted, that’s great. Otherwise, pop it in a
350 or 300 degree oven For like, maybe 10 minutes. Flaky salt. And then I’m going
to let this cool just like 30 Minutes. And then wrap this
up with plastic. Leave it at room temp
and it’ll be O.K. On the counter for
a couple of days, If you want to make
this in advance. All right, let’s
check our potatoes. Make sure it’s totally tender. A lot of times,
you mash potatoes And then afterwards,
you realize the center Was a little under. Mhm. O.K. You want to get as much
of the water out as you can. And you want to pop this
over low heat, the lowest Your stove will go. And you want to just
let this steam out For a couple minutes. We added a good bit of
salt at the beginning, But we still need
a little more Salt. When you want really
creamy, smooth mashed Potatoes, you
want to make sure That your cream
and your butter Is warm when you add it.

But here, we’re
doing the opposite. We don’t want that
super, super smooth. We want some of the
chunks to remain, So we’re adding cold
milk and cold sour cream. I’ve got a cup measured out,
but we’re going to start with Just 1/2 a cup, and we just
want to give it a very quick, A very gentle smash. I think I’m good. I don’t think I
want any more milk. Very tangy from
the sour cream. Now, if you’ve been
to Claim Jumpers, Tell me that doesn’t look
like Claim Jumpers’ mashed Potatoes. Now, we’re going to let this
sit out at room temp for 30 Minutes, cool down a bit and
then pop it in the fridge. O.K. We’re in a good place. We finished our list for
today and set up our drink, So tomorrow’s going
to be really chill. We just got to finish
some things off. We got to get the bread
baking, the sweet potatoes, And then we can focus
on the fried chicken Because fried chicken is hard. Normally, I make fried
chicken for just like four, But doubling it to eight,
it’s a lot of frying. It’s a lot of splatter. It’s a lot of mess. So it’s great that we got all
the hard stuff out of the way And we can just really
focus on fried chicken.” “Any last words of wisdom?” “Order food tonight so you
don’t have to cook now, again. [LAUGHS]: See you tomorrow. Welcome back. Today, we’re going to
bring it all together. So the first thing I’m going
to do is form and proof

The bread, and then we’re
going to bake our sweet Potatoes. Those things take the longest
and it’s nice to get them out Of the way. And then after that,
heat everything up And set up our fry station. I recommend that you start
frying like an hour before Your guests get here, so
it’s still a little hot. But you could also just wait
till your guests get here And make them fry. The choice is yours. So the bread has
proofed overnight. Whoa. So I’m going to start
by buttering up our tin. For a long time, I said that
you have to use unsalted So you can control your
salt, but I don’t know. I feel like it’s one of those
things that people say and you Just repeat and you don’t
really think about it. And now, I’m like, hm. So I’m buttering the
cups and the tops. Grab our dough. I need to divide this
into two portions And you could use a scale. It’s about 550 grams, and
I’m just going to eyeball it Because you don’t really have
to be too precise with this. I’m going to set aside half. I want to roll this
out to a square Just under a inch thick,
and use your scraper To help keep it into a square. So you see, I’m
like taking my time. I’m rotating it. I’m just going slow so I can
get it really nice and even. Just gives you
more opportunity To really get the shape right.

O.K., let’s see
where we’re at. It’s a little thinner
than a quarter inch, A little wider than 11. That’s fine. That’s good. So I’m going to brush this
generously with butter. Because our butter
is a little cool, It’s going to solidify
on this cool dough. It’s practically softened
butter, not really melted. All right. So now, we’re going
to cut this into six. I divided the dough
in half, and each half Is going to turn
into six rolls. O.K., we got our strips,
and now we just stack them. And now, we’re going to
divide this into six. As you cut each one, pop it
right into your muffin tin And you want that cut
side, those flaps, Sticking up because
when they bake, It’s going to flake open. It’s almost like a laminated
bread, but a very easy hack. And it doesn’t matter
if it’s precise or not. It bakes up so cute
no matter what you do. We’ve got our rolls and now,
we need to let this proof Until they get a little
bit puffy and ballooned. It could be as
little as 30 minutes Or as much as an
hour and a half. So just keep an eye on it. I’m just going to take a
little water just to create A little moist environment. I’m just going to put
it next to the oven. So now, I’m going to
roast my sweet potatoes. These are going to get
blanketed in that Mornay That we started
to prep yesterday. Roasting them takes
like 40 to 50 minutes.

