Harry's Roadhouse takes its motto very seriously: "A Square Meal Every Time." Harry Shapiro has been serving up the very best comfort food, with a unique Southwestern twist, for over a decade. This Santa Fe institution is beloved by locals and tourists alike who have come to rely on the home-cooked comfort food served with a smile - if they can find a spot to park, that is!
A cook at the Roadhouse knows he has arrived when Harry lets him cook the fried chicken. Our fried chicken is great with biscuits and country gravy.
PREP TIME: 30 minutes (evening or morning before)
MARINATiNG TIME: 5 hours or more
FEEDS: 4
2 chickens (3 pounds each), cut in pieces
1 cup buttermilk
4 cups flour
2 tablespoons thyme
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons pepper
Vegetable, canola, corn, or peanut oil (for frying)
The night or morning before you want to serve it, cover the chicken pieces with buttermilk and refrigerate.
In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, thyme, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken pieces in flour, shake off excess, dip in buttermilk and again in flour. Try to keep each coating light.
Place coated chicken on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.*
Pour about 1 inch of oil into a 12-inch cast-iron skillet and heat until the temperature is about 300 to 325 degrees F. Place the chicken in the skillet; do not crowd the pan. Turn up the heat temporarily, because the temperature will drop when the chicken pieces are added. Cook for about 8 minutes, turning chicken pieces after about 4 minutes. The chicken will be almost done and should have a nice light golden brown crust.
Drain well and place chicken on a sheet pan, skin side up, in an oven preheated to 300 degrees F. Bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes. The chicken should have a nice crunchy crust and a golden color. If done right, it will be grease free. Check with a meat thermometer - internal temperature should be 165 degrees F.
*Coating may be done ahead of time. Store the chicken pieces in the refrigerator until ready to cook. If the
coating gets too warm, it will tend to stick to the parchment.
