Andrew Zimmern's Unexpected Ingredient For Flavorful Fried Chicken

Fried chicken is so good for many reasons. When you bite into it, you're first met with that salty, crispy skin, which provides a savory and delectable crunch. As you chew through its rich skin, you can taste the tender white or dark meat that lies beneath — and is oh-so juicy. While the textures and flavors of perfectly fried chicken are wonderful in traditional recipes, why not level it up even more? Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern says you can enhance the flavor profile of your fried chicken by adding dried limes to your recipe.

Dried limes, also called black limes, are a prominent ingredient in Middle Eastern and North African cuisine. They are made from fresh limes that are quickly heated in boiling water, then dropped into freezing water, and finally put out to dry until they harden into smooth, black orbs that are soft enough to be ground down. Per Zimmern, when you use dried limes in your fried chicken recipe, the flavor of the chicken garners a delicious depth that makes it even more outstanding.

How? Black limes add strong notes of tart, sweet, and citrusy flavors to create the ultimate savory chicken. Here's how Zimmern incorporates dried limes when he sets out to make the most perfect fried chicken ever.

You can use dried limes in two different ways when cooking. One option is to keep the limes whole. It's best to use whole dried limes by dropping them in the cooking liquid of your dish to add their distinctive savory flavors to your meal. But before you do, clean the limes thoroughly and use a knife or fork to poke a hole in the lime so that its flavors can escape into your cooking liquid. Whole limes are usually taken out of the cooking liquid before the dish is readied to be eaten, and they're typically used in dishes such as stews and soups.

The other way that you can use dried limes is to grind them up into powdered form and turn them into a seasoning or garnish. When Andrew Zimmern uses dried limes in his fried chicken recipe, he crushes them into a powdery consistency with a mortar and pestle. Zimmern seasons the flour dredge and buttermilk with the dried lime grains before marinating and coating the chicken. When you season your chicken this way and fry the meat, in order of the largest piece to the smallest for the best results, your fried chicken will have a rich, complex, and savory flavor.

Dried limes level up more than just fried chicken. In fact, they level up more than just food. This versatile ingredient can be incorporated into beverages as well to give drinks distinctive flavor. In the Middle East, a minty lemonade known as limonana is made with dried limes. However, in this sweet, refreshing drink, the limes aren't dry. They're replenished by melding the limes with sugar, water, and ice. Another traditional Middle Eastern drink that incorporates dried limes is loomi tea, which has a bitter, citrusy taste. Here, the dried limes are gently boiled in water, the liquid is strained from the limes, then they're given a sweet kick with sugar or honey.

The next time you head out to a bar, you may notice that the bartender is using dried limed powder in your drink. You're likely to find the sour powder on the rim of your glass, or peppered onto the functional garnish in your drink, which is one of the two main types of cocktail garnishes your drink can be topped off with. It turns out that dried limes are the unexpected ingredient that makes all kinds of things taste more flavorful, not just fried chicken.