Chef Ludo Reveals Why He Loves Using Duck Fat To Make Fried Chicken

In this bonus scene from the PBS series Mind Of A Chef, Chef Ludo Lefebvre and California’s most well-known food critic, Jonathon Gold of the Los Angeles Times, discuss their love for fried chicken — while cooking up Chef Ludo’s famous take on it.

The pair of culinary geniuses reminisce about their infatuation for fried chicken recipes, as Chef Ludo reveals that he loves to incorporate duck fat in his recipe after being inspired by the French recipe for duck confit.

Chef Ludo’s duck fat fried chicken is also cooked at a lower temperate — no higher than 320 degrees. Additionally, by cooking at a lower temperate, the chef explained that it would help the chicken become more greasy, which is exactly how he likes it.

“I use all the time duck fat, I love it. The recipe idea was flat out of the French technique for duck confit — with American technique and culture,” Chef Ludo explained. “Fried chicken you can [cook] 360 – 370, but this one is no more than 320, it’s pretty low for frying. ”

Chef Ludo’s recipe for duck fat fried chicken is simple. In addition to duck fat, Chef Ludo adds chopped garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and some Tabasco, all dredged in corn starch. He also deep fries his chicken, rather than pan fry.

“I have a passion for fried chicken. I really love fried chicken, my god.” — Chef Ludo Lefebvre

As Chef Ludo prepares his duck fat fried chicken, he asks Gold what style of fried chicken he finds most appetizing.

For Gold, fried chicken is also a passion. As one of the most recognized food critics in California — if not nationwide — Gold reflects on the history of fried chicken in California, where it was adopted as one of the state’s signature dishes, when midwesterners started migrating west.

“In the 1930s, in Los Angeles, there were big fried chicken restaurants everywhere, because there was so many people that came from the Midwest,” he said. “Some of the chicken restaurants were built to look like Gone With The Wind, which is one of the best things about Los Angeles is you can be whatever you want to be.”

Gold explained his recent favorite fried chicken is of the Indonesian variety, where it is steamed before it’s fried, “in order to render the fat and get the skin perfectly crisp,” he explained.

“The best fried chicken — there’s technique to it, but it’s plain. It should have the flavor of the chicken over all.” Amen, Jonathan Gold.