Credit: Gerald Ford, CMC, Ford Plantation
National Culinary Review, July 2019

From the Chef

“[Fried chicken is] a good candidate to be made modern,” Ford says. “We kinda miss that mark as chefs when we transition something that ties into a really great memory from Mom. It can lack that personality.”

“To give the dish the homage it deserves while maintaining its “spirit,” Ford drew inspiration from his surroundings (as generations of Southern cooks have done before him). “It makes the most sense to me to use the closest available local ingredients,” Ford says. “The South, in season, has some amazing produce and products. I wanted to highlight those things.”

“He puréed the collard greens in a blender with some chlorophyll. After marinating the chicken, he treated it like a galantine and poached it in a combi oven, then fried it.

“I used the same process of breading and frying that I would have normally done,” he says. “I cut the vegetables a little bit smaller than I normally would. I consider the modern a little more refined — instead of larger pickled vegetables and bigger chunks that require the guest to use a fork and knife, I carved the veggies a little more.”

Ingredients

1 Chicken, whole
16 oz. (480 g) Fried Chicken Marinade
2 oz. (60 g) Activa
16 oz. Creole Eggwash
32 oz. Fried Chicken, flour

For Marinade
2 Eggs
40 g Powdered Mustard
100 g Cajun Spice
1 Gal. Buttermilk
50 g Oldbay
20 g Onion Powder
20 g Garlic Powder
15 g Black Pepper
50 g Salt

For Collard Greens
1 case Collard Greens, Cleaned and Trimmed
2 Yellow Onion, Medium Dice
1 lb. Bacon, Ground
2 oz. Garlic, minced
32 oz. Chicken Stock
48 oz. Honey
16 oz. Apple Cider Vinegar
6 g Crushed Red paper

For Pork Rinds
8 oz. (224 g) Fresh Pork Skin

For Hot Sauce, Buerre Blanc
8 oz. Franks Hot Sauce
2 oz. White Wine
8 oz. Butter, Whole

Instructions

1. Bone Chicken as for galentine, remove the thigh bone but leave the leg bone in. Split the bird into 2 halves.
2. Marinate the chicken in the marinade overnight.
3. Season the inside of each chicken, dust with TG.
4. Roll the chicken into a roulade using saran wrap and tie.
5. Poach or Steam the roulades to an internal temperature of 142°F, hold for 1 hr. Preheat frier to 300°F
6. Remove the roulades to an ice bath and chill completely.
7. Remove the plastic from the roulade and roll in the flour.
8. Roll the roulade in eggwash, then back in flour.
9. Carefully drop chicken into the frier to brown and heat.
Allow to rest, then carve.

For Marinade
1. Combine Dry Ingredients
2. Add Buttermilk

For Collard Greens
1. Render Bacon until crispy.
2. Add onions and garlic and saute until translucent. Add and saute for an additional minute.
3. Deglaze with apple cider vinegar and chicken stock.
4. Add collard greens and honey and simmer, stirring frequently until tender.
5. Adjust seasoning as needed with more vinegar, honey, salt

For puree
Take 3 cups of collard greens & cook in pressure cooker 30 minutes. Chill until cold.
Add 4 oz. blanched spinach & puree until smooth.
Season with hot sauce, salt and pepper, pass through chinoise.

For Pork Rinds
1. Steam 12 hours at 185°F.
2. Let cool, scrape off all the fat and cut into 4″x4″ squares.
3. Place in a food dehydrator at 120°F over night.
4. When needed, fry at 375°F until crisp and puffed.
5. Season with Cajun seasoning & salt.

For Hot Sauce, Buerre Blanc
1. Reduce sauce by half.
2. Add white wine.
3. Heat back to just below a simmer.
4. Whisk in butter as for buerre blanc.