History

Percy 'Frenchy' Creuzot, a New Orleans-born Black entrepreneur, opened a po-boy counter on Scott Street in Houston's Third Ward on July 3, 1969, two blocks from Texas Southern University. He shifted the menu to Creole fried chicken with a heavy paprika-and-cayenne rub by the 1970s. The Scott Street counter became a Houston Sunday institution: UH students, neighbourhood elders and visitors from 30 miles out wait in line for whole birds at the same window. Frenchy's now has multiple locations across the city, but Scott Street remains the original. The Creole influence (a Louisiana technique inside a Texas fried-chicken frame) is the defining gesture.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 35 minTotal 4 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
  • 500ml buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons hot sauce (Crystal or Louisiana style)
  • 300g plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons fine salt
  • 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
  • Neutral oil for deep-frying (2 litres)

Method

  1. Whisk buttermilk and hot sauce. Submerge the chicken in the brine and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours, or overnight.
  2. Mix the flour with paprika, cayenne, garlic and onion powders, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper.
  3. Heat the oil to 165C (325F) in a heavy pot. Lift the chicken from the brine, letting excess drip off. Dredge each piece in the seasoned flour, pressing hard, then dredge again. Rest on a rack for 5 minutes.
  4. Fry in batches: dark meat (thighs and drumsticks) 13 to 15 minutes, white meat (breasts halved, wings) 10 to 12 minutes, to 74C (165F) internal. Don't crowd the pot.
  5. Rest on a wire rack (never paper, which steams the crust) and serve with dirty rice and red beans.

Tip from the editors. Brine overnight if you can. The flour dredge sticks to a wet, seasoned surface much better than a dry one.

Where to eat frenchy's creole fried chicken

Frenchy's Creole fried chicken in Houston

Frenchy's Chicken (Scott Street) ★ 4.1

$ Fried chickenThird Ward

Frenchy's Chicken on Scott Street in Houston is Percy Creuzot's 1969 Third Ward Creole fried chicken counter, two blocks from Texas Southern University.

OrderThree-piece dark meat with dirty rice and red beans. A peach cobbler to close.

TipSunday after church is the line. Weekday lunch is the move. The Scott Street counter is the original; multiple satellites exist.

Directions Book

Bludorn ★ 4.7

$$$$ Tasting $95 to $145 a la carteNew AmericanChef Aaron Bludorn

Bludorn in Houston is Aaron Bludorn's Gulf Coast fine-dining room on Taft Street, opened 2020, with a lobster pot pie that broke nationally and a serious.

OrderLobster pot pie. Whole branzino for two. The duck breast with stone fruit in season.

Book3 weeks ahead

TipBar seats face the open kitchen and serve the same menu. Book the patio if the weather is sub-30C.

Directions Book

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