Cooking Lesson #1214: Knott’s Berry Farm Fried Chicken & Their Original Boysenberry Pie

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? Sometimes nostalgia takes over my food thoughts, and I have dreams of the good old days. It’s kind of funny… I am in the test kitchen working on Research & Development projects, I write about food and I design menus… then I go home and dream about food. Some of my best dreams are 5,000 calorie fantasies. I had one such dream last night about Knotts Berry Farm in Anaheim, California.

​KBF was a client of ours before the family sold the enterprise. The one thing that everyone always talks about is their chicken dinners usually served with mashed potatoes, gravy, fresh-baked biscuits, Boysenberry butter, corn and the crispiest fried chicken you’ve ever had. Old Mrs. Knott knew her way around a fried chicken.
 
Mrs. Knott wasn’t a trained cook; she was a farmer’s wife. She knew how to cook for her husband, Walter, and the men who tended the fields. The meals were simple and satisfying and provided the farm hands enough calories to go back out to the fields and do the hard, manual labor that comes with farming. You Mid-Westerners know… just because the farms were located in California didn’t make the work any easier. Any way you look at it, farming is back-breaking work.
 
Mrs. Knott always tried to add a treat at the end of the meal and that was usually pie--PIE! As time went on, that was usually a large slab of boysenberry pie. Why Boysenberry?  That’s simple. The boysenberry was developed a hundred years ago in the early 1920s by horticulturist Rudolph Boysen of Anaheim, California, just down the road a piece from Knott’s farm. Some berry varieties were difficult to grow in Southern California… strawberries being the exception.
 
Rudy work on his “invention” for several years’ growing seasons and finally he came up with a berry variety that was successful. He was so excited he put his name on it. The Boysenberry (Rubus ursinus var loganobaccus cv Boysenberry) is a Rubus hybrid berry believed to have resulted from a cross between Loganberries, Raspberries and Blackberries. The plants seemed to thrive in the acid soil and hot Orange County climate. He took his new hybrid berries to Cordelia Knott who had never seen a more beautiful berry, and she baked up a mess of Boysenberry pies. The field hands loved them.
 
Walter and Cordelia already had a roadside store next to the farms selling produce and such. Mr. Boysen turned over the rights to farmer Walter for commercial development. Cordelia started selling Boysenberry Pies, Jams and other good things made from the Boysenberry along with chicken dinners. And now you know the rest of the story, but I’m not quite finished yet.
 
The secret to traditional farm foods is to keep it simple and serve it hot. The Knott’s fried chicken recipe is as simple as it is crisp and delicious. This recipe requires only 3 ingredients—chicken, flour and oil for frying. Seasonings—salt and pepper—are table condiments. This is a no fuss recipe.
 
                                          Knotts Berry Farm Fried Chicken
 
Prep time: 50 minutes (45 minutes soak time)
Fry time: 45 minutes
Cool time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
 
Ingredients 
2 pounds frying chicken cut in eighths (use the breasts with the bones in)
2 cups unbleached flour
1 quart oil (or enough to cover the chicken)
 
Directions

1. Read the recipe all the way through before starting. Measure all ingredients and have at your side.
2. Cover the chicken with salted water and soak for 45 minutes. (Very important to plump the bird. Basic science 101. Remember osmosis?)
3. Drain chicken and pat dry. Coat each piece of chicken with flour and shake off any excess flour.
4. Bring oil to 375⁰ F in an 8 1/2-quart saucepan, electric skillet or iron skillet and carefully drop in chicken pieces. Do not overcrowd chicken in the pot.
5. Cover and fry for 45 minutes turning occasionally.
6. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
7. Allow the fried chicken to cool for 15 minutes before serving to prevent burning your mouth and lips.

 
                                          Mrs. Knott's Boysenberry Pie
 
A Knott’s chicken dinner is not a Knott’s Berry Farm dinner unless you finish with a large slice of Boysenberry Pie. This farm-to-table recipe is as simple as the chicken recipe above. If you don’t have the time, use a store-bought crust.
 
Prep time: 40 minutes
Bake time: 40 minutes
Cool time: 40 minutes
Yield: 1 9-inch pie / 6 servings
 
Ingredients 
7-1/2 ounces water
6-1/2 ounces sugar
1 dash kosher salt
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 ounces water
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen boysenberries (do not thaw)
Prepared 2-crust pie shell
 
Directions

1. Read the recipe all the way through before starting. Measure all ingredients and have at your side.
2. Preheat an oven to 400⁰ F.
3. In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar, salt, corn syrup and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
4. Thoroughly combine the cornstarch and water together in a separate glass. Add the mixture into the saucepan and stir completely.
5. Take the mixture off the heat and add the frozen boysenberries.
6. Pour into unbaked 9-inch pie crust.
7. Cover with the second top crust and seal well around the edges.
8. Make several slashes in the top to release steam.
9. Bake for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.
10. Cool on a rack.
11. Serve with old fashioned handmade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

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ChefSecret: Just keep these recipes as simple as possible.
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Quip of the Day: Q. What do you get when you cross a pie and a snake?  A. A pie-thon!
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/perspectives-on-food.
 
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