Marcus Samuelsson's Secret Ingredient To Make Exquisite Fried Chicken

People try all sorts of tactics to make the most amazing fried chicken, from brining the chicken in secret ingredients like pickle juice to dredging chicken in mayo so it gets crispy and golden brown. Now, Marcus Samuelsson is sharing his key to making a memorable fried chicken, and it's all about the coconut (via Today). The chef uses coconut in two ways in his fried chicken recipe. Coconut milk is used in the chicken marinade and is also the base for the accompanying dipping sauce, and coconut flakes are used in the breading of the chicken. 

The dish is an homage to Guyanese-born chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph, a rising star who was a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2020, a 2023 James Beard Awards Semifinalist for Best Chef: Texas, and whose restaurant Canje was named one of Bon Appetits 10 Best New Restaurants in 2022. Samuelsson says of the South American country of Guayana, "the language is English; the culture is Caribbean; and it's a cultural mix of Chinese, indigenous Guyanese, African and European," which results in some pretty amazing flavor combinations. Bristol-Joseph's Guyanese culinary heritage and those fusions of flavor are the inspiration for this fried chicken recipe.

Coconut is the star of Marcus Samuelsson's fried chicken, says the chef, because "coconut was a recurring motif" in Tavel Bristol-Joseph's childhood. To make a flavorful marinade for the chicken, Samuelsson combines coconut milk with mole verde. Mole verde is a green sauce made with a variety of herbs and vegetables, like spicy green chiles, tomatillos, mint, watercress, cilantro, onions, and more. The marinated chicken is then pre-cooked in a saucepan of more coconut milk and mole, and once it's removed, the remaining liquid is reduced to create a dipping sauce.

The pre-cooked chicken is breaded with a seasoned mixture that includes coconut flakes, then fried until crisp and golden brown. Samuelsson says that you can add rosemary or garlic to the oil to develop more flavor. He pairs the fried chicken with fried plantains and a green mole hot honey sauce. "The hot sauce packs a ton of flavor in the sweetness of the honey," he explains, saying that cooks should "make sure to layer it [the honey] in with the mole."

It's a fitting recipe tribute to his friend Bristol-Joseph, who grew up subsisting off of foraged coconuts and plantains, only to one day become a star chef. Get a taste of the pair's beloved Guayanese fusion flavors by incorporating coconut the next time you make fried chicken at home.