dark side dark meat

Max and I drunkenly purchased flavored pretzels at the annual Beer & Cheese fest. And you'd be surprised to know that they survived, unharmed and untouched, an entire day of Amelia day drinking for free.

So naturally I had to be more creative than (not) watching them disappear in a snacking stupor. Fried chicken came to mind, undoubtedly at the inspiration of a Top Chef challenge because that was where my mind resided for the better part of Jan/Feb.

Sriracha and french toast pretzel crusted fried chicken to be exact. Only the drumsticks and thighs... to be more exact. Fast-twitch, myoglobin-concentrated, more caloric, more nutritious (for thiamin, iron, zinc) dark meat. 

This was a feat, by the way. If not for the fact that four people were sitting on the other side of the counter watching me like an unintentional cooking show, then because hot oil on electric stove (ugh) in small kitchen in college apartment where I've already set off the fire alarm. And because every time I've tried frying things before, it resulted in goopy failure, and Amelia deals with enough failure in the kitchen of science as it is.

In honor of nerd competition coming up and ease of sidetracking:
Gallus gallus domesticus
Roosters perform a dance called 'tidbitting' to attract females.
The chicken was the first bird to have its genome sequenced in 2004.
Poultry were the last major group of food animals to be domesticated.
A hen in her prime will produce 100 to 250 eggs per year. The Leghorn breed is the "champion of layers."
Capons are castrated male birds. Cockerels are young male birds.
It takes 21 days for chicks to hatch from eggs.
And then it takes 20 weeks for chickens to start laying eggs.
A hen will turn her egg 50 times per day to keep the yolk from sticking to the side.

Pretzel crusted fried chicken will never let me down (well, like given that's it's cooked to temperature- 165F or 75C -and salmonella free). We like brown and beige... and dark foods.

As dark as the remains of our fry oil.