It’s hard to believe so much time has passed, but come November, The Crack Shack will mark its 10th anniversary. Chef Jon Sloan is the culinary director of the fried chicken chain as well as Juniper & Ivy. He created the menu and developed the recipes. He’s shared three here with readers: his fried chicken, classic slaw, and something you should just always have in your refrigerator, his luscious honey garlic butter.

Sloan, originally from New Jersey, didn’t eat a lot of fried chicken growing up — other than the occasional KFC. He’s enjoyed it on trips to Nashville but never even cooked it until The Crack Shack.

Sloan acknowledges that his approach to developing the recipe was “chefy,” but he is, after all, the culinary director of the upscale Juniper & Ivy. He and his team visited several places to taste fried chicken to see what they liked and in Los Angeles they found what they were looking for at Son of a Gun, since closed, which was known for its fried chicken sandwich.

Chef Jon Sloan, culinary director of The Crack Shack chain, developed the recipe after extensive research. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 

“We talked about what made it good, what were they doing?,” he recalled. “I noticed things like texture, crunch, acidity. Our lime mayonnaise was created out of trying that sandwich. That was the jumping-off point for our Coop Deville sandwich, with its pickled Fresno chiles, the spice, the crunch, the brioche, the pickles. How the inside of the bread is toasted. Everything is very thought out and looked at from a very chefy way. And I taught myself how to make fried chicken.”

The Crack Shack’s fried chicken is purposely not Southern. They wanted it to be a lighter, SoCal style. The breading, for instance, isn’t thick and is just flavored with salt and pepper, saving the seasoning for immediately after frying, while the chicken is hot and moist enough to absorb it. And while Sloan wouldn’t share the chain’s seasoning, he offered a version of it for readers to include in the recipe. The premium Jidori Chicken they use at the restaurant would be difficult for home cooks to find in stores, so look for the freshest, most humanely raised chickens you can find; Mary’s Chicken products are one option, or check at your local farmers market.

Technique is key here. The first thing you’ll notice is that the chicken itself is portioned using a “casino cut,” meaning cut each breast half in half so you have 10 pieces instead of eight. The reason is that you want all the pieces to be close to the same size while frying so they cook in the same amount of time.

To prep the bird, brine it in salt and water. Make sure you dissolve the salt in some warm water before adding cold water. The brine itself should be room temperature or colder before adding the chicken parts and should totally cover the chicken. Stir the brine to make sure the salt is evenly dispersed and then refrigerate an hour.

While the chicken is brining, set up your breading station. The dry ingredients will include all purpose flour, kosher salt, ground black pepper and baking powder. The wet ingredients will be buttermilk, kosher salt, black pepper and half-and-half. Mix together your spice seasoning — paprika, chili powder, ground mustard seed and celery seed, garlic powder, black pepper and kosher salt. Sloan suggests storing it in a container with a shaker top. If you want to keep it simple, you can skip the spice seasoning and go with a shake of salt and pepper.

When breading the chicken try to use one hand so the other stays clean for other tasks. Set up a large container for the dry mix and another container for the wet, as well as a sheet tray lined with parchment for the chicken pieces. Dunk the chicken in the dry mixture and get each piece thorough covered. Sloan emphasized even lifting up the skin to cover the meat with the dry mix, along with then covering the top of the skin. Be sure to shake off the excess. Then coat the floured pieces in the buttermilk mixture and shake off the excess.

“Buttermilk is doing two things,” said Sloan. “It’s a lactic acid, so it tenderizes the meat. It also absorbs the flour. Don’t let it sit in the buttermilk very long or it will get clumpy, meaning some pieces or places in pieces will be thick and gummy.”

The chicken pieces get a second dip into the dry mixture. This time Sloan firmly patted the chicken pieces on top and underneath. The patting lets you get into the crevices to get rid of the excess coating. Place the pieces on the sheet pan with no overlapping. Give them a final light dusting of flour and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour before frying. The cool air will remove some of the moisture for a better fry.

When you’re ready to fry, add rice bran oil — which Sloan prefers to canola — to a deep frying pan — enough to fully cover the chicken — and heat the oil to 275 degrees. This will be the first of two fries and will cook the chicken. Place the chicken pieces in without crowding and fry for 12 to 14 minutes, until the internal temperature is 165 degrees. Remove them onto a sheet pan lined with paper towels and topped with a rack to drain. Add the next batch if necessary and do the same.

With the second fry, bring the temperature up to 325 degrees and fry the pieces again for three to five minutes to brown and crisp. Shake off the excess oil and place the pieces back on the rack. Now sprinkle them with the seasoning or salt and pepper. Serve with the honey garlic butter on the side—or for more decadence, toss the pieces in a bowl with the butter.

The slaw is a perfect acidic side. You actually get three recipes in one here. The slaw itself, lime mayo (terrific as well on chicken or turkey sandwiches, salad, fish tacos, and grilled fish) and pickled Fresno chiles. The mayo and pickled chiles are easy to prepare. Add them to the rest of the slaw ingredients and just toss it all together and chill.

