Off-Site Issue 29 March/April 2022 by NZ Fishing Media

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD! ®

ISSUE 29 MAR/APR 2022

LOCKDOWN FAKE-AWAYS BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO TOPWATER TRADIE PROFILE

ZAR LAWRENCE

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WORK HARD, PLAY HARD! WORK HARD, PLAY HARD!

WELCOME TO ISSUE TWENTY NINE OF RHEEM OFF-SITE

CONTENTS 04 TOPWATER FOR BEGINNERS 08 TRADIE PROFILE 14 OUTDOORS WITH YOUNG PEOPLE

20 INTRO TO PACKRAFTING 26 LOCKDOWN FAKEAWAYS

Cover Photo: Barney Young Paddler – Logan Froreip

ell, we’re back doing life under the ‘red traffic light’ rules, but that hasn’t seemed to slow any of our contributors or readers down. Judging by what we’ve seen on Insta and in the articles we’ve received, a lot of you tradies are still getting out into the great outdoors catching fish, waves and hangovers. Charter Captain Nick Jones kicks off this issue with a beginner’s guide to topwater fishing. As Nick explains, this isn’t the approach to take if you’re looking for easy, relaxing fishing – but the reward of seeing a kingfish smash a lure on the surface makes all the casting well worth the effort. I pick up the pen next for this issue’s Tradie Profile, telling Zar Lawrence’s journey from the trades to professional rugby and back to the trades again. While it’s hard to beat sending it with mates on week-long fishing

trips, Struan Purdie reminds us of the joys of spending time in the outdoors with family. He shares a few yarns from a couple of recent heart-warming trips he took with three generations of Purdies. Off-Site’s resident adventure specialist Steve Dickinson then introduces the rapidly growing world of packrafting, before Kerren Packer rounds out the issue with his version of homemade BBQ KFC. As always, get in touch if you have any stories of your own to share. Message us on Instagram (@offsite_magazine) – which is also where we will be providing regular updates on The Great Tradie Fish Off – or flick me an email at ethan@nzfishingnews.co.nz. Enjoy!

ETHAN NEVILLE

Rheem off-Site is published bi-monthly by NZ Fishing Media Ltd. Offices are located at 177B Marua Road, Ellerslie, Auckland, Ph (09) 579 4060. THE BOSS Grant Blair QS Grant Dixon PROJECT MANAGER Ethan Neville ARCHITECT Ricky Harris CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Leah Foxcroft HAMMER HAND (Advertising) Josh Williams | 021 862 579 | sales@nzfishingnews.co.nz EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES Ethan Neville | 021 176 1366 | ethan@nzfishingnews.co.nz Advertising within this publication is subject to NZ Fishing Media Ltd’s standard advertising terms and conditions, a copy of which is available by emailing grant@nzfishingnews.co.nz or by calling (09) 579 4060

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Saltwater

TOPWATER FISHING FOR BEGINNERS Charter Captain and Off-Site’s resident fishing specialist Nick Jones has a few wise words for anyone wanting to see their lure smashed by hungry kings this autumn…

ishing topwater lures has to be one of the most exhilarating ways to catch kingfish – but it can also be a frustrating and expensive addiction! Don’t let that discourage ya though – beginners can get in on the fun too.

The gear Kingfish by their very nature are generally found in rugged environments, so you need some reasonably serious kit to go toe-totoe with the dogs. I recommend a sturdy spin set with at least 24kg

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braid. Cheaper reels will do the job but once you’ve experienced the drag output, smoothness and durability of top-end spin reels like the Daiwa Saltiga or Shimano Stella, it’s hard to go back! An 8ft rod is a good all-rounder and you want at least PE4-6 strength. Good knots connecting braid to leader are important. FG knots with the tags finished well have a smooth profile for casting. Jump on YouTube to find ample knot-tying tutorials and get some practice in. After all, you don’t want your knots beginning to unravel when the

“...you need some reasonably serious kit to go toe-to-toe with the dogs.”

kings are hangry! Again, for terminal tackle, err on the heavier side of the ledger – I hardly ever use less than 100lb shock-leader for topwater. Hooks, split rings and connections also need to be solid as you’ll likely be running some hefty drags. Treble hooks generally get you attached to more fish than inline singles, but do cause more damage to the fish and yourself if you get in the way.

