Ghazi wrote:

BR wrote:I've had the broasted chicken at Charcoal Delights and I think it's pretty good . . . but no broasted chicken can come close to measuring up with a brined and then pan-fried chicken. And I have just not found a very good pan-fried chicken at a restaurant in Chicago.

For those of us who love to eat, and know nothing of cooking could you please explain brining? Is it just soaking the chicken in a salty solution for a few hours or does it entail more than that?

There are a really a couple of different effects of brining. The first is it adds moisture to the chicken. So when I'm making fried chicken I use a mix of kosher salt and water and keep the chicken in that mixture overnight. I find that it makes for a very juicy bird. The most important step after a salt brine is a heavy rinse of the chicken - sure some salt will have penetrated the bird, but you don't want excess salt or your chicken will be inedible.

After I've rinsed the chicken, I do a second brine to add flavor and this can take on many forms. My typical flavored brine is a combination of buttermilk and hot sauce, but really this is not much different than a marinade . . . you're adding flavor. Buttermilk is really nice not only because of its tang, but it is acidic and this tenderizes the chicken. I usually let the chicken sit in this brine for about 4 hours.

Some combine the two brines, but but the above has become my standard method. I've tried incorporating honey into my buttermilk brine, but I have yet to perfect this method - the honey has a tendency to burn.

Ghazi wrote:

Ram4 wrote:Speaking of broasted chicken, I was a big fan of The Babyback LTD in Northbrook. They had a great seasoning to their chicken, even if it might have been inconsistant. Are there any places that have a similar taste?

I also like to go to Little Red Hen in Glencoe for fried chicken that isn't a chain location and it's close to home. Sometimes it's really, really good, and other times it's a little dried out. Good tasting breading. I love their steak fries.

Little Red Hen
653 Vernon Ave
Glencoe IL 60022
847-835-4900

I know the JD Kadds in Park Ridge and Nano's Pizza in Morton Grove have broasted chicken, but I'm not sure of anything north of Golf. Also check out Chicken Inn.

(Gotta run so I can't find the addresses but do a search on LTH)

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

North of Golf Road is the Full Moon, which is a licensed broasted chicken location on 41 just south of Buckley Road on the border of Lake Bluff and North Chicago.

Thanks for the heads up. I wasn't technically looking for broasted chicken, I was looking for any chicken that was similar to Babyback's recipe in taste. I actually prefer fried chicken to broasted.

When a friend of mine was studying late into the night (every night) last year for the bar, he was going to Denny's in Highland Park (he lives in Highland Park and there isn't many places you can go and sit all night around here) and then later Full Moon. He mentioned they had broasted chicken up there, so I met him one night, but it was not good. My friend ordered the chicken on a few occasions himself, and it was never any good. But thanks for mentioning it. I'll stick with Little Red Hen in Glencoe for my fried chicken fix near home.

From the above posting:

"Own a laptop? Please check out my product

"Ladies, this clothing site might be of use to someone you know.
Please PM me if you have questions."

Are such advertisements now allowed on the LITHForum?

Sundaze wrote:From the above posting:

"Own a laptop? Please check out my product

"Ladies, this clothing site might be of use to someone you know.
Please PM me if you have questions."

Are such advertisements now allowed on the LITHForum?

I don't mind adverts like the ones you note, though I might suggest condensing some of the white space in the sig file. Other folks advertise their business, or their writing/podcast/whatever, there are at least 2 of us who plug rescue groups. If all the poster did was advertise his business, that would be a different thing.

But I am not a moderator, so you'd have to go to them for a final decision

leek wrote:

Sundaze wrote:From the above posting:

"Own a laptop? Please check out my product

"Ladies, this clothing site might be of use to someone you know.
Please PM me if you have questions."

Are such advertisements now allowed on the LITHForum?

I don't mind adverts like the ones you note, though I might suggest condensing some of the white space in the sig file. Other folks advertise their business, or their writing/podcast/whatever, there are at least 2 of us who plug rescue groups. If all the poster did was advertise his business, that would be a different thing.

