[catachresis]

Real Southern Pan-fried Chicken:

Note: The NYTimes online had an article a few months ago about fried chicken strategies.

My momma makes it this way.

1. Wash and dismember a large fryer. Split the breast into two pieces. I prefer 'with skin' but that's a dietary factor.

2. Chicken should taste like good chicken. Invest in a good quality chicken. I don't think the pieces need to be soaked in either milk or beaten egg, but you certainly can. The egg-dip produces thick, crunchy batter.

3. Combine a cup of white flour with salt and pepper (add a pinch of cayenne) in a mixing bowl or a paper bag. Coat the pieces in the seasoned flour a few at a time and lay aside on a plate or in a dish.

4. Get a wide, heavy skillet. Add 1&1/2 inches of vegetable oil or shortening. Get a wide pot lid and cover the skillet, heating it on the rangetop at one click below the highest heat. The oil is meant to come up to about the middle of the pieces -- not submerge them.

5. When the oil is very hot, carefully add enough pieces -- skin-side down -- to the skillet so that the surface area is mostly covered but the pieces don't stack or closely crowd each other. Cover the skillet. Cook 3-5 minutes. Do not poke or stir if you can help it (reduces heat and interferes with crust formation). When the bottom of the pieces is golden or a bit darker, carefully turn them. Cook each 3-4 minutes. Remove the pieces with tongs or a slotted spoon and let them drain on a paper bag. Repeat til all pieces are cooked.

 

[HypnoLobster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catachresis Real Southern Pan-fried Chicken: Note: The NYTimes online had an article a few months ago about fried chicken strategies. My momma makes it this way. 1. Wash and dismember a large fryer. Split the breast into two pieces. I prefer 'with skin' but that's a dietary factor. 2. Chicken should taste like good chicken. Invest in a good quality chicken. I don't think the pieces need to be soaked in either milk or beaten egg, but you certainly can. The egg-dip produces thick, crunchy batter. 3. Combine a cup of white flour with salt and pepper (add a pinch of cayenne) in a mixing bowl or a paper bag. Coat the pieces in the seasoned flour a few at a time and lay aside on a plate or in a dish. 4. Get a wide, heavy skillet. Add 1&1/2 inches of vegetable oil or shortening. Get a wide pot lid and cover the skillet, heating it on the rangetop at one click below the highest heat. The oil is meant to come up to about the middle of the pieces -- not submerge them. 5. When the oil is very hot, carefully add enough pieces -- skin-side down -- to the skillet so that the surface area is mostly covered but the pieces don't stack or closely crowd each other. Cover the skillet. Cook 3-5 minutes. Do not poke or stir if you can help it (reduces heat and interferes with crust formation). When the bottom of the pieces is golden or a bit darker, carefully turn them. Cook each 3-4 minutes. Remove the pieces with tongs or a slotted spoon and let them drain on a paper bag. Repeat til all pieces are cooked.

That is pretty much exactly what I do.
Excellent.

 

[Teerawit]

Ideally you should fry the chicken in shortening, but that will cut your life in half. Caveat emptor.

Also twice-battered chicken tastes good

just soak the raw chicken in buttermilk, coat with aforementioned batter, dip the chicken again in buttermilk, and coat again with the batter. mmmmmm

 

[bpm2000]

I looooooove fried chicken. As far as grocery store chicken around here goes, I think Albertson's has the best (and its cheaper than QFC or Safeways). KFC original recipie is good but I cant stand the extra crispy. Have u seen the article in the Stranger recently about fried chicken? I guess they liked Southern Kitchen in Tacoma.

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=30864

 

[Oistrakh]

fried chicken is gross! The fried part is the chicken skin, and that makes me want to vomit! Thats why I don't eat the skin of fried chicken (Kind of defeats the point doesn't it?)

 

[Born2bwire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit It isn't possible to find bad chicken here

Oh God don't I know it. I visited my grandmother in Columbus for a week for Christmas. Almost every single day I had fried chicken for lunch and either barbeque or fried catfish for dinner. I probably could have hibernated for the rest of winter with all the calories and fat I packed in on that trip.

 

[chia-pet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catachresis Real Southern Pan-fried Chicken: Note: The NYTimes online had an article a few months ago about fried chicken strategies. My momma makes it this way. 1. Wash and dismember a large fryer. Split the breast into two pieces. I prefer 'with skin' but that's a dietary factor. 2. Chicken should taste like good chicken. Invest in a good quality chicken. I don't think the pieces need to be soaked in either milk or beaten egg, but you certainly can. The egg-dip produces thick, crunchy batter. 3. Combine a cup of white flour with salt and pepper (add a pinch of cayenne) in a mixing bowl or a paper bag. Coat the pieces in the seasoned flour a few at a time and lay aside on a plate or in a dish. 4. Get a wide, heavy skillet. Add 1&1/2 inches of vegetable oil or shortening. Get a wide pot lid and cover the skillet, heating it on the rangetop at one click below the highest heat. The oil is meant to come up to about the middle of the pieces -- not submerge them. 5. When the oil is very hot, carefully add enough pieces -- skin-side down -- to the skillet so that the surface area is mostly covered but the pieces don't stack or closely crowd each other. Cover the skillet. Cook 3-5 minutes. Do not poke or stir if you can help it (reduces heat and interferes with crust formation). When the bottom of the pieces is golden or a bit darker, carefully turn them. Cook each 3-4 minutes. Remove the pieces with tongs or a slotted spoon and let them drain on a paper bag. Repeat til all pieces are cooked.