The lures and the technique Choosing your lures is half the fun

of a healthy topwater addiction and most of the cost! I favour floating stick-baits that have a strong zig-zagging action – handmade wooden lures such as the Carpenter Gamma and CB One Zorro are great but hard to find (and expensive to lose), while plastic lures such as Maria Rapidos and Shimano Ocea Rocket Dives are decent cheaper options. Any colour will work on its day, but I like lures that imitate common kingfish prey such as mackerel, kahawai, koheru and squid. This style of lure is best worked with a long steady sweep with the

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Morning glory.

Exhilarating scenes!

A selection of sizes, colours and actions ready for action.

Nick took this nice topwater greenback at the Mokohinau Islands. rod, and at the end of the sweep, wind your reel to take up the slack line. Practice makes perfect, and every lure has its own subtleties. For example, some stick-baits also work well with a faster wind accompanied by a twitching rod action. Try keep as much of slack out of the line as possible to maximise your chances at setting hooks. If the water is choppy, then you may need to slow your rod sweeps down to keep the lure in the water and looking appealing – as opposed to skipping along the surface. Keep your eyes peeled for boils or wakes behind your lure. When you see yellow-tailed brutes nosing in behind your topwater lure, try to remain calm and focus on keeping your lure swimming nicely. If they still aren’t taking it, try pausing the retrieve and leaving your lure bobbing on the surface for a few moments – this can sometimes entice a lazy king to bite. On other occasions fish will crash your lure 06

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from nowhere and you’ll become instantly attached. Poppers can help draw the fish in by starting a big commotion or encourage an aggressive bite. Working poppers requires a similar but more aggressive technique – pull the rod back forcefully to make the pooper splash, then wind up the slack and repeat. Because poppers don’t move as far forward as stick-baits with each rod sweep, the action should be quicker than with stick-baits. Stick-baits can also be used to create a ruckus – try ‘slapping’ your lure repeatedly by swinging it hard onto the water’s surface below your feet to fire up sighted kings.

Far North, Coromandel, East Cape, and offshore islands are where you want to head if you’re after consistent year-round kingfish action. However, there are many more accessible locations that produce kings – especially during the warmer months. Think harbour entrances, marker buoys and poles, break-walls, wharves, shallow reefs, and other areas where baitfish congregate. The kings often cruise the drop-offs and casting parallel to the shoreline can keep your lure in the strike-zone for longer. Target the current-lines, back-eddies, underwater reef edges and areas where birds are working or smaller fish are feeding. If you are sighting fish, try positioning your lure to intercept their path – or land it right on their nose!

Pick the right spot Topwater lures are very versatile for both boat and landbased fishing – you can use them anywhere kingfish are lurking in shallow to medium depths. Remote ledges that offer depth, current and decent water clarity around the

Start early This king took a liking to a handcrafted Japanese lure.

This is crucial – start your trip in the dark to get that all-important sunrise bite. Go well out there!

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ZAR LAWRENCE

FOOTY, FAMILY AND BUILDING A FUTURE By Ethan Neville

ar Lawrence, as you might expect, is a busy man. When I reached out to him through a mate to see if he’d like to catch up for a tradie profile, I was told that 7:30am Saturday morning was his next and only free slot for a phone call. As well as working as a full time site manager for Livingstone Builders, Zar is currently project managing the build of his own home – I’m no tradie, but that sounds like a lot. So, with my mate Nik and Zar sitting in a café in Papamoa eating breakfast – this was one of Zar’s requests for the interview – I gave him a call to learn a bit more about his journey from professional rugby to the worksite. Zar’s love of rugby, it turns out, started where it usually starts for us Kiwis: playing with his mates at high school.

“I played league first when I was a young one, but my school didn’t really play league, so I started playing rugby with all the boys and having fun every weekend.” It didn’t take long, however, for coaches to notice that Zar had something special about him. Zar grew up in Doubtless Bay, and he was soon selected for the rep team for the area. “We had a game in Auckland and there were heaps of schools watching. I was offered scholarships by Kings and Mt Albert Grammar and I chose the one which gave me everything, which was Kings.” While Zar refused to do anything but be humble for the entirety of the interview, I quickly concluded that he must have been a pretty good footy player to be offered an all-expenses-paid scholarship at Kings after they only saw him

play one game. However, once school finished, he decided to stay in Auckland and do what most 18-year-olds do – chill with his mates and do a bit of labouring. “I left school and started building and cruising along doing normal teenage stuff, like getting beers with the boys nearly every weekend. “I knew a few boys who went into the Navy so I started playing rugby for them. I was playing three games every weekend – one for the colts, one for the development team, and one for the prems. These were back in the days when my body was made of rubber.” “So, what changed?” I asked, genuinely wondering how he cracked the world of professional rugby with this approach to footy. “It was my flat-mate,” Zar immediately replied. “He told me

