Chicky Chicky Bread Bread

SERVES: 4

(aka Crispy Chili-Yogurt Chicken Legs over Schmaltzy Bread)

This chile-flecked yogurt marinade gets stained bright orange when blended with mild chile flakes such as Aleppo pepper or Gochugaru. You’ll notice that I’ve given a much smaller quantity of Italian red pepper flakes (also known as pepperoncini) as a substitute. These are much spicier, so you won’t need as much, and therefore they won’t stain the yogurt a rich hue. But they’ll work great nonetheless. Use whatever you’ve got! If you’ve ever made Samin Nosrat’s Buttermilk Marinated Roast Chicken, you may be familiar with the tenderizing effect that sour dairy has on meat–the enzymes in dairy products like buttermilk or yogurt help to break down the proteins in the chicken, resulting in supremely tender meat with an undeniable tang. As for the slices of bread that sit beneath the chicken, stale bread, which has dried out, will resist sogging out underneath the chicken and lead to crispier fried edges. If you only have fresh bread, slice it up and leave it out at room temperature to dry out for a few hours if possible. If you don’t have time for that, you’ll just need to embrace the crispy gone soggy factor (which I happen to think is pretty special in its own right).