So do you think the "grainy" texture in my own fried chicken was the result of too low heat?

Because I basically did everything you said in those instructions, besides the heat.

 

[chia-pet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit Ideally you should fry the chicken in shortening, but that will cut your life in half. Caveat emptor. Also twice-battered chicken tastes good just soak the raw chicken in buttermilk, coat with aforementioned batter, dip the chicken again in buttermilk, and coat again with the batter. mmmmmm

I tried doing this on one batch of chicken wings, except using egg instead of buttermilk. It didn't seem to do anything for the taste--it may have had slightly thicker skin, but I couldn't tell the difference. But using buttermilk instead of egg may be an interesting idea... anyone have any experiece with both and which is better?

 

[chia-pet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpm2000 I looooooove fried chicken. As far as grocery store chicken around here goes, I think Albertson's has the best (and its cheaper than QFC or Safeways). KFC original recipie is good but I cant stand the extra crispy. Have u seen the article in the Stranger recently about fried chicken? I guess they liked Southern Kitchen in Tacoma. http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=30864

Hmm maybe we'll drop by the Albertson's on Aurora and give it a shot. But then again we don't like KFC Original and you do, so there may be a difference in personal taste here.

And Tacoma is a bit far to travel for fried chicken lol. But maybe we'll stop by when we head to Portland for whatever reason. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[chia-pet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn awesome - apparently Walt uses a rare way to "broast" his chicken - which is why it tastes so awesome! i found this on the web- "Chicken Broaster ----- Original Message ----- From: mike To: phaedrus Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 2:37 PM Subject: chicken broaster someone getting out of the restaurant business donated a flavor crisp chicken pressure cooker to our vfw post and we are looking for any information on how to operate the broaster tnx Hi Mike, Gosh, this is tough. These broasters are usually sold as a franchise deal. You buy the broaster and the ingredients for the chicken batter from a company like Flavor Crisp, and they come in and teach you how to operate it. I wasn't able to find any instructions online, and I couldn't find a website for Flavor Crisp. Here's a Flavor Crisp franchise: Walt's Flavor Crisp Chicken 527 Vandever Ave, Wilmington, DE 19802-4240 Phone: (302)658-1803 My suggestion is to call them and talk to the manager - "Walt", I guess. Maybe he can help you or can point you to someone who can. There are no "broasted chicken recipes" on the web that I can find. Phaed "

I guess now I know why my chicken isn't fantastic and why it probably never will be.

 

[warubozu]

Here in Hawaii during the late eighties there was this place called Chicken Alice which served to me the best fried spicy chicken (Korean style). Unfortunately they have long since closed.

Fortunately a little searching on the internet and I came across the original recipe for Chicken Alice's tasty spicy fried chick. Try it out, it one of the best I've ever had:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/...n_like_al.html

Another one of my favorite fried chicken recipe and favorite of many locals here in Hawaii is Mochiko Chicken. Give it a try and you might not be disappointed:

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/hawa...chichicken.htm

 

[tattoou2]

Hon, is that one of the cat's hairballs, or is that the McNugget I dropped behind the sofa yesterday?

 

[catachresis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chia-pet So do you think the "grainy" texture in my own fried chicken was the result of too low heat? Because I basically did everything you said in those instructions, besides the heat.

Like every other kind of real home cooking, this recipe and all the similar ones probably require a minimum of four experiments before you can safely know what the optimised product tastes like.

The NYT article suggested that most fried chicken is fried on too low a heat. Hence, against common wisdom, it recommends covering the skillet with a top -- at least 3/4 the way -- to maintain high heat. The theory is that if the oil is very hot, the skin quickly crisps and seals the meat, so it becomes succulent.

Nigel Slater argues that the less you move or manipulate anything frying on high heat to form crust, the better. I find this is very true.

Home cooking is not the same as something that comes in a grease-splotched cardboard box from the local franchise, which has put the chicken through a pressure-cooked 10 gallon grease bath. I doubt that's the product you were shooting for, but be warned.

I'm no pro at making fried chicken. Now, making chicken stock (and getting that precious meat to make six dishes after) I'm good at.

 

[grawk]

Bojangles.

 

[chia-pet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warubozu Here in Hawaii during the late eighties there was this place called Chicken Alice which served to me the best fried spicy chicken (Korean style). Unfortunately they have long since closed. Fortunately a little searching on the internet and I came across the original recipe for Chicken Alice's tasty spicy fried chick. Try it out, it one of the best I've ever had: http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/...n_like_al.html Another one of my favorite fried chicken recipe and favorite of many locals here in Hawaii is Mochiko Chicken. Give it a try and you might not be disappointed: http://chinesefood.about.com/od/hawa...chichicken.htm

Thank you so much! This was exactly what I was looking for. I'm definitely gonna try this one out.