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1 that I needed to take my rugby seriously or he’d kick me out of the house because he saw that I was wasting my time there. I was just enjoying life and drinking. “So, I went and signed up for Takapuna. I just played one season there, and then got picked up by North Harbour… When I got that I started getting sponsorship stuff from them and thought, ‘I could do this more often,’ so I started working a bit harder and made a few other

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teams throughout the process.” Again, I had to push past Zar’s humility to get a few more details about these ‘teams’ Zar spoke of (if I’d played international sport in any capacity, I certainly wouldn’t be just telling people I just ‘made a few teams throughout the process’ – that’s for sure). “Titchy tapped me on the shoulder first… I did five or six years in the NZ Sevens, but that’s when you could play both (NZ Sevens

“I needed to take my rugby seriously or he’d kick me out of the house”

and provincial rugby). We actually had to do this to make professional money back then.” There have always been rumours about how hard Gordon Tietjens worked his players – and Zar quickly confirmed these. “Our sort of era was based on actual hard work. We would just be rinsed every day. And that just created the culture that if everyone else is doing it, you don’t want to let anyone else down. It’s that basic: work hard, play hard. Everyone respected that – it was all accountability and hard work. We won a few titles and went through a phase of longest winning streak. “I then ended up getting a couple cracks at the Maori All Blacks as well before Bay (Bay of Plenty) tapped me on the shoulder to come down. It was getting a bit stale at Harbour, so I went down there with a few of the boys from the sevens. “I was off contract in 2011 and thought, ‘Na I’m not going to move back up north,’ so I just stayed down here and got into building. There

were a few chats with teams, but I was getting on. I started when I was 24-25, and now I was struggling to keep up with these 18-year-olds.” You’d think it’d be quite a transition going from travelling the world playing rugby to working on the tools, but Zar seemed to take it in his stride. “It was a pretty easy transition because I started at building and then came back to it. I knew what I was getting myself into… I finished my apprenticeship once I got out of rugby. I got through it pretty quick – it only took me six or nine months to finish it.” He started out working for his mother and father-in-law’s company but has since moved onto Livingstone Builders where he currently is a site manager. He still hasn’t forgotten about rugby altogether though, and is now taking the time to pass on his knowledge. “I did a bit of coaching with the Mount Prems team for a bit and now I coach the young kids – it’s

1) Zar performing the haka after the Wellington Sevens final. 2) Zar in action at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2010. 3) A successful day in the water for Zar and his boys.

4 & 5) Spending time with his family is a high priority for Zar.

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Zar and wife Hope; The Lawrence fam on a trip to Cape Palliser Lighthouse. a lot less stressful. I coach my two sons (10 & 11) at the Arataki Rugby Club.” Zar also told me here about his 14-year-old daughter and another older son, which immediately made me think back to his earlier comments – somehow he manages to project manage a build, coach, spend time with his four kids and work a full time construction job. “So how do you cope with all this?” I asked. “I have a supportive wife,” Zar laughed, before asking if I could put that in bold. Thankfully, he doesn’t see coaching – or training apprentices – as a burden. “Coaching and the development of that age group is a passion for me. I see them apply themselves

“Coaching and the development of that age group is a passion for me.”

with a bit of hard work and then accomplish things, like that team did. We only lost one game. One of our goals was to go undefeated and we only lost one, but this year we go into a competition grade, so hopefully we’ll win something. I’ve been coaching them since they were under 6s. “I take that same approach with apprentices – they get it easy, not how we got treated with hammers getting thrown at us.” As if all that wasn’t enough, Zar also doesn’t mind getting in the water and shooting a few fish when he has the opportunity – and in this regard, Papamoa is a good place to be. “I got into spearfishing, and that seems to be a bit of an addiction. Whenever it is flat and clear, I go.

