Why do you call for both Kosher Salt and Fine Sea Salt in the Rosemary-Brined Buttermilk Fried Chicken?

Kelly Karp
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8 Comments

Kristen W. October 19, 2015
Ditto, got a big box in the pantry at times.
 
Kelly K. October 18, 2015
Thank you SO MUCH. I am glad I did not waste $ at the grocery store, I have a big box of Diamond Kosher...I will use it in both areas.
 
Susan W. October 18, 2015
I use Diamond kosher all the time for everything. It's such a nicely textured salt.
 
702551 October 18, 2015
The original recipe is from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc restaurant. That recipe (found all over the Internet) uses kosher salt throughout.

Michael Ruhlman replaces the kosher salt in the flour mixture with fine sea salt in his interpretation of Keller's recipe, probably to reduce the chances of being successfully sue of copyright violation.

Use either salt for the entirety of the recipe, it won't make any discernable difference.
 
Kelly K. October 18, 2015
Again, thank you for telling me this...I appreciate your help. I will use the Diamond/Kosher only.
 
702551 October 18, 2015
Good choice. A box of Diamond kosher salt is a permanent resident in my cupboard.
 
HalfPint October 19, 2015
You can't copyright ingredients to a recipe. You can copyright a recipe, so if Ruhlman had lifted Keller's recipe word for word, then yes, Keller would be successful in a lawsuit. I think the two salts are a preference for Ruhlman. I can see why he would prefer the fine salt for the flour since it would distribute more evenly in the mixture. Agree thought that the kosher salt in both parts would be just fine. Just be aware that you might need more kosher salt since it tends to be slight larger.

BTW, Michael Ruhlman has worked for Thomas Keller and helped him write a few of his cookbooks.
 
Susan W. October 18, 2015
The first is for the brine. The fine sea salt is to season the flour, but it would be perfectly okay to use kosher salt for that too. Fine sea salt is very clean and mixes very well with flour. If you don't have any, don't worry about it.
 
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