Lisa Garza's Sissy's Southern Kitchen & Bar is coming. Press releases have been teasing the open of Uptown's newest soul-food source for the past few weeks now. A post on the Eats Blog got me thinking not so much about fried chicken itself but fried chicken condiments ...
The duo will also make its own house sriracha sauce for the chicken. "I'm from the South," says Garza. "We never put anything [such as gravy] on the chicken." But she confesses that she loves it with hot sauce.
The quote kicked of a quick interoffice survey about fried chicken toppings. Hot sauce was the most popular response, gravy came in a close second, and one weirdo said honey, which actually sounds awesome. But I promise, Aters, I have the best fried chicken condiment of all time. It's a lot like hot sauce but way more acidic, and it's that tangy character that makes for a perfect pairing with fatty, fried bird.
Grab some Thai chilies from the store (or whatever your favorite capsaicin source is) and slice them into 1/4 inch rounds. Toss a quarter cup or so of the sliced peppers into a shaker bottle full of white vinegar and throw it in the fridge.
The amount of chilies you use, and the type of pepper you choose, will drive the amount of heat you end up with. Wait at least a day, put the resultant chile vinegar on your table next to a bucket of fried chicken, and watch how fast it goes. I like to eat with a chicken thigh in one hand and that bottle in the other. It's sublime.
