Thursday, November 14, 2024

Sohla El-Waylly’s fried chicken Thanksgiving

If you're considering skipping the turkey, do we have a feast for you.
Cooking

November 14, 2024

Crispy sage fried chicken is shown on a cooling rack on a baking sheet.
Sohla El-Waylly's crispy sage fried chicken. David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Fried chicken Thanksgiving

By Mia Leimkuhler

A Thanksgiving turkey is a beautiful thing. It's undeniably imposing, the focal protein of many holiday feasts and the (literal) anchor of the table. It feeds a crowd, dark and white meat lovers alike, and yields excellent leftovers: turkey soup, turkey sandwiches, turkey potpie. It's the unofficial bird of November, the mascot of Thanksgiving, shorthand for the holiday itself.

But also: fried chicken.

Sohla El-Waylly has assembled a gorgeous Thanksgiving menu with golden, crispy sage fried chicken as the centerpiece. "It's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser," writes Sohla, "letting the dinner feel like a real celebration. But it's also great alongside a ton of sides, so you can still get in the Thanksgiving spirit loading up the table. And, best of all, when made properly, fried chicken is something turkey can never be — undeniably juicy."

About those sides — there's fluffy sour cream and onion mashed potatoes, hot-mustard gravy, salted butterflake rolls, crushed green bean salad with cranberry, quick dill pickles and Cheddar-smothered sweet potatoes. Oh, and there's a pumpkin pecan sheet cake for dessert, to go with all the pies.

You can watch Sohla make her fried chicken feast here:

Sohla El-Waylly holds a tray of crispy sage fried chicken.
Fried chicken Thanksgiving? Fried chicken Thanksgiving! David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Sohla's Fried Chicken Thanksgiving

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But if it's not Thanksgiving without a turkey, not to worry. We've got many excellent turkey recipes for you (with a new one from Eric Kim on the way). And fried chicken — as many a person standing in front of an open fridge chomping down on a drumstick can tell you — is good pretty much anytime, anywhere. Make it tonight. Make it this weekend. Make it for Friendsgiving. Make it for Christmas! Just be sure to make it sometime, because again: fried chicken.

Featured Recipe

Crispy Sage Fried Chicken

View Recipe →

But maybe you'd prefer your chicken to be less crispy, more fall-off-the-bone tender. I've made Naz Deravian's one-pot whole roasted chicken and rice twice now, and both times I've marveled at how luxurious it is for a recipe that's so simple. Denise, a reader, agrees: "This is a joy to cook and satisfyingly delicious to eat as an autumn dinner."

Are you tired of apples yet? Me neither. These skillet pork chops and apples with miso caramel from Ali Slagle look like a perfect dinner party option, but they're weeknight fast — 30 minutes from pan to table. Serve with Julia Moskin's perfect lemon-garlic kale salad and, naturally, Yossy Arefi's apple cake for dessert.

And for the nights when you just need a heaping tangle of carbs with some greens thrown in for good measure, there's this blond puttanesca from Colu Henry. Imagine a tomato-less take on everyone's favorite punchy, garlicky, anchovy-y pasta, and you're pretty much there. Colu's recipe is not unlike Melissa Clark's midnight pasta, so feel free, too, to make this one when you're up late.

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

Article Image

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Sour Cream and Onion Mashed Potatoes

By Sohla El-Waylly

About 1 hour

Makes Serves 6 to 8

Article Image

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Crushed Green Bean Salad With Cranberry

By Sohla El-Waylly

6 hours 35 minutes

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Article Image

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Salted Butterflake Rolls

By Sohla El-Waylly

7 hours 40 minutes 

Makes 12 rolls

Article Image

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

One-Pot Whole Roasted Chicken and Rice

By Naz Deravian

2 hours

Makes 6 servings

Article Image

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Skillet Pork Chops and Apples With Miso Caramel

By Ali Slagle

30 minutes

Makes 2 to 3

A wooden serving bowl holds lemon-garlic kale salad with slivered almonds and Parmesan. A silver spoon and fork are in the bowl. Additional almonds are in a small measuring cup nearby, as is a striped napkin.

Craig Lee for The New York Times

Lemon-Garlic Kale Salad

By Julia Moskin

About 25 minutes

Makes 8 to 12 servings

Article Image

Linda Xiao for The New York Times

Blond Puttanesca (Linguine With Tuna, Arugula and Capers)

By Colu Henry

30 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi.

Apple Cake

By Yossy Arefi

About 1 hour 10 minutes, plus cooling

Makes 1 (9-by-13-inch) cake

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