Making Fried Chicken

[Deleted]

I'm thinking about making fried chicken vs buying it. Anyone ever done this?

HOW?>

[redwagon]

Get a deep pot, fill it with lots of oil, batter up your chicken (check allrecipes.com for a good batter/coating recipe), and go for it. Carefully of course. Or buy a mini deep fryer from Bed bath and beyond. Good luck!

[mommax4]

redwagon summed up the basics. I did find that I get a better/crunchier coating if I dip in plain (or seasoned if you prefer) flour, then eggs, then crushed cereal (cornflakes/rice crispies or similar). It took me along time to figure that out.

[Honeylioness]

First off ... BREATHE!!!



Contrary to what some will tell you Fried Chicken is actually one of the easier things to make for new cooks and those who don't cook often. There are however a lot of ways to mess it up. So, here are my tips for crispy, non-greasy fried chicken:

* The chicken should be at room temperature BEFORE you fry it. Otherwise you are likely to get a drumstick that is still almost raw inside.

* Use clean oil. By that I mean, don't re-use oil from another use, such as making french fries. I recommend basic vegetable oil for the most consistent results.

* The coating needs to be dry before you fry it. This ensures a crispier skin and less "popping" of the oil due to contact with moisture.

* Regardless of the type of frying pan you use (electric, cast iron, stainless) be sure to not over crowd it when frying the pieces of chicken. There should be an even margin of space around each piece so they cook evenly. Crowding the pan will get you "gummy" chicken where the pieces almost insulate each other if they are pressed together.



Now that you are ready .... here are my recommendations for what you will need:

* A heavy bottomed frying pan with lid. I personally do not like non-stick or teflon coated as you don't get the really crispy skin with them.

* Enough vegetable oil to fill the pan halfway.

* Paper towels.

* A cookie sheet or baking tray.

* Cooling racks - like you would put cookies on after they come out of the oven.

* Chicken.

* The coating/seasoning of your choice.



The choice of coating or breading for your fried chicken is as varied as each cook. In it's simplest form it is just flour. At the other end are the batters that encase each piece. Let's start with just flour for now.

* Put several layers of paper towels on the baking sheet. Sit the cooling rack on top of the paper towels. This will allow you to not only dry the chicken before frying but to have a place for it to cool and drain off any excess oil afterward.

* Into a plastic bag (such as a produce bag from the store) put two cups of flour

* Add salt and pepper to taste and/or any other seasoning you like. (I prefer to substitute Lawry's Season Salt)

* In a shallow bowl put about a cup of milk - or milk and a beaten egg. You need a "wet" so the flour mix will stick to the chicken.

* Dip each chicken piece into the milk mixture then drop into the flour bag.

* close the top of the bag (just twist it) and "shake" to coat the chicken piece. You can do two at a time with small pieces like legs and wings - but stick to one at a time for breasts and thigh pieces.

* Put the coated pieces onto the cooling racks for 5-10 minutes to dry. This also sets the coating so it will not clump off in the pan.

* Fill your frying pan halfway with oil and heat on med-high until one drop of water flicked into the oil "pops" ... but don't let the oil smoke.

* Using tongs place chicken into the hot oil making sure the pieces are not crowded.

* Cover the pan and chicken fry for 5-7 minutes per side. The lid keeps grease spatters down and also helps trap the moist heat so the meat is cooked all the way through.

* Using tongs (I prefer them as they do not pierce the skin like a fork and let the juices run out) check the bottom of the chicken pieces. When they are a deep golden brown turn the pieces over and cook the second side.

* Replace cover and cook another 5-7 minutes. You are waiting to hear the oil abate a bit. When you first place the chicken into the oil the sound of frying will be quite loud. As the meat cooks and there is little extra moisture being released the snapping/frying sound will lessen.

* Place the cooked pieces back onto the cooling racks to drain. Also the residual heat from the frying will continue to cook the meat slightly on the inside.

* Let the oil come back up in heat for a moment then fry the next batch.




And here is my favorite variation that always makes juicy flavorful fried chicken:


* In a large ziplock bag place two cups of buttermilk. You can either use it fresh or reconstituted from a powder which you will find in the baking aisle.