So it’s a good thing
to get done early. These have already been
scrubbed because we’re going To roast it with the skin on. And I was really inspired
by mac and cheese for this. So we’re going to season it
up with the same things that I Like to put in my
mac and cheese. So a little onion
powder, garlic powder, Smoked paprika
and some cayenne, And generously
season with salt. And then we’re just going to
toss this to coat as evenly As you can. It kind of gets like
chunky from the butter, But it’ll be O.K. Hands
are the best tool, Especially when you got
something weirdly shaped. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to body
shame the sweet potatoes. And now we’re going to put
it in whatever dish you can Snugly fit it. And I’m going to just scrape
all this excess butter And seasoning right on top. So I’m going to wrap this in
foil and then bake it at 425, Until the potatoes
are really tender, Between 40 to 55 minutes. Now, we fry chicken. Yeah? Before you get frying, it’s
really important to get Your setup. Once you get frying, you don’t
want to run around looking For a sheet tray to
land on or paper towels. You want to stick
close to the oil. So I’ve got a sheet tray with
paper towels where I’m going To first drop my chicken when
it’s right out of the fryer. And then we’re going to go
onto a rimmed baking sheet set With a wire rack so the bottom
doesn’t just steam and get

Soggy. So I love to fry in either
a Dutch oven or cast iron. It’s going to hold the
temperature much more Consistently. If your oil temp
drops too much, The crust is going to absorb
a lot of fat and it’s going To get very greasy. I have a candy
thermometer here, But I’m also going to keep
an eye on it with a digital Because I have trust issues. I’m going to put
this on medium high. We’re using peanut oil. I know oftentimes you want to
reach for canola or vegetable. And even though it technically
does have a high smoke point, They’re really unstable fats
and will very quickly break Down and develop off flavors. My favorite fat to fry in
is actually an algae oil. It’s like the new
cool oil in town. There’s a couple
brands that make it. It is very expensive,
but it makes The crispiest
chicken and the fat Is very, very stable so you
can strain it and reuse it. You know what’s
really good to fry in? Animal fat. So if you really want to have
a party, get a bucket of lard. I really want this seasoning
to taste like stuffing. And I found that
the key to make Something taste like stuffing
is sage and chicken bouillon. So that’s what’s
going in my seasoning. We’re starting off with a
whole bunch of dried parsley. I’m going to use my fingers
to really crumble it up. I’m also going to crumble
in some dried sage. I feel like when I smell sage,
I’m like, whoa, Thanksgiving. I’m just going to
pull out these stems.

O.K., I’m keeping an eye on my
oil because when we hit 275, We’re going to fry
some sage leaves. I got my parsley
and dried sage. Now, to this,
chicken bouillon. Let me tell you, it will
instantly taste like stuffing. We got a little garlic
powder, cayenne, black pepper, A little bit of sugar. It’s going to really help
balance all the flavors, And a touch of MSG. And I’m going to sprinkle this
onto my chicken as it comes Out of the fryer. Because we have a lot of
salt from the bouillon, We don’t need to
season with more salt. O.K., so here, I
have some 00 flour. It makes it extra crispy and
more importantly, less greasy. But I get it. It’s like a specialty
ingredient that you might not Be able to find, so
you can totally use AP. And I’m going to season
this with a couple teaspoons Of salt. And that’s it. I’m not going to put
any spices in there, Because I’m going to
add my spices on top. O.K. I think
everything is ready. We can grab our chicken. O.K. So when it’s at 275, I
want to fry some sage leaves. This one says 275. That’s what I’m
going to go with. So let’s drop it in. Now sage tells you
when it’s done frying, So it’s really bubbly and loud
right now because it’s got A lot of moisture. And you know it’s going to be
nice and crisp when it starts To quiet down. Some have gotten
quieter before others,