I head off Rabbit Island or I got a couple mates who have a boat and we go out together. I got a kingie on my second shot I ever took up north which solidified my addiction. I’m trying to tick off as many species as I can.” At this point I realised Zar’s breakfast was still untouched and probably cold, so I thanked him for his time and wished him all the best for another day at work. After hanging up, I couldn’t help but think that there are probably some young footy players out there reading this who aren’t sure about what life after rugby might look like. In this regard, look no further than Zar’s example – that same dedication to rugby, as he has shown, can be redirected towards creating a new, fulfilling future.

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Quality Time

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OUTDOORS WITH LITTLE PEOPLE

Struan Purdie was lucky enough to spend most of his young life in the great outdoors. With a kid of his own now, he’s making sure this family tradition continues… Inspecting Blair’s weapon of choice: the mighty Rapala.

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Grandfather and grandson equally enjoying their time in the water.

t’s fair to say my childhood was a bit of a fishing overload. My dad Blair fizzed off it. It didn’t matter if he was hauling up blue cod off Motunau Island or trolling for trout in one of Canterbury’s many high country lakes – if there was a rod in his hand, he was happy. While I haven’t exactly inherited his fierce passion for fishing, I do credit my old man for introducing me to the great outdoors, which has become a huge part of my work and play. Now with a young fella of my own, it’s pretty special to be able to make those same introductions. This summer I’ve taken my threeyear-old Milo on several camping, boating and spearfishing missions. However, when it came to teaching him to fish, I thought it best to call in the old dogs. Early January saw us camping

“Within a couple of casts, Milo’s rod started spooling and his face lit up with excitement.”

Milo supervising the BBQ. down at Lake Hawea with my parents, which is where we’ve been holidaying as a family for decades. Dad, Milo and I decided to head up the lake to try get Milo onto his first trout. The morning was an absolute stunner – glassy water and clear skies. We launched the boat halfway up the lake and headed

up towards the Hunter River. Dad had fished this area the year before and had some success spinning from the shore along a couple of sweeping bays just past Kidds Bush campground. We pulled into one of his prized honey holes and started setting up the rods. Now I don’t know how many of you have tried

Lake Coleridge turned it on with perfect conditions all morning.

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to do anything with a three-yearold but often there’s not a lot of patience involved. I left the casting lessons to dad and grabbed the camera to snap a few images of the pristine lake. However, as it turned out, we didn’t have long to wait. Within a couple of casts, line started running off Milo’s reel and his face lit up with excitement.

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1) Milo and his Grandpa Earl playing the waiting game. 2) Milo and Nuuna keeping an eye out for fish cruising the dropoff. 3) The first fish of the morning, a nice wee brown trout.

Dad coached him through it. Lift the rod. Keep the tension on. Wind fast. I recall receiving the same instructions over and over as a kid. Before long a small rainbow trout appeared in the crystal-clear water. The excitement levels from the three-year-old went through the roof as he dragged it up onto the beach. It certainly wasn’t the

biggest fish in the lake, but it didn’t matter an ounce. With a bit of convincing, Milo picked up the rainbow and perched up next to Dad for a photo. It was a pretty special moment to share with my old man and one I’m sure will be a highlight for Milo for years to come. A couple of weeks later, we

The camping setup on the side of Lake Coleridge.

had a similar opportunity to head into the hills, this time with my father-in-law Earl tagging along for the ride. We hooked on the boat and headed to Lake Coleridge, a renowned fishery in the Canterbury high country. The plan was to camp up for the evening and get on the lake first thing. I’d packed the rifle and binoculars in the hope

of nabbing a deer or chamois on Peak Hill conservation area which comes right down to the lake. The morning dawned fine and clear as we idled up the lake and trolled along the drop-off. Fish were rising consistently around us, but for the first hour or so there was no action at all. As we puttered along, I kept a close eye on the scrub above us,

“They get such a buzz from the small things we often take for granted”

willing a big velvet stag to poke his head up. Suddenly, one of the rods started peeling line. I downed the binoculars and grabbed the rod. There was a bit of weight but no significant tugging. Milo was eager to jump on the reel, so I handed him the rod to wind in what I thought was a clump of lake weed. However, eventually a lazy brown trout appeared. With very little fight, he swam right into the net and our first fish of the morning was on the boat. Again, it was a really special moment for a boy and his Grandpa to share. After a few photos, we continued fishing up the side of the lake. We managed to hook one more respectable rainbow before pulling into a beach for a feed of bacon and eggs. Time spent in the great outdoors is always awesome, but to share it with little people is particularly cool. They get such a buzz from the small things we often take for granted. It’s a good reminder of what we have here in New Zealand and to make sure we all carve out time in our busy schedules to get out there and enjoy it… and to drag the kids along too!

