Well, it’s Foodie Sunday again, and today I’m finally gonna do it. Gonna screw my courage to the sticking point and admit that I have failed.
Y’all, despite all that nature, nurture, and years of attempts can do, I can’t fry chicken worth a hoot.
I bet there’re folks here who can help me figure out the glorious trick at last. So I hereby swallow all my Suthun pride and throw myself on the mercy of the court to beg for instruction. What is the secret (and does it apply to quail too, since I can’t do those either)?
At least once before I shuffle off this mortal coil, I want to fry me a breast-of-chicken I won’t mind eating . . . and maybe even (gasp) feel confident in inviting friends to join me.
Exactly what do you do to prep the chicken for the oil? Leave the skin on or not? What kind of pan and oil do you use, how deep, at what heat for how long? How often do you turn it, and how do you know when? Etc., etc.?
What am I missing?
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Perfect-Fried-Chicken/Detail.aspx
From experience with various grandmothers, aunts, cousins, etc., the main variation seems to be whether of not to dip the chix in egg before coating it with flour. Some people use self-rising flour for a more impressive batter. And there are many, many different opinions on the seasonings.
This is mama’s:
Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/3 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
4 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 cup hot red pepper sauce
2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2-pound chicken, cut into pieces
Oil, for frying
Make seasoning by simply mixing ingredients.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the water. Add enough hot sauce until the stuff in the bowl is UT orange.
In another bowl, combine the flour and pepper.
Season the chicken.
Dip the seasoned chicken in the orange stuff (egg/water/hot sauce)
Coat dipped chicken well in the flour mixture.
Fill deep pot half full with oil. Heat oil to 350 degrees.
Place chicken pieces in heated oil.
Fry until brown and crisp.
Note: Dark meat pieces take longer than white. It should take about 8-10 for white meat, 13-15 for dark.
Drain.
Eat.
Nap.
I’ve only tried to fry chicken on the bone once and it was a disaster. I think the chicken might have been too cold to cook all the way through. Craig Claiborne used to say that the sweetest meat is closest to the bone. I understand from some people who knew him that he might have had some double meaning going on there, but I do think there’s some truth to it and may have to get my courage up to try again.
I got a coupla pretty good recipes for chicken breast tenders though. I soak em in a buttermilk brine and that seems to do something nice. Also cheat by adding a little panko to the flour to make them crispier.
Wasn’t our poster from last week gonna give us her mama’s recipe for lebanese rice & pine nuts? I got me a bag of pine nuts and been waiting all week for that recipe!
Almost forgot, I got pulled by the siren call of the pastry studio link over there to the left last week, lotus, and saw that recipe for gateau de riz (basically a baked rice pudding with a caramelized glaze over it). Made it yesterday to share with a sick neighbor and I gotta say “YUMMMMM”
Wow, that sounds good, DCR — a whole cup of salt though? Really, that much? What kind of hot pepper sauce (a whole cup of that too)? So pot-fried instead of pan-fried, yah?
Dadgum blog ate another one of my comments!
ducky, I was trying to say how much I appreciate the solidarity of us inepts here. Like you, I either get the outside looking fine but the inside underdone, OR I get the whole thing overcooked and dry. Just can’t seem to hit on the right temp/time to save me, and I think my ma could have done it blindfolded.
And you’re right: (a) I bet Catty’s rice-with-pine-nuts might be just the thing with fried chix, so let’s hope she jumps back in with that soon. (b) meta’s gateau de riz is killah. (Scroll back a few weeks to that easy-peasy scone recipe too — oh MY.)
Mmmm, fried chicken…health food…
Eh, a few times a year, right?
Ooo, ducky, DCR’s link has lots of other links — tips, recipes, etc. Somewhere here, we’ve got ChickyNirvana . . .
I saw that lotus. I got it bookmarked in my Food Folder now.
Fried Chicken (Old fashioned)
1 Fryer cut up or 6 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper ½ teaspoon of each
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup flour
Cooking oil, enough to have 1 inch in cast iron skillet
Rinse chicken with skin intact (personal tastes may vary, the recipe works either way)
Drain well since the excess water will make it splatter all over the place, which it does in the best case anyways.
