Chardonnay pairs perfectly with chicken dinner
Century Grill’s steam-then-fry technique, plus secret spices, create a winning bird
That Food: Sunday Family Picnic Fried Chicken Dinner; $79, feeds four; at Century Grill, 3975 Calgary Trail
When I coached college basketball in the States, I made a point on road trips to seek out great fried chicken joints. Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Indiana, New York, Illinois, Missouri ... They were mostly small, family-run restaurants; sometimes I was fortunate to be invited home to share a meal around the family table.
Locally, there seems to be a surge in popularity of southern-U.S.A.-style comfort foods like barbecue, mac ’n’ cheese and fried chicken. These foods were traditionally served on Sunday with the family around the table. In the spirit of the family dinner, Century Grill has created the Sunday Family Picnic Fried Chicken Dinner.
Corporate Chef Paul Shufelt and his culinary team tried more than a dozen recipes to achieve the desired result. Their process involves brining the bird in water, sugar, salt, fresh thyme and whole peppercorns to impart flavour and moisture.
The pieces of chicken are then steamed prior to frying which allows them to cook and the skin to get crispy without burning the dredge.
The chicken is tossed in seasoned flour (a secret blend that Shufelt was not willing to share) while it is still hot from steaming — which better allows the dredge to adhere — and allowed to cool completely before frying.
The result is moist and juicy chicken with a crisp, crunchy skin that is not at all greasy. The restaurant purchases fresh, whole chickens sourced from a free range facility in Strathcona County.
The kitchen breaks the chickens down into 10 pieces, serving the whole chicken with each order paired with dill coleslaw, house-made chive biscuits, butter-basted corn on the cob, and fresh yam chips.
This Wine: CedarCreek Chardonnay 2009, Okanagan B.C.; six-ounce glass: $11; bottle: $45
British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley has arguably become our country’s premier grape growing region. CedarCreek, established by Sen. Ross Fitzpatrick in the late ’80s, is one of the region’s leaders and one of the original wineries of the province’s modern wine era. Their philosophy: “Respect the land, honour tradition, pursue perfection” has resulted in many awards and accolades, including twice being named Canada’s Winery of the Year.
The Chardonnay is balanced and versatile, showing aromas and flavours of apple, citrus and spice with tropical fruit notes, mineral, a round texture and a nice touch of acidity on the finish. The grapes are sourced from multiple vineyard sites which contributes to the wine’s complexity.
The texture, touch of ripe tropical fruit, and soft acidity of the wine works well with the succulence of the fried chicken and the flavourful skin that has a nice bit of spice A touch of oak in the wine, which adds a bit of creaminess to the texture, seems to amplify the pleasant sensation of the pairing. A bit of acidity is always good when pairing wine with fried foods.
Note: Shortly after completing this column, I received notice that Fitzpatrick has just sold CedarCreek to von Mandl Family Estates, whose owner Anthony von Mandl also owns Mission Hill Winery.
Century Grill is located at 3975 Calgary Trail. For reservations, call 780-431-0303 or go to centuryhospitality.com