Fried Chicken Strawberry Shortcakes with Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits, Fried Chicken, Boursin Cheese Whipped Cream, & Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves

Fried Chicken Strawberry Shortcakes with Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits, Fried Chicken,
Boursin Cheese Whipped Cream, & Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves

I have totally lost track of time lately. So much so, that I even forgot this little blog's anniversary. I'm officially on my third year of sharing my recipes, and I didn't even realize it. What a sad day. How do you celebrate a "blog-a-verisary"... do you bake a cake for it? I should probably find out if that's the case. Instead I baked a shortcake for it, a savory shortcake in fact. Have y'all ever seen or had a savory shortcake? I haven't seen many or tasted any, so I though it would be something I would want to make. Why not put some fried chicken on a shortcake, that's the normal thought process, isn't it? Well, for all y'all skeptics out there, it's wonderful!! It's like a play off of chicken & biscuits, but slightly sweet... and you can eat it for dinner. I made light-as-air, fluffy buttermilk biscuits and topped them with crispy, fried chicken, a whipped cream made with boursin cheese, and an eat-it-with-a-spoon strawberry jam. By the way, I'm so into pickling, preserving, and processing right now. I just got the hang of it, but I've already made Candied Jalapenos, Spicy Pepper Jelly, Triple Citrus-Champagne Marmalade, Blood Orange-Vanilla Bean Marmalade, Pickled Mean Beans, and the Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves that I'm posting today. Here is a picture of everything I've canned...

Homemade Pickles, Jams, Preserves, & Jellies

Borderline obsessive, right? Oh well, they are all delicious and it is my new favorite hobby. Now I just have to think of recipes to use all of them. My Fried Chicken Shortcake was inspired by these strawberry preserves, that's how much I liked it. I thought to myself, "Dang, this jam would be damn good on some fried chicken." And it was. Strawberry + Balsamic are a match made in heaven. The vinegar really brings out the sweetness of the berries and the crushed pink peppercorn adds a depth of flavor that cannot be matched! Just a note, while I was making the huge batch of strawberry preserves, I reserved some that I didn't thicken as much, so it would be more of a sauce. The rest of them I reduced down to a thick jam that would be spreadable on toast... it's honestly up to you, but it does make an awesome strawberry sauce. I think it would be heavenly on some homemade goat cheese ice cream (odd, i know). Anyway, make these preserves... put them on everything. Especially this shortcake. All of the elements go together, I promise. I can guarantee it will be weird eating a salty whipped cream though. You definitely need the creamy, herbed element though. It creates such balance. We loved everything about this meal, and heck, why not make a dessert into dinner? It totally works!! Enjoy :)

Marinating the Chicken:

1Q Buttermilk

¼C Hot Sauce

1T Cajun Seasoning

4-6 Chicken Cutlets (pounded thinly)

For the Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves:

1Q Strawberries, Cut into Halves or Quarters

2 ½C Sugar

1 Lemon, Zested & Juiced

2T Balsamic Vinegar + ¼C Balsamic Reduction

½-1t Crushed Pink Peppercorn (start off with a little and add until your liking)

For the Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits:

2 ¼C Cake Flour, Sifted

1T Baking Powder

1T + 1t Sugar

1t Salt

6T Unsalted Butter, Cut into Cubes & Frozen

1T Bacon Fat, Frozen

¾C Cold Buttermilk, Well-Shaken

Melted Butter, For Brushing 

For the Boursin Cheese Whipped Cream:

6T Heavy Whipping Cream, Cold

4oz Herbed Boursin Cheese, Softened

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Fried Chicken Cutlets:

1C AP Flour

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

2 Eggs

1C + 2T Buttermilk

2T Hot Sauce

1C AP Flour

2T Cornstarch

1T Salt & Pepper

1t Cayenne, Paprika, Cajun Seasoning

Vegetable Oil, For Frying

For the Fried Chicken Strawberry Shortcakes:

Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits, Baked until Golden Brown

Fried Chicken Cutlets

Boursin Cheese Whipped Cream, Chilled

Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves, Warmed

Chives, For Garnishing

Directions:

1. Marinating the Chicken: Place the chicken cutlets in a large plastic bag and add in the buttermilk, hot sauce, and seasoning. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

2. For the Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves: Rinse the berries and slice them into halves or quarters, depending on their size. Combine the berries, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and balsamic vinegar. Toss to coat the berries. Cover and let them macerate in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, put the berry mixture into a large saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves then remove from heat. Using a sieve, separate the berries from the juice. Return the liquid to the pan, along with the balsamic reduction, and bring it to a boil. Cook on high until concentrated or the mixture reaches a temperature of 221 degrees. Add the reserved strawberries and pink peppercorn back into the syrup and allow the mixture to boil for about 10-15 minutes. (Start off with a small amount of crushed pink peppercorns and keep adding until you have reached your desired strength). Process the jam immediately or refrigerate until it is thick.

3. For the Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add in the frozen butter and bacon fat, and cut the fat in using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, but pea-sized pieces of butter still remain. Pour in the buttermilk and use a fork to mix it until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead with floured hands, and pat into a thick square. Using a large, floured biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits from the dough and place them about 1-2inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet (I made about 5-6 very large biscuits). Brush the tops of the biscuits with some melted butter and bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on their side, or until the tops are golden brown. Just before serving, brush the tops of the biscuits with more melted butter.

4. For the Boursin Cheese Whipped Cream: In the bowl of a standing mixer, whip the heavy whipping cream until it forms stiff peaks. Slowly add in the softened Boursin cheese and beat until a whipped cream is formed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

5. For the Fried Chicken Cutlets: Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat in a deep sauté pan. Next, you have to set up a battering station. I use 3 pie tins. For the first station, I mix the flour with salt and pepper. For the second station, I whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and hot sauce. For the third station, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and seasonings. Drizzle the 2T of buttermilk into this last pie tin, and using a fork, mix until little shaggy pieces form (these will help build a nice crunch to the chicken). Now, place the marinated chicken cutlets into the flour mixture, then into the egg wash, and finally the shaggy flour mixture. Fry the breaded chicken cutlets for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy. Once cooked, remove from the oil to drain and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.

6. Assembling the Fried Chicken Strawberry Shortcakes: Cut a warm biscuit in half and top the bottom half of the biscuit with a fried chicken cutlet, a spoonful of strawberry-balsamic-pink peppercorn preserve sauce, a dollop of Boursin cheese whipped cream, and top with the other half of the biscuit. Garnish the top with more strawberry sauce, whipped cream, and minced chives. Enjoy immediately.