Torito Salad & Fried Chicken
A variation on a Mexican caesar paired with sweet and smoky fried chicken
A variation on a Mexican caesar paired with sweet and smoky fried chicken
OK Omens is one of my favorite restaurants and natural wine bars in Portland—they’ve got an incredible dinner menu with delicacies like warm beignets, scallop crudo, and my favorite: the Fried Chicken Torito Salad. This is essentially their version of a Mexican caesar, complete with a rich and velvety Cotija dressing, corn nuts, and of course, fried chicken. I missed this dish so much that I came up with a recipe as soon as I moved to LA, and while it’s fairly time-consuming, it’s worth it every time. Prep includes at least an hour of marinating as well as an hour of refrigeration time for the dressing, and it’ll take about 40 minutes to fry all of the chicken. This recipe doubles well. Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
for the Salad:
2 Heads of romaine (sliced into bite-sized pieces), Boston butter, or little gems
Handful of roughly chopped corn nuts, for serving
Crystal hot sauce, for drizzling
for the Salad Dressing:
1/2 cup plain mayo
5-6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 Tbsp filtered water
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
6 Tbsp crumbled Cotija cheese
1 tiny jalapeño pepper, seeds removed, roasted. (Roasting is optional: I just place this over the open flame on my stove for about 30 sec. on each side.)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1.5-2 bunches fresh cilantro, rinsed and stemmed
Directions:
Blend mayo, olive oil, pumpkin seeds, water, red wine vin, Cotija, roasted jalapeño, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Add cilantro in batches, blending each to incorporate completely before adding the next.
Pour dressing into an air-tight container and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving so the flavors have time to develop.
For the Chicken brine:
12 chicken tenders
1 cup pickle juice
1/2 cup water
For the Dredge:
1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
For the breading:
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper (this is optional for spicy chicken. Taste the salad dressing and if it’s mild enough, you might want some spice coming directly from the chicken)
For frying:
32 oz grapeseed or avocado oil (or another high-heat oil)
Directions:
Brine the chicken: combine 1 cup pickle juice and 1/2 cup water in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken tenders and marinate for 1-6 hours.
Add 32oz oil to a large pot and heat oil to 350ºF, gradually: start on medium heat and slowly turn it up to high over the next 10 minutes, and keep a close eye on the temperature as you prep the other ingredients.
In a large bowl, make the dredging mixture: whisk 1/4 cup milk and 2 large eggs until combined.
In another large bowl, whisk together the breading ingredients: 2.5 cups all-purpose flour, 3 Tbsp powdered sugar, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cayenne pepper (if using).
Dip the brined chicken into the egg and milk mixture, then coat in the flour breading mixture. Now repeat this step and dip the tenders back into the egg mixture, then back into the flour.
Lower two tenders into the oil and fry for 3 minutes on each side. Keep space between the two and continue monitoring the temperature, adjusting to keep it at 350°F. Once golden brown, remove to a paper towel-lined plate to dry: the internal temp will be around 190ºF. (It’ll take about 40 minutes to fry all 12 tenders: you can set the oven to 150ºF or as low as it will go with the tenders on a sheet pan with the door cracked to keep them warm until ready to serve.)
Dress the salad, tossing well to coat, top with fried chicken, corn nuts, and drizzle some crystal hot sauce over everything if you’d like a little bit more spice. Enjoy!
For more recipes like this, head over to…
you can Subscribe to the newsletter here
Disclosure: I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you decide to buy any of the products I refer to and promote. All opinions are my own.