* Add two teaspoons of Lawry's

* Add chicken

* Seal the ziplock bag being sure to press out as much air as possible.

* Set the bag into a bowl or pan (just in case it leaks) and put it in the refrigerator overnight

* The next day follow the steps above - omitting the milk/egg dip as the buttermilk marinade serves the same purpose.






Good luck and let me know how it goes!!!

[Agatha]

Excellent, Honeylioness! I couldn't add a thing to that. . .so I gave you a karma point. ;D

[cathysmom]

Rather than using a deep fryer and liquid oil, we like to fry chicken in about 1/2" of melted Crisco in our deepest frying pan on the stove using a deep frying/candy thermometer. It's probably less healthy than liquid oil, but gives a cleaner taste. For coatings, our favorite is the Zatarain's Crispy Southern Style coating. We used the directions in The Joy of Cooking to figure out how to deep fry.
Keep your baking soda and the pan lid handy just in case your oil gets overheated and starts to burn.
Good Luck!!!

honey - I didn't know that about overcrowding the pan. Maybe next time I'll split mine into more batches and give them a little space. Thanks!

[msgumby]

you can soak the chicken in buttermilk for a few hours before and it makes the chicken extra tasty.

[Deleted]

Feb 8, 2011 14:56:29 GMT -5 cathysmom said:

Rather than using a deep fryer and liquid oil, we like to fry chicken in about 1/2" of melted Crisco in our deepest frying pan on the stove using a deep frying/candy thermometer. It's probably less healthy than liquid oil, but gives a cleaner taste. For coatings, our favorite is the Zatarain's Crispy Southern Style coating. We used the directions in The Joy of Cooking to figure out how to deep fry.
Keep your baking soda and the pan lid handy just in case your oil gets overheated and starts to burn.
Good Luck!!!


Crisco as in the solid instead of oil? What's the difference?
honey - I didn't know that about overcrowding the pan. Maybe next time I'll split mine into more batches and give them a little space. Thanks!

[Deleted]

I guess a crockpot would work just as well as a deep fryer? Deep fryers can't be put into the dishwasher?

I guess Ranch dressing would work and the "liquid" (+ adds flavoring)

[debtheaven]

I do mine in a regular frying pan, with about an inch or an inch in a half of oil. You need to keep the temperature pretty low because you don't want the outside burnt to a crisp and the inside still raw.

I dunk in a mixture of a couple of eggs and fresh cream (hey I'm in France LOL.) You could use sour cream. Then I dunk that "wet" bit in flour that has been generously seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic (fresh or powdered) and the insides of dried chili peppers (DO NOT RUB YOUR EYES! LOL)

I also make what DS3 calls "Mama McNuggets". Same wet base (eggs and cream), but I use chicken breasts cut up into smaller pieces and use bread crumbs (instead of flour) spiced up the same way. The smaller bits of chicken breasts cook much quicker than the traditional bigger pieces for fried chicken.

ETA: When I make "real" fried chicken (not the Mama McNuggets) I make fresh cornbread too. YUM!

I would do real fried chicken more often, but I am still trying to figure out how to find a chicken with 85% white meat LOL.

[blackcard]

Or you could just fondue it. Was all the craze in my parents house. Along with Crock Pots.

[Deleted]

Feb 8, 2011 19:30:56 GMT -5 blackcard said:

Or you could just fondue it. Was all the craze in my parents house. Along with Crock Pots.

fondue it?

[blackcard]

Fondue pots I guess were all the craze in the 80's. They even did fondue chocolate, all with heated oil in a small pot. Google it, and you will see what I mean.

[blackcard]

try www.fonduebits.com

[Deleted]

Feb 8, 2011 19:41:42 GMT -5 blackcard said:

Fondue pots I guess were all the craze in the 80's. They even did fondue chocolate, all with heated oil in a small pot. Google it, and you will see what I mean.

I think I'll try my crock pot first!

[blackcard]

Or just through it in the microwave Chewy Chewy Chewy

[Honeylioness]

thecropchick

I would NOT use a crockpot - the oil will never get hot enough and you will basically just be boiling the chicken in oil and it will not be something you would want to eat.

