Key Ingredient was a multimedia cooking series produced by then-Reader staffer Julia Thiel and food writer/filmmaker Michael Gebert from 2010-2018 in which Chicago’s baddest chefs challenged their colleagues to redeem unusual, underappreciated, or often abhorrent ingredients by showcasing them in beautiful plated dishes that might or might not have been edible.
The ingredient: dry-ass chicken breast
Jupiter shredded the chicken, crust and all, but added ancient grains to the mix instead of breadcrumbs. “Quinoa is a new friend of mine,” he says. He tossed onion, garlic, grated parmesan, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, and an egg into the mix, and deep fried the balls until crispy and—well, what the hell—doused them in barbecue sauce.
“Gizzards are tricky,” says Jupiter. “You can screw them up really easily. I think the biggest mistake you can make is throw them in some chicken dredge and fry them up.”
1/2 pound dry-ass chicken breast, fried, left overnight, and shredded with batter
1/4 cup grated parmesan