So just scoop those out. And it might not be
crisp right away, But as long as the
bubbling has subsided, Once it gets cool,
it’ll be crisp, Because we’re going to crumble
this on top of our finished Fried chicken. Anytime anything comes
out of the fryer, Don’t forget to season,
so a little bit of salt. We don’t need much. My ideal fried
chicken is Popeyes, And what I love about it are
the little craggily, crunchy Little bits. And so the key to making
that happen is you Want to prime your flour with
a little bit of the brine To create these
little clusters. You get these really big
cluster bits that fry up And get really craggily
and really crisp. This one says 315. This one says 325. That’s what I’m
going to go with. You’re going to have a
wet hand and a dry hand. Wet hand, drop it in, and
then you’re going to bury The chicken, and press. Really, really get
in there and press, And that’s going to make sure
we get those nice craggly Bits. Then pull it out and
tap off any loose flour. See that? See those shreds? That’s my favorite part. That’s what you want. That’s how you get
that Popeyes texture. And don’t be afraid to
get close to the fire. I know it can be scary, but
it’s dangerous when you plop

From far. So you’ve got to get brave. It’s not going to
jump up at you. And you can’t really do this
with tongs because you’re Going to end up pulling
off that coating. And we are going to try
and get it skin side down. The drums don’t really have — It’s skin on both sides. But for the thighs, make
sure you go skin side down. The side that’s hidden at
the bottom on the first fry, Before you flip, is going
to be the pretty side. And we’re going
to crowd the pan, And that’s going to be O.K. When we get this pan full, it
might drop about 50 degrees, And that’s O.K. Don’t
crank it up immediately. The temp will
slowly come back up. You don’t want the temp to
exceed 325 or get below 250. Don’t get in there and
start poking and flipping. Just let it do its thing. It’ll be O.K. When you
start to see a lot of color Happening, that’s
when we flip. See how we’re getting
a little dark here? I think the first piece
might be ready to flip. Also, I dropped everything
clockwise and then In the middle, so I
know which order, which Guy went in there first. Are you ready? Yes, you are. Look at that,
nice golden brown. I love when the
chicken makes contact With the bottom of the pan and
you get these extra mahogany Bits. It’s my favorite part. So I’m hitting 325, so
I’m dropping the temp just

A little bit because I want
to make sure I don’t get over. O.K. Successful flip. We didn’t lose any crust. Frying is not scary. I feel like people
are scared of frying. The oil has to get to like 450
degrees before it explodes, But there’s a lot of signs. It’s going to start smoking. If anything happens
and you do feel Like your oil is getting
really hot and smoking, Turn off the heat
and put a lid on it. With dark meat, fried chicken,
especially if it’s been Brined, I really
like to go for 185. I know that seems really
high, but there’s a lot Of connective tissue and fat
that you want to render out, And it doesn’t really
begin until after 175. But we’ve brined it. It’s not going to be dry. And something about
fried chicken inherently, It’s very hard for it to be
dry because all the moisture Is sealed in that crust. Let’s check one piece. This first guy. It’s 190. We’re good. So I’m going to evacuate
this round of chicken. Before I do that, I’m
going to turn off the heat Because an empty pot of oil
can get hot really fast. You’ll be so surprised. So I’m not going to turn the
heat back on until I start Dredging and putting
in the next round. And now, we will
transfer to the rack. So now, while it’s hot,
let’s season it up. Be generous.

