Puffed rice fried chicken sandwich with fresh crisps

Method

1. To make the fresh crisps, place the sliced potatoes into a large bowl of cold water and rinse vigorously 3–4 times, or until the water runs clear. This removes excess starch.

2. Dissolve the salt and vinegar into 1 litre/1¾ pints cold water, then add the potato slices.

3. Refrigerate and soak for at least 1 hour, or ideally overnight.

4. To make the puffed rice fried chicken, drain the pickle juice from the jar into a bowl, reserving the pickles for later.

5. Add the chicken thighs to the pickle juice and refrigerate for 2 hours to brine.

6. Meanwhile, to make the seasonal ranch, combine the mayonnaise, buttermilk, soured cream, garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt in a bowl to make the ranch base.

7. Transfer half of the ranch base to a blender and blend with the dill, chives and parsley.

8. Mix the blended mixture back in with the remaining ranch base and add the lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and add more lemon juice and garlic if needed. Refrigerate until needed.

9. To make the dry mix, combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

10. Transfer 100g/3½oz of the dry mix into a separate bowl for the wet batter. Add the puffed rice, sparkling water and hot sauce.

11. Whisk until you have a thick, smooth batter with no lumps.

12. Remove the chicken from pickle juice and press into the dry mix until fully covered. Then dunk and fully cover the dredged chicken in the wet mix.

13. To fry the chicken, heat the oil in a deep saucepan to 180C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)

14. Add the chicken and fry until it is cooked through (72C internally if you have a meat thermometer) and golden brown, approximately 6–8 minutes.

15. To fry the crisps, use a salad spinner or clean kitchen towel to remove as much surface moisture as possible from the potato slices.

16. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan to 180C.

17. Fry in batches (approximately 50g/1¾oz handfuls) of slices at a time to prevent the oil temperature from crashing.

18. Remove the crisps with a slotted spoon when the bubbling slows significantly – they will feel rigid. Toss with a little sea salt to taste.

19. To assemble, lay two slices of the sourdough on a work surface. Use a spoon to generously smear the ranch on both slices.

20. Top the base pieces of sourdough with 2–3 lettuce leaves, 1–2 pieces of fried chicken, a drizzle of hot sauce to taste, and 3–4 pickles.

21. Spread the remaining sourdough slices with the ranch, place on top of the sandwiches and serve the crisps alongside.