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Packrafting

PACKRAFTING ADVENTURE AT ITS BEST “If you’re not sure what packrafting is, just look for the people in blow up bathtubs heading down some remote and dangerous looking rapids,” suggests Steve Dickinson. This issue, he introduces the rapidly growing world of packrafting…

Packrafting doesn’t always need to be extreme. Below: As packrafts fold down, you can hike to your destination with one on your back.

here are an ever increasing array of movies about packrafting on YouTube, and like most sports, it’s only the extreme version that ends up on the internet. But packrafting does not always need to be that intense. These unique crafts are also being used by trampers, families, fishermen and hunters across New Zealand. Packrafts are just as they sound – lightweight, blow up rafts that fit into a pack. Well known kayakers are now running some extreme rapids and accessing some really hard to

get to water because these packrafts are so portable. But it’s actually nothing new. Explorers used these type of boats in the 1950s, and then in the 80’s and 90’s they started to appear in the States. The general public and rafting companies in New Zealand have also been using single and double rafts for a while now – but modern packrafting has taken the activity to a whole new level. One of the most experienced kayakers in New Zealand is Barny Young. I have known him for as long as I can remember. One of his claims to fame was a kayak rescue in 2013 after one of his mates that got

vertically pinned in his kayak (you can find it on YouTube). Barny is now at the forefront of packrafting in New Zealand, and if you want to know the facts you ask an expert – so that’s what I did... Steve: How long has packrafting been around in New Zealand? Barny: Packrafting has been here for a long time, but it’s only been in recent years that it has really started to catch on and become more popular. New Zealand is the perfect playground for packrafters because we have so many backcountry trails that run alongside rivers or lakes, but we have comparatively very few roads compared to other places in the world. Steve: When do you first recall seeing it? Barny: I first remember seeing some packrafters bobbing down a river as I was coming down after a trip ‘safety kayaking’ for a heli rating trip on the Upper Whataroa about five years ago. Steve: Where and when was your first pack-rafting experience? Barny: I am a keen photographer and for many years have been using my photography as a way to help show others the spectacular places I have been lucky enough to explore with my kayak. I had always been dubious about the idea of packrafting but in 2019 the team from Kokopelli Packrafts in

If you’re looking to get into the backcountry and see views like these, packrafting might just be for you. off-Sitenz

Who would’ve thought that blow-up rafts could handle rapids like these?

the USA reached out to me and asked if I would be keen to have one in exchange for creating a bit of marketing content for them. My first packrafting trip was on the Whataroa River on the West Coast of NZ and on the way up I can remember hiking past Grand Finale (A solid Class 4 rapid ) in a remote West Coast gorge and thinking there’s no way we would be paddling that in a blow up device that weighs 4kg. As soon as I put on the river and pulled my first few strokes, I was shocked at just how responsive and easy to handle the boats were. So shocked in fact 22

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that when myself and Pete arrived at Grand Finale later that afternoon, we not only paddled it but hiked back up to run it a second time – I was hooked. Steve: As one of New Zealand’s best kayakers, what are the main differences between a standard river kayak and a packraft (apart from the portability)? Barny: One of the big differences between packrafting and kayaking is that if you lean the wrong way in a kayak when you are learning, you will catch an edge very quickly and be in the drink so you are forced to

learn how to paddle properly from the beginning. Packrafts are far more stable and forgiving but this can also lead to people becoming overconfident as it is very easy for someone without any skill to bounce down Class 1 and 2 and get away with it. Steve: What changes have you seen in packrafting as it has evolved? Barny: Packrafts have been around for 20 years but in the last few years the introduction of T-ZIPs (waterproof zips), which allow you to store gear inside the pontoons of your packraft, has been a game

“Packrafts are far more stable and forgiving but this can also lead to people becoming overconfident”

Packrafts are a popular choice for multi-day trips. changer. This has meant people have been able to push the envelope and carry more gear and bigger loads, which helped facilitate the use of packrafts for multiday bike rafting, fishing, hunting and even ski trips. Another game changer has been the introduction of the Nirvana selfbailing packraft around five years ago – prior to this the only packrafts available were bucket boats which filled with water when you went through a wave and required

“it is really important to get hold of the correct safety gear and do a course to learn how to not only paddle but read rivers and be able to safely spot and avoid hazards.”