And I’m going to flip
it, get both sides, Because we don’t want
one-sided tasting chicken. Don’t be shy with this. This is what makes
it Thanksgiving. Pluck out these big chunks,
because if they stay in here, It might burn. O.K., our rolls
are ready to bake. I’m going to give them a
quick egg wash and pop them In the oven. 350 degrees, till
they’re nice and golden.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “They have softened. All right. We can take our potatoes out. I’ve got my second final
batch of chicken frying, And my rolls are in the oven. They’re just a
couple minutes away. The chicken looks good. Chicken looks good. I think everything’s
going to be fine. But you know, there’s always a
little anxiety when you’ve got To put a whole bunch of
things on the table at once. But that’s what I love
about fried chicken. I think it’s better
at room temp, So you don’t have
to stress too much. Actually, the first
thing I’m going to do, After getting those rolls out,
is we’re going to make punch And I’m going to
start drinking punch. It’s going to make the rest of
the process so much smoother. You can see the
layers of the bread. As it baked, it just like
opened up and we’re going To have these really
delicious pull apart rolls. And now, while it’s still
warm, just drench it. Drench it in butter.

It’s going to soak up
in between those layers. And then, I think our
chicken is ready to flip. Wow, what timing.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “All right, finish it up. Lemon zest. This was a last
minute addition, And it ended up being Ham’s
favorite bit because the lemon Really brightens
the whole thing up, And we’re going to crumble
over our sage leaves. Ooh, extra sagey. So much sage, right? Our chicken is totally ready. We’re going to make punch,
I’m going to drink punch, And then we’re going
to heat everything up. So I’m going to start partying
before everyone gets here. O.K. This is the most
exciting part of the day. I don’t have a recipe,
I just do it by taste. Just mix it until it’s good. So I love doing a
batched cocktail whenever I have friends coming over. It’s just so stressful to try
and mix drinks while people Are here. You could even
batch a Martini. You really can batch anything. And then also, I’ll have wine
for the people who are classy. I love making punch. And then you just taste and
adjust and keep going until It’s delicious.” [MUSIC PLAYING] [LAUGHS] “It needs a little help. [LAUGHS]: Let’s add some tea. Oh, it’s like —

It’s really hot. Can I do a series where I just
make batched drinks poorly?” “No recipes.” “No recipe. So I’m going to
make my own punch. Ooh! Oh, wow. Whoa! It’s like, magically,
everything appears. That’s for me. And we’re going to
do a simple NA one, Which is just going to be
iced tea with cranberry. Oh, that’s good. O.K., cool. Let this chill, and we’re
going to get everything warmed Up, and myself. Ooh, wonderful. Plate up our pickles. They look like pickles. Isn’t that cool? If you’ve never made pickles,
I do think it’s very exciting. You’re like, whoa. So this is the bechamel
we made yesterday. It’s thick, and that’s
exactly what we want. So that’s going to get going. And we got our gravy
that you can see Has been put into
two containers. I did not do that. It was against my will. There you go. See, it fits. You can’t seal it,
but it’ll be O.K. Just plop. Very satisfying.

Mashed potatoes. So we’re going to get those in
a smaller container so we can Microwave it, and then get in
there and stir two minutes. Mornay, slowly melting. O.K., so the salad,
if you take a look, The colors changed. It’s more like bright green,
almost as if you cooked it, Just from hanging
out with salt. So we’re going to finish up
our dressing with lemon juice, Olive oil and some
dried cranberries. Wow. So we’re going to add our
dressing right into the bag And shake it up. Toss it around. There’s so much dressing on
the beans that we don’t need To dress our leaves. We got really nice
little gem lettuce. Hi, potatoes. I’m returning for you. Oh god. Panic. There’s always
panic at the end. We’re definitely going
to need that milk. So I’m going to go
ahead and add it now, And then we’ll see if we need
more after we continue to zap It. O.K. Let’s see. We might need a little
splash of milk here. Not a lot, because we really
don’t want this to get too Thin. Salad, let’s return. So add a little bit of beans
to the cup of every lettuce, Just like that. You can play this up
like a couple hours