Heat oil to medium heat, if you place a few sprinkles of flour in it the flour will dissipate quickly if it’s hot enough, about 400 degrees. If using an electric skillet you can control it somewhat by just placing the thermometer on 400, egads, that’s darn near blasphemy for not using cast iron but it will work. And I prefer peanut oil myself, however, any oil but olive will work alright for frying.
In a Ziploc bag, quart size or larger, combine flour and salt/pepper and shake till all pieces are covered. (I like to add a lil Tony Chacere’s Cajun seasoning in lieu of the salt since it already contains salt)
Cook a few pieces at the time for approximately 7-8 minutes on both sides if using breasts, about 8-9 for dark meat pieces. Golden brown is what you are looking for. I also use a knife to punch a couple of holes in the dark meat next to the bone to insure it’s cooked adequately inside. Clear juice=done, pink juice=a little longer.
Oven Fried (My favorite which I’m having this afternoon)
1 Fryer cut up or 6 chicken breasts
Pepper and garlic powder ½ teaspoon of each
2 Cups Ritz cracker crumbs OR your favorite herb seasoned salad bread crumbs. Herbs, not HEMP for those that confuse usage of the word.
1 Stick REAL butter, melted in the microwave for about 45 seconds, NOT any of that "it’s almost butter " stuff. (http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/butter.asp) It’s not the "one molecule thing, its personal preference.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Coat the chicken pieces with the melted butter, hurry or it will start getting clingy.
Place in a Ziploc bag with crumbs and shake OR roll it around in a big bowl filled with crumbs, your choice
Place on aluminum foil covered baking dish with pieces not touching each other
Place on middle rack of oven
Cook for 45 minutes to 60 minutes depending on your oven. Gas cooks quicker.
DO NOT TURN OVER, it’ll mess your “Fried” look up.
I stick a knife in the chicken at about 45 minutes next to the bone to see what kind of juice comes out. Pink=not done, clear=done
Bon appetit
The various seasonings can be increased or decreased to taste. Mama liked it hot and salty. She prefered the pot because there was less splatter than with a skillet.
DCR..didn’t she though. I’m guessing she just sprinkled in on there and didn’t insist on using all of it.
I’m down with hot&salty too, but that cup-apiece really sounds GENEROUS.
Razor, great detail there — thanks!
Lotus, while I don’t have much good advice for frying chicken, I do know how to cook some very good pan fried quail.
The recipe is so simple, that it is hard to believe it is very good —but, trust me on this.
After cleaning the quail, salt and pepper each bird. Then pan fry in butter. Use 3-4 Tbsp of butter per bird. Using medium heat, lightly brown each side with the lid off the frying pan. Then cover with lid and finish cooking until done — check with a fork.
This is so good, it is hard to believe that only 3 basic ingredients are used.
Oh, I keep forgetting to ask . . . a couple of folks lately have mentioned “no edit button.” Whattup — no more edit button anywhere, or just sometimes? (I see a slightly different version of the comments than you do, so wouldn’t have noticed.) About how long has it been AWOL, if so?
Sounds nummy and simple, afotl — great. But what about the Hoover sauce?
Details, details, details. Not very important unless you are trying to replicate something. And even with the best details you still ain’t gettin the same thing most times.
And the Hoover sauce, if you can get it, is a great dipping sauce on my “old fashioned” recipe
I am frying chicken tonight for my daughter’s birthday and was going to post about it!?! This is a weird coincidence.
Lotus, use that Hoover Sauce to grill out some chicken wings. You don’t need to do anything to them, but marinate them for a little while in the Hoover sauce, and then baste them with it while grilling. That’s it. Its almost foolproof and so damned good the thought of it is making me hungry right now.
Great minds think alike…the planets are aligning…deja vu….karma….it’s Sunday and gospel bird is always in vogue in the South.