emptying. The selfbailing design allows paddlers to paddle more difficult whitewater than previously thought possible and saves people having to pull over to empty out between rapids. Steve: Can anyone do it? Barny: Packrafting is a very easy sport to get in to and because they are so stable, they are the perfect way to introduce the family to the water on lakes or calm/slow moving rivers. The boats are lightweight

and compact, saving the need for roofracks on your vehicle to lug around a heavy kayak. Steve: What do people need to be aware of if they choose to go packrafting? Barny: As with any action sport, it’s really good if you can convince a couple of mates to do it with you to stay safe and progress together. Before tackling whitewater, it is really important to get hold of the correct safety gear and do a course to learn how to not only paddle but read rivers and be able to safely spot and avoid hazards. Steve: Do you need lessons? Barny: If you are planning on paddling whitewater you 100% need to get lessons to be able to safely navigate rivers but also take care of your mates. What many packrafters don’t realise is that packrafting, just like kayaking, is a team sport and when you get to the bottom of a rapid, you want to be able to “eddy out” (pull over in a calm pool or behind a rock), look back and make sure your mates have safely come down too. A course is where you

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Packrafting is rapidly growing in popularity in NZ, and it’s not hard to see why!

learn these fundamental skills to keep you and your team safe. Steve: Can you outline the types of packrafts that are on the market currently? Barney: The bucket boat is a basic boat that is lighter and cheaper than the other options. It does not have the added protection of the whitewater deck to keep the water out when going through waves or the self-bailing holes to drain the water out mid-rapid. They are designed for lakes and sheltered/ calmer rivers. The whitewater deck is a boat with a spraydeck you wear around your waist to keep the water out. This is the warmest and driest option, but they are also heavier and bulkier. Boats with a removable whitewater deck are not as dry as a little water will come in through 24

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the zippers where the deck attaches to the boat. The beauty of the removable whitewater deck though is that you can choose between a bucket boat or a whitewater boat depending on the trip. Self-bailer boats have holes in the floor which let water flow out of the boat. They are the lightest option and pack down the smallest. Steve: How much does one cost? Barny: $1200 - $2500 depending on the spec of boat you require. Steve: What do you think will be the next stage of development for pack-rafting? Barny: Packraft design has improved so much in the last few years with the advent of the self-bailer and t-zip. I believe these developments will continue as hardcore adventurers continue using packrafts to access remote

backcountry for a range of outdoor pursuits. From a whitewater perspective, my next innovation will be to try and design a boat this is easier to roll mid-rapid, enabling the paddler to take on more challenging rapids (currently, packrafts can be rolled but due to their wide tubes, it is far more challenging than on a conventional whitewater kayak). Steve: Where’s your next packrafting adventure? Barny: I’ve got an adventure I’d like to do that involves a steep hike up and over a mountain pass to access the headwaters of one of the previously un-paddled rivers on the West Coast. It starts in a wilderness zone so the only way to access it is via foot. Stay tuned!

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K.F.C. Recipe

LOCKDOWN FAKE-AWAYS

K.F.C. (KEZZA’S FRIED CHICKEN) “We certainly enjoy the odd trip to a fast-food joint, but for us living 45 minutes from the nearest Golden Arches or Dirty-Bird outlet – and combined with Covid lockdown restrictions – 2021 was pretty much a write-off for that fast food fix,” writes Kerren Packer. He shares how he went about making the perfect K.F.C. (Kezza’s Fried Chicken) Fake-Away.

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Keep it simple – serve with a sweet coleslaw, corn, potato ‘n’ gravy and a fresh milk bun.

hen I started working out how to recreate Colonel Sander’s fried chicken, I wanted to eliminate the stuff I don’t like about the Dirty-Bird experience – namely, the grease residue factor, the lack of ‘crunch’ on the bite, and the dry chicken. The “Hot n Spicy” range also always seems a bit lame for the title bestowed upon it. So, after some experimentation, some failures and plenty of learnings, I believe I have the method down – let’s get stuck in!

Tools • Deep fryer/cast iron pan/wok/ skillet • Instant read meat thermometer

• Meat resting rack or cake rack • Tongs or slotted spoon

1) Double coating chicken twice in both wash and dredge improves the crunchy bite through.

Ingredients • 1kg of either chicken breast, boned-out thighs, drumsticks or wings/nibbles. • Enough canola or rice bran oil to shallow or deep fry

2) Kezza’s Fried Chicken secret herbs and spices…. Well, not so secret anymore.

