Homemade Big Mary with taters

Most people who grew up in Newfoundland loves a feed of Mary Brown’s. There is something amazing about their fried chicken, and the taters are too die for. Take one of the boneless breasts and put it on a bun, and you have one heck of a sandwich. Big Mary Mondays are popular for a reason.

But there are those unfortunate souls that cannot get their feed of Mary’s finest for a variety of reasons. Some have moved out west to the oil fields of Alberta, while others live in one of the many beautiful places on this island that are tucked away from the rest of the world, and its just a little too far to drive to get that greasy goodness.

Well, my latest video is for you folks. This is my take on it, and its pretty spectacular if I do say so myself. To make a Big Mary you will need the following:

Flour Dredge
2cups flour
3tsp black pepper
2.5tsp mustard powder
3tsp ginger
1tsp thyme
1tsp oregano
1tsp basil
1/2tsp sage
1tsp marjoram
1tsp hot smoked paprika or cayenne
1tsp granulated garlic
2tsp onion powder

Egg wash
2 eggs
1cup milk

boneless skinless chicken breast
potatoes (russet or other baking potatoes are your best choice)
lettuce
tomato
hamburger bun(s)

1. Begin by cutting your potatoes into the wedge size of your choice. Its up to you to decide whether to peel the potatoes or not. Personally, I always leave the skins on.
2. Place washed wedges into a pot of cold water and bring to a simmer.
3. Once the wedges are tender, drain and place on a cooling rack to eliminate as much steam as possible. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes (or longer, even a day ahead if you want). This will help to make sure that they are as dry as possible once you deep-fry.
4. Combine all ingredients for the dredge and blend together thoroughly. If you are like me, and don’t have ground herbs and spices, make sure to grind them first so that you have a powder like consistency. I used a mortar and pestle, but use whatever you have handy.
5. Combine milk and eggs and mix well.
6. Turn on your deep-fryer to pre-heat to a temperature of 350F
7. Lay out your breading station by placing three pans next to each other. Add some of the flour dredge to the first and last pan, with the egg wash in the centre pan.
8. Pound your chicken breast so that it is an uniform thickness of just less than 1cm or 1/2 inch thick. Trim the breast so that it is the correct size to go onto your bun. Save your trimmings to make a little snack while everything else is cooking.
9. Dredge your chicken bits in the first pan of flour, shaking off any excess flour and then place into the egg wash. Coat pieces thoroughly and then place into the final dredging pan and coat thoroughly with the flour mixture.
10. Deep-fry until pieces reach an internal temperature of 175F to ensure that fully cooked and safe.
11. Repeat the breading procedure with the chicken breast, and then finally with the wedges.
12. Season all deep-fried items with salt as soon as they come out of the fat.
13. While the chicken breast is cooking, toast your bun (or don’t, its up to you), shred your lettuce, and slice your tomato. Prep your bun for your sandwich.
14. Assemble your sandwich, pile the taters on your plate, and enjoy.

One final note, you can use the exact same dredge to do whole pieces of chicken if you prefer to eat it as standard fried chicken instead of Big Mary. I will caution you however that it can be difficult to properly cook a piece of bone-in chicken in a standard deep-frying situation. The fast-food chains all use pressure deep fryers that allow the fat to get to a much higher temperature without burning anything. Make sure to check your internal temperature, and if is not hot enough, place in a 350F oven to finish cooking.