Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 41

FD2 FROM THE COVER WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2 8, 2009 THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC Chefs cluck over chicken for crowing rights CHICKEN Continued from FD1 0 PHOTOS BY DAVID KADWB0WSKITHE ARIZONA REPUBLIC Elissa Scitz and friends dine before having to make a difficult choice between the fried chicken at Noca and that of Lo-Lo's Chicken and Waffles. Elissa's husband. For Noca, the flurry of seasonings went to good effect, producing a ying-yang of spicy and sweet that Scitz deemed "gourmet" Savory and crisp, with a deep golden-brown crust, the bird was fancy indeed, perfumed with star anise, toasted peppercorns, honey and sage. Except that Jim Molden of Goodyear, a self-described fried-chicken connoisseur, found the result too salty, offering his winning nod to Lo-Lo's. "Noca's is moister, but Lo-Lo's is what I like." Ultimately, when the final tallies came in at the restaurant's 11:30 p.m.

closing, the conquering hero was Noca by a beak. White seemed calm with the verdict, pointing out that his mac-and-cheese and waffles won the side-dish category by a landslide. Plus, it was a victory for comfort food everywhere. "If you're going to eat, make those calories count, thaf what matters," White said. "Fried chicken relaxes you and makes you happy.

Ifs good for the soul." Details: Noca, 3118 E. Cam-elback Road, Phoenix. 602-956-6622, restaurantnoca.com. Lo-Lo's Chicken Waffles, 2765 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 480-945-1920; and 10 W.

Yuma Phoenix, 602-340-1304, loloschickenand waffles.com. He's the grandson of Elizabeth White, owner of the legendary soul-food eatery Mrs. White's Golden Rule. Cafe at Eighth and Jefferson streets in Phoenix, and he churns through up to 20 cases of birds a weekend at his Scottsdale store alone. Nothing, White said, could make him divulge his secret for herbs and spices.

"Ifs my grandma's 45-year-old recipe," he explained, "and she threatened me, 'Don't you tell Yet Curtiss had a few moves of his own, pimping his poultry at the last minute by adding a splash of apple-cider vinegar to his buttermilk. Each has his musts White "massages and caresses" the meat with seasonings, then shakes every bit of excess flour off the carcass for a "nice, flaky crust," while Curtiss brines his bird for juiciness, then double dips 'and dredges for an extra-crisp coating. Noca's real secret weapon, though, was Wexler, who got his hands on a bit of Lo-Lo's seasoning mix before the cook-off and did a sly analysis, confirming his findings by watching White's facial expressions as Wexler played guess-the-recipe with him. "Larry is the only one that knows die blend," Wexler said. "He won't tell anyone, not even his wife.

When one of his stores needs more, he goes into his warehouse, releases his guard dogs and mixes a batch. herbs and spices. In the other: Curtiss' more involved creation, combining 20 ingredients through a preparation time topping 18 hours. The judges were more than 160 diners who packed Noca for the sold-out supper, and if one thing quickly became obvious, it was this: The Valley is fierce for its fried chicken. "We've been coming to Noca for its fried chicken since the dinners started Oast fall), and we literally drooled when we read this (throw-down) menu," said Ann Oland of Goodyear.

"We never make it ourselves, but we order it absolutely everywhere," added Oland's tablemate, Goodyear resident Tim Another guest, studying the busy exposition kitchen with its frenetic dunk-and-dredge dance, could only exclaim with a giddy smile: "It smells like Grandma's house here." Like barbecue, frying chicken is a passionate sport Zealots may argue about buttermilk or brine, whether to batter or dredge, and the virtues of shallow- vs. deep-frying. Ultimately, though, the appeal is simple: "Comfort food is in," said Jordan Oland, Ann's husband, "and this is it." From the get-go, White came out swinging, noting that he has a heritage to honor. Scitz of Scottsdale said, "It's really hard. We vote, and I'm worried they'll never let us in Lo-Lo's or Noca again." It was impossible to ignore the abandonment of manners, with many guests plucking the crust from the meat with their fingers and loosening every speck of bird from the bone with their teeth.

Forks be damned most used the crust as shovels to scoop up Noca's creamy white polenta alongside Lo-Lo's gooey mountain of macaroni and cheese. Choosing the winner wasn't easy. Lo-Lo's got points for its potato-chip-crisp skin and evocation of Americana nostalgia. "It's down-home, what you grew up on," said Eric Scitz, It takes 20 ingredients for Chris Curtiss' crispy chicken at Noca. But I think I broke the code." Diners didn't take their judging responsibilities lightly.

Nibbling on a first course of a chopped salad of hard-boiled egg, bacon, radish, cucumber, tomato and aged white Cheddar slathered in creamy chi-potle-ranch dressing, Elissa Noca Fried Chicken Lo-Lo's Fried Chicken Lo-Lo's Chicken and Waffles Noca 3-pound Tyson fryer (cut into 8 pieces) Splash of vinegar 1 cup buttermilk 4 eggs Lo-Lo's secret blend of herbs and spices (see note below) 2 cups flour 10 cups canolaoil Rinse the bird under running cold water, then splash with vinegar (vinegar helps clean the bird). Pat dry. Blend buttermilk and eggs, and soak the chicken for 2-3 minutes in the wash. (The wash helps the herbs and spices to stick to the chicken.) Season the chicken with a blend of herbs and spices. Lightly dredge the bird in flour and shake off all excess flour.

In a large skillet, heat the canola oil to 350 degrees. Add chicken, being sure not to crowd the pan. Rotating pieces so they cook evenly throughout, fry for approximately 8 minutes on each side. Once the chicken is golden brown on both ture. Allow to rest on a sheet pan for 30 minutes.

Repeat the process. Keep chicken at room temperature. Heat oil in fryer to 335 degrees. Add chicken, being sure not to crowd the pan. Fry until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees (approximately 18 minutes).

Season the chicken with salt and pepper when it comes out of the oil. Allow to rest for 5-8 minutes before serving. sides and has reached 185 degrees in the center, it is done. Note: Lo-Lo's owner, Larry White, refuses to divulge his blend of herbs and spices, but he gave a batch of the blend to Noca owner Eliot Wexler, who slyly did his own informal "lab" analysis: Lawrys Seasoned Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, sweet paprika, cayenne and black pepper. Wexler suggests mixing it up and playing around with the proportions according to your taste.

Place chicken in brine and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, but preferably 18 hours. Remove from brine, rinse well and pat dry. For chicken 4 cups all-purpose flour 4 cups Wondra flour 3 teaspoons garlic powder 3 teaspoons onion powder 3 teaspoons smoked paprika 3 tablespoons kosher salt 6 cups buttermilk 12cupscanolaoil Combine flours and spices. Dip chicken in the buttermilk and then dredge in the flour mix For brine 2-3 pounds all-natural chicken, cut into quarters 24 cups water 1 cup kosher salt Vt cup McClendon's honey 10 bay leaves 4 sprigs fresh rosemary 'i bunch fresh thyme 'i bunch fresh sage '2 cup toasted whole black-pepper corns 1a cup toasted whole allspice lA cup toasted whole star anise lA cup lemon juice Zest of three lemons Bring water to a boil with all of the seasoning ingredients. Allow to completely cool before adding the chicken.

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