But I am not a moderator, so you'd have to go to them for a final decision

While I can't think of a strict criteria, there are times when I mind the advertisements and other times when I don't. For instance, personal blogs on food or dining-related things are "consistent" with the LITHForum I think. Ditto on the Low & Slow BBQ book that someone links to (which is very interesting). But women's clothing and some of the other stuff "clutter" up the forum, at least IMHO. And I would never have a problem with plugging for animal rescue information. That's worthwhile and not for personal profit. The posting questioned had advertisements for two things not really related to LITHForum subjects. If 2 ads are OK, then how about 3 or 4 or 5, etc?

BTB wrote: If 2 ads are OK, then how about 3 or 4 or 5, etc?

I was told the limit was 4 lines in any Sig file (I think at the time I had more in mine, having 1-2 lines of white space in addition to what is there now). Clearly that's not enforced across the board But using that as a criterion, whatever you could fit in 4 lines, I would think was OK as long as it wasn't illegal or obtrusive (blinking, bright fonts, huge type, etc).

leek wrote:Clearly that's not enforced across the board

LTHForum's moderation is flashlight, as opposed to laser, focused. We discourage, though currently allow, outright advertising in sig lines, and 4 lines seems the max or it becomes intrusive to the flow of the thread. I am going to PM ram4 and ask them to tighten up the sig line.

Another indication LTHForum is flashlight focused is threads about fried chicken turn into .sig line discussions instead of being discussed on site chat as they should be.

Regards,
Gary

Why is broasted chicken called broasted? It's an odd brand name, I think. It makes the end result sound like a cross between roasted and broiled.

I am awaiting the opening of a Greek char grill on Broadway and Barry. Name starts with an "M." I hope they spend as much time on the food as the faux Grecian details on this former West Coast Video building. Definitely not fried. Nor broasted.

jildo wrote:Why is broasted chicken called broasted? It's an odd brand name, I think. It makes the end result sound like a cross between roasted and broiled.

Because it is cooked in a pressure fryer with the trade name Broaster. "Broasted" is in fact a trademark and is only supposed to be applied to food prepared in the brand-name cooker.

KFC uses a similar process as mentioned in Wikipedia...

Wikipedia wrote:In 1939, Sanders altered the cooking process for his fried chicken to use a pressure fryer, resulting in a greatly reduced cooking time comparable to that of deep frying.

It is a similar process to Broasting

Wikipedia wrote:Many modern fried chicken chains such as KFC use a comparable method but use different recipes or equipment from one of several alternate suppliers.

There used to be an authentic Broasted Chicken place near North Ave and Oak Park Ave in Oak Park a long time ago and it was pretty good!

one of the 4 stops on this upcoming weekends "Bureau & Lasalle County Chiciken Crawl", uses broasters( Smitty's), and it is right up there with Rip's as my favorite.

Broasted chicken locater

Tried the Evanston Chicken Shack for the first time tonight. Good chicken - I don't like it sauced, but I could understand the appeal, got the mild sauce on the side: it's a nice tomato-y, (but not ketchup-y) vinagery sauce. Crinkle-cut fries I could do without, but the cole slaw was fresh and crunchy.

Frankly, Evanston Chicken Shack, Hecky's, and Bob's BBQ (fried) chicken are all running about neck-and-neck for me. All are very good on a good day, all can be awful if you get them on a bad day.

Small place, they do a lot of carry outs, south suburbz.
Good menu with some sweet fish and chicken gumbo!


Louisiana Fried Chicken
13653 Cicero Avenue, Crestwood, IL 60445
(708) 371-8212‎
http://louisianafriedchicken-chicago.com/default.aspx

Been meaning to try that place, can't miss it, giant chicken head on the roof

Mhays wrote:Tried the Evanston Chicken Shack for the first time tonight. Good chicken - I don't like it sauced, but I could understand the appeal, got the mild sauce on the side: it's a nice tomato-y, (but not ketchup-y) vinagery sauce. Crinkle-cut fries I could do without, but the cole slaw was fresh and crunchy.

Frankly, Evanston Chicken Shack, Hecky's, and Bob's BBQ (fried) chicken are all running about neck-and-neck for me. All are very good on a good day, all can be awful if you get them on a bad day.

My friend lives in Evanston now and we've yet to try any of these places. I guess we'll have to do a fried chicken tour.