Wash • 2 x eggs • ½ cup of standard milk • Add hot sauces to preference (Hot’ n’ Spicy only!)

3) Getting your oil to the right temperature is key to a great crispy coating without oily residue.

Dredge/Coating/ Breading • 1 cup plain flour • 1 Tbsp cornflour • 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp ground paprika • 1 tsp garam masala • 1 tsp onion powder • 1 tsp oregano • 1 tsp ground ginger • 1 tsp garlic salt • 1 tsp black pepper • 1 tsp standard salt • 1 tsp basil • 1 tsp thyme • 4 tsp cayenne pepper (Hot ‘n’ Spicy only!)

Method 1) Pat chicken dry with paper towels. If using breast meat, remove the skin if present and cut into desired tender sized portions or burger sized flats. 2) I n a bowl, whisk the wash ingredients (as above) together

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PROTIPS 1) Use clean oil – when you can’t see the bottom of your fryer, it should have been changed one fry ago. 2) Double dredge for extra crunch. 3) Avoid soggy, oily chicken coating by heating and maintaining your oil at 165°C.

A platter of chicken tenders – the kids will love you for it!

until well mixed. Add chicken and set aside. 3) Begin heating your oil to a frying temperature of 165°C. Note: I will sometimes lower this to 155°C if cooking larger portions – this avoids making the coating turn too dark and also helps obtain food safe internal temps for the chicken, which is at least 75°C. I personally take my internal temps to 85°C – the chicken will still be moist, tender, and with an even white colouring

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throughout. This is where a quality instant read thermometer is an absolute game changer – perfect chicken every time! 4) In a second bowl, mix together the dry dredge ingredients (as above). 5) By hand, evenly coat chicken pieces from wash to dredge and space out on the meat cooling rack or cake rack. Set aside and leave covered with a paper towel for at least 10 minutes.

6) R epeat step five and leave for another five minutes. 7) E nsuring your oil is holding at 165°C, gently lower the coated chicken. Do not overcrowd your cooking receptacle. 8) C ooking times vary depending on portion size, but around the three-minute-mark, gently lift the chicken pieces out of the oil with tongs or a slotted spoon (if using a deep fryer then lift the fryer basket). The coating

4) Overcrowding the pan is a sin and should be avoided at all costs. This will quickly reduce the oil temperature and make the coating a soggy, oily mess. 5) Use an instant read meat thermometer to keep your food safe to eat and at the perfect ‘doneness’.

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should well and truly be “set” by now. Using your instant read meat thermometer, spot check the internal temperature of the chicken so you know where you are at. Remember the goal temperature is a minimum of 75°C (85°C is better in my opinion). If required, lower the chicken back into the oil and continue to cook and spot check every minute or so. 9) Once the chicken is at the desired internal temperature, place it back onto the cleaned meat cooling rack to allow any oil residue to drain off into an oven tray – if the cooking oil was at the right temperature, there shouldn’t be much, if any, to drain off. If frying lots of chicken, I like to preheat the oven to around 80°C and place the chicken in there to hold it at a nice temp and keep the coating crunchy on the bite. And that is it – Kezza’s Fried Chicken Fake-Away! To be honest, I’m not even sure what the Colonel’s Secret Herbs and Spices are but let me assure you that the ingredients list above works and is a real crowd pleaser! Serve the chicken with shoestring fries, spuds ‘n’ gravy, a sweet coleslaw, and some fresh milk buns. Or smash out your own take on a fried chicken works burger. It also goes great in tacos, on subs, sliced into a fresh salad or, with a few tweaks and a bit of experimenting, it can be deployed in Asian dishes like karaage and Korean chicken. Our Fake-Away journey didn’t stop at fried chicken… We, in fact, recently turned out 35 Big Mac clones for a birthday dinner – now that was fun, but we will save that recipe for another time.

Kezza’s Fried Chicken – Hot n’ Spicy! Proceed with caution and cool beer.

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Quality fried chicken makes great burgers, tacos, subs, salads and a multitude of tasty meals.

Finger licking good!

“I’m not even sure what the Colonel’s Secret Herbs and Spices are but let me assure you that the ingredients list above works and is a real crowd pleaser!”

“Would you like fries with that?” Big Mac clone and Chicken Tenders with a home style sriracha hot dipping sauce.