My great love of olives is led me to create Dirty Martini Fried Chicken. I wanted another way to enjoy olives with chicken, and I didn’t care how it happened. So, I turned to alcohol. As fate (or science) would have it, olives and alcohol make a great team. For the crispiest, most flavorful crust on any fried food, make this dirty martini batter.
Besides making for a snazzy recipe name, gin plays an important role in this batter. As Serious Eats explains, high-proof alcohols—vodka, in their case—evaporate quicker and more vigorously than water does, especially under the high heat conditions of deep frying. Less moisture is retained overall, leading to a crispier crust. I paired my alcohol with another fried chicken champ: potato starch.
Potato starch is the secret to mega-crunchy karaage chicken, as it contains an ideal combination of amylose and granule size. I blended these ingredients with pulverized martini olives to make an umami-forward batter with a crust that refuses to get soggy. I expected it to be crunchy, sure, but it was surprisingly so. After frying, I left the chicken to cool, then had to photograph it, meaning the chicken was hanging out for about 20 minutes before I could tuck in. Lesser fried chicken skin would have grown soft, thanks to the humidity underneath, but these tendies still had a crackling crust all over.
How to make Dirty Martini Fried Chicken
Grab a small food processor or blender. Add the olives, gin, olive juice, and salt. You could substitute vodka for gin if you prefer; the flavor doesn’t come through in the end. Blend for 20-30 seconds. The mixture will still look chunky with olives, we’re just breaking them down a bit. Add the flour, potato starch, and baking powder to the food processor. Pulse a few times and scrape down the walls of the machine. Pulse again. If the dry ingredients kick up again, give it another scrape. Blend for about 30 seconds, or until the mixture is smooth.
Dredge the raw chicken tenders in a light coating of flour, then dunk them in the martini batter. Let the excess batter drip off for a second and carefully drop one or two tenders into frying oil that’s been heated to 350°F (I used canola). Fry the chicken for about five minutes, until well browned and cooked through. Drain on a wire rack and cool for at least five minutes before eating.
I was afraid the olives wouldn’t have flavor after frying, but much to my pleasure, the flavor is not only noticeable but gorgeous and mellow. The batter fries into a light, nearly lacy crust, but it is by no means fragile. This batter was amazing on chicken, and it could easily work on any savory food destined for the fryer. I can already imagine killer onion rings, a savory, (actually) flavorful version of fish and chips, or olive-ception with olive batter fried olives.
Dirty Martini Fried Chicken Tenders
Ingredients:
8 colossal olives (about a ½ cup)3 tablespoons gin (or vodka)2 tablespoon olive juice½ teaspoon salt¼ cup all-purpose flour2 tablespoons potato starch (corn starch can substitute)¼ teaspoon baking powder6-8 chicken tenders3 or 4 tablespoons extra flour to dredge the chickenHeat about two inches of oil in a tall pot. The goal is to keep the oil around 350°F, so I recommend using a frying thermometer to keep an eye on it.
In a small food processor or blender, make the batter. Pulse the olives with the gin, olive juice, and salt, until chopped into small pieces. Add the flour, potato starch, and baking powder. Blend, scraping down the walls as needed, until you achieve a smooth paste. In a bowl, dredge the raw chicken in flour, dusting off the excess. When the oil is up to temperature, dunk the chicken in the batter. Let the excess batter drip off for a few seconds and gently drop one or two pieces of chicken in the hot oil. Fry for 5-8 minutes, or until well-browned. Drain the fried chicken on a wire rack over a sheet tray, and let cool for a few minutes before eating.