JimTheBeerGuy wrote:Been meaning to try that place, can't miss it, giant chicken head on the roof

Looks like the place.

Mhays wrote:Frankly, Evanston Chicken Shack, Hecky's, and Bob's BBQ (fried) chicken are all running about neck-and-neck for me. All are very good on a good day, all can be awful if you get them on a bad day.

I don't go to any of those places any more. I stick to the Harold's in RP. I like the crunchy type breading. They also have a dark meat special that is really cheap, which is what I like. I've heard that the Fish Keg actually makes good chicken, but I'll bet it tastes a little like fish.

d4v3 wrote:I've heard that the Fish Keg actually makes good chicken, but I'll bet it tastes a little like fish.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

(in other words, you are correct)

=R=

Ram4 wrote:

Mhays wrote:Tried the Evanston Chicken Shack for the first time tonight. Good chicken - I don't like it sauced,
......
Frankly, Evanston Chicken Shack, Hecky's, and Bob's BBQ (fried) chicken are all running about neck-and-neck for me. All are very good on a good day, all can be awful if you get them on a bad day.

My friend lives in Evanston now and we've yet to try any of these places. I guess we'll have to do a fried chicken tour.

Ive been to both ECS and Hecky's plenty of times, and like them both plenty- never tried Bob's though.

Ive never had a particularly "bad day" at either spot, really - they both fry your chicken to order, its never sitting out under a heat-lamp waiting for you (or at least, it has never been for me). And you cant mess up freshly-fried chicken *too* badly, can you?

If you want to try Hecky's fried chicken, BTW, Sunday might be a good day for it - Hecky's still runs their "recessession buster specials" every day of the week, and Sunday is fried chicken day - when all fried-chicken portions are half-priced. You can get half a freshly-fried-to-order chicken for about $4.50 on a Sunday, which is a terrific deal (I never get it sauced either, but Hecky's hot-sauce goes nicely on the side, for me).

(Hecky's bbq doesnt get much love on LTH, and it isnt great - not a patch on the South Side bbq spots like Uncle John's et al... but its decent enough for the north side in a pinch, and also a decent deal on the right day.. the "specials" are half-price for different items on different days.. I think Monday is the rib-tip half-price, Friday the catfish-dinner half-price etc.. worth a try sometimes, IMHO).

c8w

From this forum I got hooked on touring the Lasalle county Fried Chicken circuit. Needless to say not one place out there disappointed me. Since then I have made it my life food goal to find the best fried chicken possible. So I started looking around home. I wanted to find a place close to home that was just as good as the places out in the middle of Illinois. And I hit the jackpot with triple 7's with Mini Hut in Chicago.

Mini Hut
6659 W Archer Ave
Chicago, IL 60638

Its actually about 100 feet south on the east side Normandy Ave. Is hidden from view off archer ave.

I first off I want to say that this is my first post to LTH and I want people to know I take my food seriously. This is not some junky 5 star yelp review. I would vouch that this place is worth the drive from anywhere in chicagoland.

The fired chicken here is made fresh. So it takes about 30 minutes for it to cook. The first time I was here we waited and ate in there small dinning room that looks like no one ever uses. After talking to the person behind the counter they recommend a bar a few doors west on Archer. This place was called Toms Tap, which will let you bring in or have outside food delivered in.
This is a nice neighborhood sports bar with lots of room and big screen tvs. So after I ordered the Butter crusted chicken. I would go overs to Toms tap and have a few cold ones while the chicken cooked. When it was done the guys at Mini Hut would walk it over. The chicken come over piping hot you will need to give it some time to cool. I had a very hard time doing this as the smell is so good and i can't wait which caused me to burn my tongue a few times. If you need something to go with the fried chicken, try the fried mushrooms.

Next time I go back I will have to take some pictures to post here.


If anyone knows of other Lasalle county quality fired chicken places near chicagoland please post. And I'm not talking good fried chicken I want the best in the area. White fence farm, chicken in a basket, are good chicken but they don't rate like the stuff out west.

Your post reminded me of one of the first LTH Events we ever held, the Evanston Fried Chicken Taste Off. Of the three contenders that day, Cajun Charlie's is now closed, but the other two are still around turning out excellent chicken. Evaston has an embarrasment of riches when it comes to burgers and Fried Chicken.

