FRIED CHICKEN
I took the fried
chicken recipe suggestions from a post, and added some tips from
other recipes and came up with this:
Brine
(optional) --
¼ cup salt to 8
cups water
From StevenRocks
First you soak your
chicken pieces in a bowl of water with a little bit of salt, baking
soda and sugar. The amount varies depending on how much chicken
you're making, but is at least a half-teaspoon of each. (The salt
draws out some of the excess blood, the baking powder tenderizes the
meat a bit, and the sugar sweetens it somewhat. You can leave out
the last two if desired, but the salt is essential.) Soak for at
least 30 minutes.
I forgot the baking
soda, but think the sugar is a great addition for brine. I used
some garlic salt in addition to sea salt for this. Most recipes
suggest soaking the chicken in the brine for 8 to 12 hours!
After the Brine
soak the chicken in buttermilk for another 8 to 12 hours!
The
buttermilk mixture can also contain Tabasco and salt.
Then mix some
seasoned flour:
1.5 cups of flour,
1 tablespoon baking powder (suggestion from Martha Stewart), some recipes
call for an addition of cornstarch, and salt, black pepper.
Options are fresh
herbs (parsley, oregano and/or thyme) and cayenne pepper
Take chicken pieces
from buttermilk marinade and dredge in seasoned flour (you can shake
in a paper bag or plastic bag.
From StevenRocks
Pat dry your chicken and dredge
it in seasoned flour. (I use a local variety (Big Spring Mill of
Elliston, Va.*) but
House-Autry is much more widely available and will create the
desired flavor.
*Other products from Virginia's Best
Catalog Group are available from these websites:
Alternatively, you can make your own seasoned flour,
but it's a bit trickier. It's not something you can do correctly the
first time unless you're really good with flavoring.)
Let your chicken rest for at least 20 minutes while you heat your
oil. It can rest either at room temperature or in the fridge. After
about 10 minutes, you can put a second coat of flour on to produce a
thicker, crispier crust, but it's personal preference on this.
A word on oils: I use Crisco or Wesson, but just about any kind of
oil will fry chicken. I don't tend to use olive oil, coconut oil or
peanut oil because they have low smoke points, but any conventional
oil is fair game.
Make sure you have a pot of sufficient depth so that the chicken
will be completely immersed in oil without splattering. (Some people
prefer shallow frying, but I use deep frying, preferably in a
heavy-bottomed pot with at least a couple of inches of oil inside.
You can use a deep fryer instead, but make sure it has a temperature
control. Fry Daddies (which have no temperature control) don't work
well with chicken.)
Heat your oil to 350 degrees (use a candy thermometer to gauge the
heat) and immerse your chicken into the hot oil. Breasts with bones
and thighs tend to take longer to cook, so put them in first. Do not
crowd your pan with chicken. Give each piece space to fry.
Turn your chicken at last once while frying. Wait about 5 minutes
before you do.
Most chicken will fry to perfection in 10 to 20 minutes. It's done
when clear juices run from the pieces. drain on absorbent paper or a
rack and let it sit for at least 3-4 minutes.
Additional tip
From Forsbergacct2000
My mother uses a
half fry/ half bake method with great results. She uses a procedure
close to Steven's (although she uses seasoned bread crumbs.)
She leaves the chicken in the oil long enough to brown, and then
transfers it to the oven to complete the cooking process.
I used two
boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into finger like pieces.
They didn’t turn out like Colonel Saunders Kentucky Fried chicken
(not as crisp or dark brown) but the chicken was perfectly tender,
and juicy (Brining plus the buttermilk?)
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