For the most part, American cuisine is a collection of the cooking and eating styles brought here by the immigrants that built the country. The vast majority of our favorite dishes aren’t indigenous to the USA, they’re simply adaptations of the meals that arrived with the masses at Ellis Island. It’s the “melting pot” that makes the food here so delicious and so diverse.
Yet, there is one realm in the great wide world of food that Americans can call their own with no hesitation: fried food. In this great country, anything can be fried.
When it comes to dipping objects in boiling grease we do not stop at chicken or potatoes or any of the usual suspects. No, we venture gallantly forth into a land where Oreos, pizza, candy bars and anything that doesn’t fall apart in liquid is fried at the drop of a hat. Hell, we’d fry water if we could.
At the heart of the long and fingerlickin’ history of fried foods in America is a moment unrivaled by any other in terms of prestige and genius: the combination of beer and frying batter.
Friends, we are here to propose a giant leap forward in fried food. It is time to answer the urgent calls of progress and leave behind beer batter for something greater and more sophisticated… something sparkling.
If you’ve ever had fried chicken and bubbly you know that the Gods of Grease themselves could not devise a more delicious pairing. Well, time to step it up to the next level. Time to leave our ales behind and embrace the coming of a batter with sparkling wine in place of the beer of old. Welcome to a new world order.
The Fixins:
-Something to fry, we recommend chicken
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-Tons of napkins
-1 egg beaten
-A leather-bound journal to document your utter joy
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1/2 tsp ground black pepper
-1.5 cups of sparkling wine
-Friends to revel with
Makin’ it:
-Mix all of the ingredients above (journal and friends excluded) in a small bowl until you’ve reached a consistency you desire.
-Cover your chicken, fish (whatever) in your beautiful new batter and fry.
-Chow until the cows come home.
