Buttermilk Fried Chicken Caesar Salad
A classic Caesar salad, dressed with a punchy homemade dressing and topped with crispy fried chicken tenders & fudgy soft boiled eggs.
Servings: 4 Portions
Equipment
- Digital Food Probe
- Deep Fat Fryer
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Plastic Container
- Food Processor
- Frying Pan
- Microplane/Grater
- Saucepan
- Slotted Spoon
Ingredients
- 400 g Chicken Fillets See Notes
Buttermilk Brine
- 300 g Buttermilk
- ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ tsp Dried Oregano
- ¼ tsp Table Salt
- Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
Flour Dredge
- 140 g Plain Flour
- 50 g Cornflour
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
Caesar Dressing
- 125 g Mayonnaise
- 20 g Parmesan Grated
- 2 Anchovy Fillets
- 1 Garlic Clove Grated
- ½ tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
Caesar Salad
- 6 Rashers Smoked Streaky Bacon Cut Into Lardons
- 100 g Bread See Notes
- 4 Large Eggs
- 2 Romaine Lettuce
- 6 Anchovy Fillets Torn/Chopped Into Small Pieces
- Parmesan To grate on top
Instructions
Buttermilk Brine
- Place the buttermilk, paprika, garlic powder, oregano & salt into a mixing bowl, season with freshly cracked black pepper then whisk to combine.
- Add in the chicken fillets then mix well, to fully coat each piece.
- Transfer the chicken to an airtight container then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24.
Flour Dredge
- Add the flour, cornflour, paprika & oregano into a mixing bowl. Season with salt & pepper then whisk to combine. Set aside until needed.
Caesar Dressing
- To a food processor, add the mayonnaise, parmesan, anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce & dijon mustard. Season with a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper then blitz until smooth.
- Transfer the dressing to an airtight container & refrigerate until needed (up to 3 days).
Bacon Lardons
- Add a tbsp of veg oil into a large frying pan then set over a medium heat.
- Once hot, add in the bacon lardons then cook until crispy, stirring frequently.
- Once the lardons are cooked, transfer them into a bowl without the fat & set aside. Reserve the fat for the croutons.
Croutons
- Preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).
- Tear the bread into 1 cm pieces then transfer to a baking tin. Drizzle over a tbsp of bacon fat then season with sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper.
- Bake the croutons for 5-10 minutes, until crisp & golden, shaking the tray halfway through.
- Once cooked, remove the croutons from the oven & leave to cool completely before using.
Boiled Eggs
- Fill a medium saucepan with water, add in a tbsp of white wine vinegar*, cover with a lid then set over a high heat & bring to the boil.*Adding vinegar is optional but makes peeling the eggs easier.
- Once the water is boiling, carefully add in the eggs then cook for 7 minutes, making sure that the water is boiling at all times.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs into a bowl of ice water, leave to cool completely then peel.
Caesar Salad
- Preheat a deep fat fryer to 180°c/356°f.
- In the meantime, cut the root off the lettuces, separate the leaves then wash in cold water. Leave to drain in a colander then roughly chop.
- Next, take 3-4 chicken fillets out of the buttermilk then toss in the flour dredge, making sure that they are fully coated.
- Carefully place the dredged chicken into the hot oil & cook until golden, crispy & cooked through. This will take around 5 minutes. If you take the internal temperature with a digital food probe, it should be above 75°c/167°f.Repeat the dredging & frying process with the remaining chicken fillets.
- Once cooked, transfer the fried chicken to a plate lined with kitchen roll/paper then season with sea salt.
- To assemble, place the chopped lettuce into a large mixing bowl along with the bacon, croutons, anchovy fillets & dressing. Stir to combine then transfer to bowls.
- Top each salad with fried chicken then grate a generous amount of parmesan over each bowl.
- To finish, cut each soft boiled egg in half, season the yolk with salt & pepper then add two halves to the side of each salad.
Notes
1. Chicken Fillets - You’ll need 400 grams of chicken fillets for this recipe. This equates to roughly 8/9 fillets. If you can’t get chicken fillets, cut 2 chicken breasts into 2-3 cm wide strips.
2. Bread For Croutons - You can use almost any type of bread for the croutons. White sandwich bread, ciabatta or focaccia are some good choices.
3. Deep Fat Fryer – For the best results, a deep fat fryer should be used for cooking the chicken. If you haven’t got one, a pan of oil warmed up on the stove will work, just make sure to do this carefully!
4. Making In Advance - The salad dressing, lardons & soft boiled eggs can all be made in advance & kept in the fridge for several days before using. The croutons can also be made in advance & kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
Once dressed, the salad should be served straight away.