[Sam_2.0]

My favorite thing to do is marinade the chicken in hot sauce first. Then bread & fry. That way the chicken soaks in the flavor from the hot sauce, but its not super spicy. YUM!

Making your own fried chicken is super super easy. The only part i hate is the cleanup Not sure how well a crockpot would work to fry in though - I don't think it could get the oil hot enough.

[Deleted]

Feb 8, 2011 20:54:01 GMT -5 Honeylioness said:

thecropchick

I would NOT use a crockpot - the oil will never get hot enough and you will basically just be boiling the chicken in oil and it will not be something you would want to eat.

Thanks for the info!

[Deleted]

Feb 8, 2011 20:55:02 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

My favorite thing to do is marinade the chicken in hot sauce first. Then bread & fry. That way the chicken soaks in the flavor from the hot sauce, but its not super spicy. YUM!

Making your own fried chicken is super super easy. The only part i hate is the cleanup Not sure how well a crockpot would work to fry in though - I don't think it could get the oil hot enough.

Sorry, can't do the hot sauce!

[flopsy]

mmm wanna come over and serve some fried chicken up over a waffle with a side of collard greens and black eyed peas?

[redwagon]

oh my god I want fried chicken now SO bad. Not good for weight watchers though haha. I make fried chicken tenders for my sweet n sour chicken recipe. Might be time to make that again... at least then I'm getting veggies too... mmmmm fried chicken.

can you tell I'm hungry?

Honey, I exalted you as well for that awesome step by step!

[Deleted]

Feb 8, 2011 21:36:30 GMT -5 redwagon said:

oh my god I want fried chicken now SO bad. Not good for weight watchers though haha. I make fried chicken tenders for my sweet n sour chicken recipe. Might be time to make that again... at least then I'm getting veggies too... mmmmm fried chicken.

can you tell I'm hungry?

Honey, I exalted you as well for that awesome step by step!

What time is dinner Reb!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

My suggestion would be to make sure that you do not crowd your pain. Each time you add another piece to the oil, it causes the temperature to drop and you wind up steaming your chicken rather than frying it.

Cooks Illustrated did an article on this and recommends soaking the chicken in buttermilk about 24 hours before you bread it and fry it.

My grandmother used a huge cast iron skillet with an old beat up lid that did not fit securly. She would season flour in a paper bag, toss the chicken in it and mix it up.

You might want to get an instant meat thermometer to make sure that you've cooked the chicken thoroughly.

[Elizabeth]

FryDaddy!

[Honeylioness]

awwww......thanks agathas and redwagon

[Deleted]

Feb 9, 2011 9:00:14 GMT -5 Lady Gaga Gaga Snerd said:

How does KFC get so much coating to stick to their chicken? And anyone have a KFC recipe that really tastes like KFC?

I heard the recipe is in Fort Knox! No one is getting their hands on it!

[singlemomky]

I heard the recipe is in Fort Knox! No one is getting their hands on it!

cropchick - actually the original recipe handwritten by Col. Sanders in pencil is in KFC headquarters in Louisville where it has been for 71 years. Minus a temporary home for a bit in 2008 when the secured safe was renovated and updated with new technology. When it was moved it was placed in a locked briefcase which was handcuffed to a former NYPD officer who was hired to protect the recipe. It was all very Mission: Impossible.

[shelby]

Can I just say thank you for this thread! I have been trying to master my fried chicken for months now, cannot seem to get the proper crispy skin. Great suggestions will try a few.

[mizbear]

I do an oven baked fried chicken where you season and batter your chicken then bake it at your preferred chicken temp (I try to stick around 350 so I don't burn anything) until done and crispy.

You guys have me wanting my grandmother's Finger Lickin Chicken- You take leftover fried chicken, put it in a dutch oven or cast iron skillet, pour milk over it and let it cook down to make a gravy- you can also just buy fried chicken and make it.
Instructions: Place cooked fried chicken in dutch oven, cover with milk (don't drown). Place in oven with lid on at 350-375 until chicken is coated and gravy forms. Time will vary depending on temp of chicken and oven.