Steirisches Backhendl

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Deep heavy pan or Dutch oven (at least 28cm, with 8cm depth)
• •Wire cooling rack and tray
• •Kitchen thermometer (recommended)
• •Three wide shallow bowls for breading station
• •Tongs or slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the chicken

   Season the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper, then squeeze the lemon juice over every piece, turning them so the juice gets into all the crevices. Let them sit for at least thirty minutes at room temperature, or up to two hours in the fridge. The lemon does two things: it tenderizes the meat gently, and it gives the finished chicken a brightness that cuts through the richness of the breading and the butter. Pat the pieces completely dry with kitchen paper before breading. Any moisture left on the surface will make the flour clump and the coating slide off in the pan.

   Ask your butcher to joint the chicken for you if you're not confident doing it yourself. You want two drumsticks, two thighs, and each breast halved crosswise. Roughly equal sizes mean even cooking.
2. 2

   Start the potato salad

   Boil the potatoes whole and unpeeled in salted water until a knife slides in without resistance, about twenty to twenty-five minutes depending on size. Don't overcook them. A potato that falls apart can't hold a dressing. While they're still hot, peel them carefully (the skins slip off easily when warm) and slice them into rounds about half a centimeter thick. Spread them in a single layer on a wide plate so they can absorb the dressing evenly.

   The potatoes must be dressed while they're warm. Cold potatoes seal up and reject the broth. Warm potatoes drink it in. This is the single most important thing about Austrian potato salad.
3. 3

   Dress the potato salad

   Whisk together the warm beef broth, white wine vinegar, neutral oil, mustard, a good pinch of salt, pepper, and the pinch of sugar. Pour this over the warm potato slices and toss gently. Let the salad sit for ten minutes while the potatoes absorb the liquid. Just before serving, drizzle the Kürbiskernöl over the top and scatter the chives. Don't stir the pumpkin seed oil through. You want it sitting on the surface in dark, glossy pools so it hits you with every bite. The diced red onion goes in now too, raw. It wants that sharp bite against the warm, soft potatoes.

4. 4

   Set up the breading station

   Line up three wide, shallow bowls. Seasoned flour in the first. Beaten eggs in the second. Fine dry Semmelbrösel in the third. Semmelbrösel are Austrian dried bread rolls ground fine, and they fry up lighter and crispier than fresh breadcrumbs. If you can't find them, blitz stale white bread rolls in a food processor until very fine, then dry them out in a low oven. Take each chicken piece and coat it in flour first, shaking off the excess. Then dip it through the egg, letting the surplus drip off. Finally, press it into the breadcrumbs on all sides. Don't pack the crumbs on tight. Lay them on gently with your fingertips. A light, loose coating puffs up when it fries. A packed, tight one sits flat and dense.

   Keep one hand for dry ingredients and one hand for wet. Otherwise you end up with breadcrumb gloves instead of breaded chicken. Gretel always said this and she was always right.
5. 5

   Fry the chicken

   Heat the clarified butter or lard in a deep, heavy pan or wide pot until it reaches about 160 to 170 degrees Celsius. You need enough fat that the chicken pieces float, at least three centimeters deep. This is the same principle as Wiener Schnitzel: if the chicken sits on the bottom of the pan, the coating on the underside will compress and go flat instead of puffing up golden and wavy. Lower the pieces in carefully, dark meat first since it takes longer. Don't crowd the pan. Fry in two batches if you need to. Cook for twelve to fifteen minutes, turning once halfway through, until the crust is deep gold all over and the juices run clear when you pierce the thickest part of a thigh.

   If you don't have a thermometer, drop a small cube of bread into the fat. It should sizzle steadily and turn golden in about forty-five seconds. If it browns in ten seconds, your fat is too hot and the outside will burn before the inside cooks through.
6. 6

   Drain and rest

   Lift the chicken pieces out with tongs or a slotted spoon and set them on a wire rack over a tray. Not on kitchen paper. Paper traps moisture against the crust and softens it within minutes, undoing all your careful frying. A wire rack lets air circulate underneath. Let the pieces rest for three minutes. Season with a final pinch of flaky salt while the surface is still hot enough to hold it.

7. 7

   Serve the Backhendl

   Pile the golden chicken pieces on a warm platter with lemon wedges tucked alongside. Bring the potato salad to the table in its own bowl so everyone can see that dark swirl of Kürbiskernöl on top. Let people help themselves. This is Gasthaus food, generous and unfussy. Squeeze lemon over your chicken at the table and eat it with your hands if you want. Nobody in Styria will judge you. Mahlzeit!

Chef Tips

• •Clarified butter gives the best flavor, but it's not cheap when you need this much. Lard is the traditional alternative and fries beautifully. If you use lard, find good-quality rendered pork fat from a butcher. The shelf-stable blocks from supermarkets don't compare.
• •Buy your Kürbiskernöl from an Austrian or specialty food supplier and keep it refrigerated once opened. It goes rancid faster than olive oil, and rancid pumpkin seed oil is unmistakable and terrible. A good bottle should smell deeply nutty, almost chocolatey, and taste like concentrated toasted pumpkin seeds.
• •The chicken can be jointed and marinated in lemon juice the morning you plan to cook. Cover and refrigerate. Bring it back to room temperature for thirty minutes before breading and frying, since cold chicken straight from the fridge will drop the oil temperature and give you a greasy, undercooked result.
• •If you have leftover Backhendl (unlikely, but possible), it reheats well in a hot oven at 200 degrees for ten minutes. The crust won't be as crisp as fresh, but it will still be very good. Never microwave it. The breading turns to a sad, soft blanket and the chicken deserves better.

Advance Preparation

• •Chicken can be jointed and marinated in lemon juice up to four hours ahead, covered and refrigerated. Pat dry thoroughly before breading.
• •Potato salad benefits from resting fifteen to twenty minutes after dressing, so make it while the chicken fries. Add the Kürbiskernöl and chives at the last moment.
• •Semmelbrösel can be made from stale bread rolls up to a week in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 460g)