Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg may have first bonded over mashed potatoes and brownies, but when it comes to Snoop’s favorite dish that the media mogul makes for him, it is a crispy, Southern classic. According to Insider, the “Gin and Juice” rapper revealed that when it comes to his bestie’s cooking, he has a soft spot for her buttermilk fried chicken. In fact, Snoop likes it so much, he called it “bomb” and hopes to one day figure out how to perfect it himself. What about Stewart’s recipe has Snoop waxing lyrically and makes us want to add it to our bucket list?
As Stewart shared on Facebook, her secret to creating a crispy, crunchy fried chicken starts with an overnight salted ice bath. This process, a brining technique, shocks and tightens the meat while seasoning it. The salted water penetrates well below the surface of the flesh, locking in moisture so when you bite into a piece, the golden, fried exterior has that crunch you know and love, but the interior is juicy and mouthwatering. It really is the perfect fried chicken.
Soaking the chicken in this frosty solution also removes impurities like protein, which can make your frying oil turn colors and foam up. When this happens, it reduces the quality of the oil, especially if you are frying in batches to avoid overcrowding. The ice bath soak plays an important role, and skipping it is one of those critical mistakes people make when cooking fried chicken.
Martha Stewart’s chicken gets a second bath
After the chilly, overnight brining, the media mogul does a second bath for her chicken, but with rich and creamy buttermilk. This second soak is shorter — just a few hours in the refrigerator — and gives the chicken a subtle, acidic sharpness while contributing to moisture retention. If you don’t have or don’t want to purchase a quart of buttermilk, you can use whole milk and some cider vinegar as a substitute. But Martha Stewart doesn’t stop there.
To upgrade the taste of fried chicken and add a little bit of kick, she pours an ample amount of Tabasco sauce into the buttermilk marinade. For her dredge, Stewart uses a combination of cornmeal — a Southern must — and flour, along with some chosen seasonings. After she fries it in vegetable oil, it turns into a golden, crispy, and tender crust ready to eat. No wonder Snoop is a fan.