Finally, there’s the honey garlic butter. It calls for raw, unfiltered honey, brought to a boil, then simmered as you grate a garlic clove into it. Simmer a bit longer, then turn up the heat and gradually whisk in cubes of unsalted butter until you have a smooth texture. Then add salt and pepper. This butter has a heady aroma and a beautiful sweet savory flavor. Make plenty and freeze in small portions to also use to roast vegetables, brush on fish or potatoes or even rolls you heat up in the oven.

The finished result for bone-in fried chicken, fried twice in rice bran oil, has a deliciously crispy exterior and juicy interior. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 

Crack Shack Bone-in Fried Chicken

Makes 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

One 3-pound fresh, high-quality chicken, casino cut (meaning ask your butcher to cut in 10 pieces, instead of 8, including cutting each breast in half).

Brine (see below)

Breading (see below)

For the brine:

1 cup salt

3 quarts water

For the breading:

Dry:

2 1/2 pounds all-purpose flour, unbleached

1  tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

Wet:

1 quart buttermilk

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 cup half & half

For the spice seasoning:

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground mustard seed

1 teaspoon ground celery seed

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

4 to 8 cups rice bran oil (enough to totally submerge chicken)

DIRECTIONS

1: Brine the chicken: Dissolve salt in 1 quart hot water, place chicken parts in large container and add 2 quarts cold water, including the water with the salt. Brine should be room temperature or colder before it goes on chicken and should cover the chicken by at least an inch. Stir chicken in brine to ensure even disbursement and refrigerate for an hour.

2: Bread the chicken: Mix together dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, coat the chicken pieces, including under the skin, then shake off excess flour mixture. Dunk the floured chicken pieces to coat in wet buttermilk mixture, then shake off excess.

3: Coat chicken in dry mixture again, pat evenly to make sure there is no excess flour and isn’t clumpy. Arrange evenly on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Ensure that there are no pieces overlapping each other. Do a final light dusting of flour.

4: Chill chicken in fridge for at least 1 hour before frying.

5: Make spice seasoning by mixing all of the ingredients together. Store in a container that allows you to shake it out.

6: Add rice bran oil to frying pan and heat oil to 275 degrees. Fry chicken pieces for 12 to 14 minutes, depending on size or when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from oil and let rest while heating the oil for the second fry.

7: Bring oil temperature up to 325 degrees, and fry chicken pieces again for 3 to 5 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Shake excess oil off chicken and place on a rack over paper towels. Season with salt and black pepper or spice mix. Be sure to not stack chicken pieces on top of others or they will steam and breading will become soggy.

8: You can serve with honey garlic butter as a dipping sauce or place chicken pieces in a large bowl, add honey garlic butter and toss to coat chicken and then serve.

Crack Shack Classic Claw is elevated with the addition of pickled Fresno chiles and lime mayonnaise. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 

Crack Shack Classic Slaw

Makes 6 to 12 servings

INGREDIENTS

1/2 head green cabbage

1/2 head napa cabbage

1 tablespoon pickled Fresno chiles (recipe follows)

1/2 cup dill pickles, sliced

1/2 cup lime mayo (recipe follows)

1/2 tablespoon  salt

Pinch ground black pepper

Juice of half a lime or to taste

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

Pinch toasted celery seed (garnish)

For the pickled Fresno chiles:

3 cups apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

5 Fresno chiles, thinly sliced

For the lime mayo:

Makes 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

2 cups mayonnaise

1 tablespoon dill pickle juice

Zest from half a lime

1/2 tablespoon lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 

DIRECTIONS

1: Make the pickled Fresno chiles: Heat liquids, then whisk in sugar. Bring to a boil. Pour hot liquid over chile slices and let pickle for at least 2 hours.

2: Make the lime mayo: Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Taste for seasoning. Reserve.

3: Make the slaw: Thinly slice the napa cabbage and green cabbage, shock in ice water, salad spin dry, reserve on paper towels.

4: In a large bowl, combine cabbage mixture with the rest of the ingredients except for celery seed. Taste for seasoning then garnish with celery seed.

The honey garlic butter isn’t limited to just chicken dinner: It can be used to roast vegetables, brush on fish and rolls still warm from the oven. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 

Crack Shack Honey Garlic Butter

Makes 1 pound

INGREDIENTS

7 ounces honey, raw and unfiltered

1 clove garlic

1 pound unsalted butter, cubed

1 tablespoon Diamond kosher salt

1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1: Add honey to a small pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer over medium heat.

2: With a microplane, grate garlic clove into honey. Continue to simmer for 2 minutes. Turn up heat and slowly whisk cubed butter into the honey mixture. Whisk until you have a smooth texture. Stir in salt and pepper.

3: Eat immediately with chicken, either as a dip or tossed with chicken in a bowl to coat.

Note: The final mixture can be cooled and stored in a container in the refrigerator for at least a week.

Recipes from Jon Sloan, The Crack Shack.