But most importantly, NOTHING says “I love you” like a basket of home-style fried chicken or a big bowl of potato salad. Or banana pudding.
I prefer them all at the same meal. Not very healthy, but most certainly very tasty.
Happy Birfday to Daughter, NMC! I’ll be mighty pleased to have your input on this topic too.
Still got to order my Hoover sauce — glad this reminded me.
Amen on the banana pudding, lawd lawd.
While in law school in Miami, I got invited to some friends’ house for Thanksgiving dinner and toted along a banana pudding as my contribution. These poor deprived urbanites had never heard of such and looked at it kinda funny (they didn’t think I saw ‘em).
Then they fought for the last spoonful, heh.
music to eat Sunday Chicken by:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZI0zO2TS1Y
On the fried chicken, let it sit out for about 30 minutes before frying and you’ll avoid the temp drop in your cooking oil which is an absolute killer. My other comment is that you want to cook it at about 325-350 so take your oil up a little higher. Peanut Oil will easily go to 375 or 400. Leaving the chicken out for a bit will let you dry it well to avoid the initial splatter. As for oil splatter during cooking, go the dollar store and pick up the little screen covers. ot mine in a set of three and they make clean up much easier.
P.S. Try Frank’s Red Hot Chili and Lime as an alternative for your hot sauce. If you want a good heart healthy cajun seasoning for unheart healthy fried food, email me at parrotreb@gmail.com. I make my own and it is better than anything you can buy.
My musical contri, non-Buffett style:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrZwGGKGkuU
WHOA, DUCKY — PERFECT!
Good stuff too, A1A (I got my splatter screen all ready, yessir). Lemme go check out your YouTube now . . .
Oh, smoove music, A1A — thanks for that treat too!
Y’all have inspired me. Just popped in a blackberry cobbler with the last of last year’s blackberries. Now, what to go with it?
Child this sounds like a bona fide southern SOS. But don’t feel too bad. The popularity of fried chicken predates the times we all had central air and in our hot humid climate the fans worked alot better to cool off the house after frying than baking. Nowadays with good southern fried to go from places like Two Sisters and Fannin Mart, it saves not only on the ‘lectric bill but also on the cleanin’ up.
However, here’s some tips I learned:
Skin the chicken
On a plate dump some flour, salt and pepper stir dry ingredients to mix them up a bit. Set aside.
Pour some crisco oil into an electric skillet about 1.5 inches deep. Set skillet on ” pork chop temperature.” (skillet come with temp dials that include numbers for degrees AND names of different foods that can be cooked at the various temps). While oil is heating, put chicken pieces one at a time in the flour mixture on the plate until covered well. When skillet reached desired temp, place chicken pieces in skillet. When skillet is full, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown on one side. Then uncover turn chicken, recover and cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Place paper towels on a clean plate and remove chicken from skillet into paper towels to drain excess oil. Yum!!
My only complaint about fried chicken is that you have to make sure the sizzling grease on the plate, or the gravy, to say nothing of the greens, doesn’t damage the crispness of the other fried food on the plate. This is why I always order extra sides of fried potatoes, tomatoes, etc., with my fried chicken. Better safe than sorry, I say.
JSH, no skin on the yard bird? Sacrilege!!!
And zen, some good gravy with rice or mashed potatoes, sliced tomatoes, etc…, hmmmm yessir.
Lotus — One does not use all of the salt or the other seasoning. Just dip the chix in it or sprinkle it on as shaveswithaoccamsrazor points out. And A1A is spot-on about letting the chix come to room temperature before putting it in the oil.
A1A: yes i know it is a sacrilege to waste any part of the bird, but turns out mama was right that skin ain’t nothing but fat. I prefer to take the fat in the form of a good gravy on top of mashed potatoes or rice. Unless it’s summer time and potato salad is in vogue!
that skin ain’t nothing but fat
Your point is?
I know the skin is nothing but fat but it tastes so good when the chicken is fried right. And fried chicken with the skin is just as much of a rarely allowed extravagance as is well-prepared foie gras.
well i guess i have to plead ignorance on that because whenever i try to fry it with the skin on — it just doesn’t turn out like you describe.