Before and just throw
it in the fridge. Just keep layering,
tower of salad. And then right when
people sit down, We’re going to shower it with
our French’s French fried Onions. You want to hold off
on that because it Will lose its crunch. Let’s get this
Mornay taken care of. This is where you want
it, really nice and thick. This is like just enough
Mornay to hold the cheese. You know what I mean? It’s really about the cheese. If you just scattered
it with cheese, You want to take
a step out of it. Go for that. But this kind of makes it feel
a little bit more luxurious. There’s no cheese
left behind, guys. Now, the main thing today,
since we got a lot going On, you don’t want to get
distracted and not taste Things. Mm. It needs salt. There we go. It’s getting smooth. The cheese is melted. Now, we’re going to drape
this over our potatoes. Make sure you
hit every potato, And then go back with more. I’m going to get everything
else ready before broiling Because this is
going to be fast. All right, so
let’s taste this. Definitely needs more
salt, and more pepper. Maybe a bit more milk too. I think, three more
minutes, and we’ll be there.

O.K., what’s next? Let’s put our rolls
on the platter. Whoa. O.K., fried chicken time. Hey, buddy. Did you know you’re a star? Look at that. Come on, I think that’s more
fun than a platter of turkey. O.K., they’re both fun
in their different ways. Everybody can be fun. O.K., our gravy
is a little thick. I’m going to thin her out, but
not get too distracted and let My sweet potatoes burn. Mm. O.K. That’s what
we want to see. Really nice and
puffy and blackened. Oh yeah. Don’t be afraid of
letting it go dark. It’s not going to be bitter. It’s just going to really
bring out the flavor. And because we didn’t
just put cheese on top, We mixed it into
that bechamel, It’s not broken or greasy. Now, as you can see,
our potatoes are hot. And now, we’re going to
just stir in our scallions. Save a little for the top
for a pretty, you know. Ooh, potatoes. Make it look swoopy. Wow. Whoa. Huh? All right. So, our cake. Now, if de-panning stresses
you out, just like, don’t.

Just cut it into pieces. Oh no. Oh no, you’re cracking. Come on. The caramel kind of crumbled. If this happens to
you, don’t worry. There’s so many pecans,
no one will know. Either way, if you get a
nice gooey, sticky topping, Or if it’s a little bit
more stiff like this, It still tastes good. So just don’t tell people
what it was supposed to be. You don’t apologize. You pretend like it’s correct. Just be confident. If your potatoes are cold,
just call it potato salad And move on with your life,
and pour people more punch. And I guess we are ready. We just have to set the
table and we’re ready to go.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “Come, gather around, guests. Let’s eat.” “Thanksgiving, 2024!” “This is gorgeous.” “Happy Thanksgiving.” “And this is the highest
compliment I could ever give You. It looks like Popeye’s.” “That was the goal. That’s the inspiration. Yeah, I love Popeye’s.” “There’s fried sage. What else is on this chicken?” “It’s like
stuffing-flavored chicken, So it’s seasoned with
sage and chicken bouillon.

And I recommend squeezing
lemon as you eat it.” “Mm!” “The sweet potato has
nice spices in it.” “Oh my, these taters.” “Mhm.” “The sweet potatoes are
covered in Mornay and they’re Seasoned with stuff you
would put in mac and cheese, So like garlic,
chili, paprika. The salad is inspired
by green bean casserole, So it’s smashed green beans
with a cranberry vinaigrette.” “There were green
beans under there?” “Wait, do you not
have green beans?” “No.”
“It’s a green bean salad.” “No, I don’t have that
many green beans.” “This is so much
more flavorful than The Thanksgiving that I make.” “So I like these because
I like to make a sandwich. So take a little mustard
gravy, a little lettuce, A little chicken, and
then, make a sandwich.” “You’re like a mad scientist.” “This is so good.” “This is so good.” “Like, doing it like
that is genius.” “So this is a pumpkin
spice sheet cake with pecan And caramel on top.” “It’s the best of pecan
pie, saccharin as hell. And that’s how I like it. And the best of a cake.” “It is really balanced. And I like how salty
the pecans are.” “Thanks for coming to the
fried chicken Thanksgiving. And if you want these
recipes and more, Head over to New
York Times Cooking. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” “Cheers!” “Cheers! Oh, this was so fabulous. Thank you so much.” “Thanks for coming.” [MUSIC PLAYING]