Fusilli Bucati With Pesto And KFC-Style Chicken Leg
Introduction
Our job is to get you excited about pesto, but let's be honest, you're really thinking about the chicken, right?
We once had an acquaintance who accidentally left his shift at KFC with some of the colonel's secret blend of 11 herbs and spices in his pocket. He got some free-range chicken legs, seasoned them, soaked them overnight in buttermilk, and deep-fried them the next day in a mix of flour and KFC spices.
The results were biblical.
There's no need to break the law these days, though. Just search online, and you'll find plenty of recipes from people who claim to have unlocked the secrets to the colonel's mythical coating. (Hint: MSG).
KFC-style spice blend
Recommended equipment
Digital kitchen scales
Spice grinder
Pro tip
Below is our take on Sanders' spice blend, but rustle together any dried herbs and spices, and you'll find it pretty hard to not create something finger-licking good.
Ingredients for the spice blend
| MSG | 5g |
| Paprika | 2g |
| Mustard powder | 2g |
| Salt | 2g |
| Onion powder | 2g |
| Garlic powder | 2g |
| Dried oregano | 1g |
| Dried sage | 1g |
| Dried thyme | 1g |
| Dried marjoram | 1g |
| Pepper | 1g |
Flour and spice mix
| 00 flour | 75 |
| Panko breadcrumbs | 25 |
| Spice blend | 20 (from above) |
| Muscovado | 10 |
Ingredients for two
Recommended equipment
Digital thermometer
Deep fryer
Pro tip
No buttermilk? No cry. You can make your own using nothing other than whole milk and lemon (or any mild acid, really). There are plenty of recipes online.
| Chicken legs | x2 |
| Buttermilk | 500g |
| Fusilli bucati | 150g |
| Pesto | 100g |
| Canola oil | 1l |
| Seasoning | as needed |
| Flour-spice mix | from above |
| Garnishes | optional |
Method
If you're butchering a whole chicken, then make sure to cut out the "oysters" along with the leg. It's our favourite part of the bird. If you're buying chicken legs, you can use them straight from the pack, but we highly recommend "Frenching" them.
There are plenty of videos on YouTube describing the technique, but you basically expose the tip of the bone, which adds a bit of theatre. This also allows you to pull out the stringy tendons with a pair of pliers, which increases the eating pleasure significantly.
Season the legs with salt and pepper and marinate them in buttermilk for at least one hour, but preferably overnight.
Mix your spice rub with the flour, breadcrumbs, and sugar.
Take your chicken legs out of the buttermilk marinade, and allow the excess to drip off. Keep the rest of the marinade as it's got one more job to do before it can be discarded.
Now dunk your chicken leg in the spiced flour, followed by the reserved buttermilk marinade, followed by a final dip in the flour.
Heat your oil in either a deep-fat fryer or wok (we don’t recommend saucepans from a safety point of view). When the oil reaches 175°C and starts to shimmer, add the chicken legs. Chilled food can drop the temperature of the oil significantly, so watch it like a hawk. If the temperature drops too low, the food will turn out greasy. Too hot, and the crispy skin will be cooked, but the inside could still be raw.
Cook your chicken until the innermost part registers 75°C, about 5-6 minutes on both sides. Transfer the chicken to a rack to let excess oil drip off and keep warm in a 100°C oven while you deal with the pasta.
Heat up a pan of well-salted water and cook your pasta according to the pack instructions. When the pasta is al dente, drain it (saving a little bit of the water it cooked in), then, off the heat, stir through the pesto and pasta water.
Plate up and garnish to your liking. Here, we've used aged pecorino, chives, wild garlic flowers, and a few cracks of black pepper.