This event happened six years ago. It might be fun to repriese the event now that there are so many more Fried Chicken contenders out there.

I have to second the Mini Hut recommendation. I grew up in the area and have been eating this chicken for over 30 years. As a disclaimer I had my first job at Mini Hut when it was at Archer and Austin where the Jewel is currently located. That was exactly 30 years ago this summer. My buddy Tony worked the fryer - chicken, shrimp and fish. I worked the front - dogs, tamales, beefs and burgers. This is where I learned to make a proper hamburger and I have done it the same way since. I learned a lot of other things that summer also.

As I type this, waxing nostalgically on my unbridled youth, I am getting a hankering for a Hut Burger and a chicken basket. Those were the days. Sigh.

OK, this Restaurant is just a tad beyond LaSalle County… in Marshall County.

Currys Restaurant & Tavern
PO Box 37, Camp Grove, IL 61424
(309) 493-5112

It's a small mom and pop place with a bar and maybe 8 or 9 tables. Some friends took me here a few years ago, and I had some of the FINEST Fried Chicken I have tasted in years!

To Get there… Take ILLINOIS ROUTE 40 “ South “ from Interstate 80…. and go South about 24 – 25 miles.

When Illinois 40 merges with Illinois 17 you’ll be going east and it’s about 2 - 3 to the town entrance.

You'll have to really watch for Camp Grove because it's a small obscure town… I don't recall to many directional signs - so be alert, because if you blink, you'll go past the turn into the town.

When you pull in off the highway you will be going north on 2nd street.
Go to Main Street and the restaurant is just east of 2nd .

Highway 40 is a decent 2 lane back road. It used to be Illiniois 88. They had to change the road name because of the creation of Interstate 88. But it goes all the way south into Peoria.

m8000, your post screams to me "head south" . . . great first post. Do you know anything else about how the chicken is prepared (brined, buttermilk, breading)? Does it come with sides?

HI,

Other topics with fried chicken in the title can be reviewed here: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/search.php?keywords=fried+chicken&terms=all&author=&fid%5B%5D=14&sc=1&sf=titleonly&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

Regards,

m8000 wrote:
If anyone knows of other Lasalle county quality fired chicken places near chicagoland please post. And I'm not talking good fried chicken I want the best in the area. White fence farm, chicken in a basket, are good chicken but they don't rate like the stuff out west.

I cant help you out with great fried chicken in Chicagoland, Ill got to Del Rheas in Willowbrook and thats about it. I was never big on any of the Harolds.

For other spots out west I guess it depends where you have or havent been. Add Bureau County to Lasalle County in your chicken search.

I was joking with a buddy the other night about fried chicken. I always get asked which is my favorite place.. When it comes to the top spots its simpy a matter of whose chicken I have had most recently.

The big dogs:
- Rips - Ladd, IL.
- Cherry Supper Club - Cherry, IL.
- Johns North Star - LaSalle, IL.
- Smitty's - Leonore, IL.

Ill throw Verruchis from Spring Valley in the mix Italian style fried but good.

I went with some folks to Cherry Supper Club Sunday night, one of whom is a big fan of Rip's(as am I), chicken didnt disappoint and received high praise.

I'll add another to visit while in LaSalle County... .
Maples Supper Club (815) 223-1938
1401 Shooting Park Rd
Peru, IL 61354

Another great place for Fried Chicken... PLUS a great buffet !

http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3714390338/maples-supper-club-peru

jazzman wrote:I'll add another to visit while in LaSalle County... .
Maples Supper Club (815) 223-1938
1401 Shooting Park Rd
Peru, IL 61354

Another great place for Fried Chicken... PLUS a great buffet !

http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3714390338/maples-supper-club-peru

I have been wondering about this place for a few years but have yet to make it over there,

I might have to pop over and check it out now since you recommend them. thanks.

I walked by a grilled chicken place in Lakeview near Joy's Noddles & Rice. The chickens were split open on an open indoor grill. I remember the price was not bad. Does anyone know thew the name and address?
Doug Chin
Louisville, KY