The secret to frying chicken is to not overstuff the frying pot. Pieces should be about 1 inch apart while frying.
This is the recipe I learn after moving to Mississippi. I am from San Francisco and even though I had a home ec. degree, I could not fry chicken.
I soak my skinned, trimmed, and boned chicken breasts in buttermilk for an hour. Spoon an inch of floure in a broad shallow dish. Place chicken breasts in flour, then sprinkle with season salt or garlic salt. Spoon flour over the chicken breasts and pat to even coat. Shake off the excess and fry in at least one inch of hot oil – 375 F. Turn with pancake flipper and fork when brown and fry other side.
You can also cut the breasts up into 1- 1/2 pieces for chicken bites.
In a follow up, I will post my recipe for Chicken Onion Rings that took me to the national chicken contest.
(Psst, A1A. Don’t tell anybody, okay, but I’ll trade ya perfect foie gras for perfect fried chicken all day an’ all night. Little secret jes’ ‘tween us, okay?)
Chicken Onion Rings? Wow, now we ARE getting serious.
This may turn into the Folo School of Identified Frying Objects!
Frying with the skin on keeps the bird much more moist.
And, as a traditionalist, it must be fried in cast iron. I prefer a dutch oven for better heat retention.
So the skin makes it taste twice as good huh? Maybe that’s why its so wunnerful. Just a little bit won’t hurt cha. This video clip shows the a nice variation on fried chicken. BTW, where did someone in New York learn to fry chicken anyway. http://tinyurl.com/56pxq2
AFOL at 13 when I showed your recipe she asked how long is that?
O-TAY, you can now visit the Flowahy Cookin’ page for A1A’S OUTRAGEOUS CAJUN SEASONING.
Just read those ingredients and Taste the Nummy.
I don’t know that I’m ready for chicken and waffles, razor. I just tried my first Chik-fil-a breakfast burrito with chicken instead of sausage the other day. Took me a year to get used to that idea. Fried chicken for breakfast would take a little warming up to.
I dunno either, Headscratchin. Did you take a real close look at that guy’s plate? Even before the half-cup of syrup hit ‘em, neither the chicken nor the waffle looked quite right(eous) to me.
Nope, bleeve I’ll pass.
I don’t really care for fried chicken (I know, that’s really un-Southern). The only fried chicken I’ve ever eaten was prepared by my mother. Her recipe is in the cookbook I sent to you, lotus. I never could get it to taste the same. Must have been that deep iron skillet.
I’ve heard that the chicken and waffles thing was something that jazz musicians would eat when they would get through with their last session. Combo supper/breakfast idea. There’s some restaurant in Harlem that’s famous for them. I like that site Razor 40; will go back to check it out some more. And FYI, every time I go to NYC I always run into people who are originally from Mississippi. You know they’re up there spreading our stuff all over the place.
Another thing I find interesting about DCReaders recipe is that self rising flour; I guess it puffs up to make a crispier crust? I’m inspired and emboldened now; I’m gonna try me some of these recipes including A1A’s spicy mix.
Amen Zen 33 & A1A 34.
slim, cook it till its done –LOL— not sure exactly how long , as I’ve never set a timer to it.
start off with the bird breast side down and cook it until brown, then flip and do the other side — then flip again, cover, and cook until done
I just check mine with a fork. When the meat can be pierced easily with a fork, and you can see that it is done all the way through, then you are ready. A little taste sampling by the cook is a good way to confirm.
Also, you can pour the remaining butter in the pan over some toasted bread to eat along with the quail. Very good.
A little wine with this meal really tops it off.
order out…., carry in, it always tastes better.
AFOTL, I tried your butter fried Quail last night, and it was great.
While my wife and I talked about how good it was I remembered Mama’s doves fried this way and my wife dug up her handwritten “Clara’s Dove”. Clara a wonderful employee back in the 50’s. Almost as wide as she was tall and the best cook you can imagine.