Best Way to Make Fried Chicken

[Cecilie1200]

I thought about this because I'm going to a party tonight, and we're supposed to bring a dish that reflects our heritage. My family's been in the US since just after the Revolutionary War, and is thoroughly intermarried among a variety of ethnic groups. All I can really claim for certain is Southern American Hillbilly, so I'm taking homemade southern fried chicken (a dish many people have not gotten to experience).

There are as many homemade fried chicken recipes as there are people who make it, and everyone thinks they know the "best" way. So I'll share mine, and you guys share yours.

I say skin-on, dredge in a mix of flour, salt, pepper, and paprika, dip in buttermilk, re-dredge in the flour mixture, then fry in a deep pan with an inch- 1 1/2 inches of hot oil. The oil has to be hot before you put the chicken in, because you don't want it to sit too long. Peanut oil is great, but with so many peanut allergies out there, it's risky when serving to non-family. I like blended oil or wok oil, something formulated to get really hot without scorching, and I like to add a little minced garlic to the oil for flavor.

 

[syrenn]

I thought about this because I'm going to a party tonight, and we're supposed to bring a dish that reflects our heritage. My family's been in the US since just after the Revolutionary War, and is thoroughly intermarried among a variety of ethnic groups. All I can really claim for certain is Southern American Hillbilly, so I'm taking homemade southern fried chicken (a dish many people have not gotten to experience).

There are as many homemade fried chicken recipes as there are people who make it, and everyone thinks they know the "best" way. So I'll share mine, and you guys share yours.

I say skin-on, dredge in a mix of flour, salt, pepper, and paprika, dip in buttermilk, re-dredge in the flour mixture, then fry in a deep pan with an inch- 1 1/2 inches of hot oil. The oil has to be hot before you put the chicken in, because you don't want it to sit too long. Peanut oil is great, but with so many peanut allergies out there, it's risky when serving to non-family. I like blended oil or wok oil, something formulated to get really hot without scorching, and I like to add a little minced garlic to the oil for flavor.

I do mine several different ways... skin on..skin off. Bone in...boneless.. White or dark.

the only real difference between what you and i do is that i marinate mine in the buttermilk with some seasonings for 24 hours. It makes it very tender. Try it sometime

 

[Big Black Dog]

I would be happy to sample your fried chicken because I am known to be an excellent judge of what constitutes good fried chicken. If you are unsure of the quality of your fried chicken, please do not hesitate to call upon me for my expert opinion.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Like Underdog, I also volunteer to assist Syrenn and Cecille in a cook off as to high quality fried chicken.

I dont' believe in small samples either. One has to make sure you are making an adequate test.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I thought about this because I'm going to a party tonight, and we're supposed to bring a dish that reflects our heritage. My family's been in the US since just after the Revolutionary War, and is thoroughly intermarried among a variety of ethnic groups. All I can really claim for certain is Southern American Hillbilly, so I'm taking homemade southern fried chicken (a dish many people have not gotten to experience).

There are as many homemade fried chicken recipes as there are people who make it, and everyone thinks they know the "best" way. So I'll share mine, and you guys share yours.

I say skin-on, dredge in a mix of flour, salt, pepper, and paprika, dip in buttermilk, re-dredge in the flour mixture, then fry in a deep pan with an inch- 1 1/2 inches of hot oil. The oil has to be hot before you put the chicken in, because you don't want it to sit too long. Peanut oil is great, but with so many peanut allergies out there, it's risky when serving to non-family. I like blended oil or wok oil, something formulated to get really hot without scorching, and I like to add a little minced garlic to the oil for flavor.

I do mine several different ways... skin on..skin off. Bone in...boneless.. White or dark.

the only real difference between what you and i do is that i marinate mine in the buttermilk with some seasonings for 24 hours. It makes it very tender. Try it sometime

I do that if I'm going to make oven-baked "fried" chicken, which is where I normally go for my family, who really don't need the extra fat.

 

[1751Texan]

When breading chicken or fish...I let the crust to dry before I fry.

 

[uscitizen]

I just go to Lee's Famous Recipe Fried Chicken and buy some.
Light years better than the Colonels.

 

[strollingbones]

o i have never heard of letting the crust dry to fry

you got to use cast iron.....and you have to cover it and let it cook for the last part of the cooking....you crisp it up then cover the pan and leave it for about 30 minutes...a milk soak will draw the blood out giving you a nicer finished product...soak the chicken overnight in milk or buttermilk...if you dont have butter milk just add a teaspoon of vinegar to the milk and let it stand for about 5 minutes

always watch your temps.....

i bet that drying crust makes a nice finished product

 

[strollingbones]

bone in has much more flavor...dark meat is moister

 

[uscitizen]

I am a breast man myself...

 

[R.D.]

When breading chicken or fish...I let the crust to dry before I fry.

I soak in buttermilk about an hour, double dredge and let the flour mixture absorb for before I fry.

 

[High_Gravity]

Heres a few recipes that I use.

Real Southern Deep-Fried Chicken | Recipes | The Splendid Table | from American Public Media

Crispy Fried Chicken Recipe - Allrecipes.com

 

[Dabs]

I love fried chicken, sadly tho, I never seem to get any!
I rarely cook anymore, so if I want good fried chicken- or rather, some fried chicken- I usually have to go to a restaurant. I don't have any family members older than I living anymore, so I can't go to Mom or Grandma and ask them to make some for me.
And KFC sucks.
These recipes sound delicious!!!!

 

[High_Gravity]

I love fried chicken, sadly tho, I never seem to get any!
I rarely cook anymore, so if I want good fried chicken- or rather, some fried chicken- I usually have to go to a restaurant. I don't have any family members older than I living anymore, so I can't go to Mom or Grandma and ask them to make some for me.
And KFC sucks.
These recipes sound delicious!!!!

KFC is terrible, if you want good fried chicken go to Churchs Chicken, Popeyes or Bojangles.

 

[Dabs]

I love fried chicken, sadly tho, I never seem to get any!
I rarely cook anymore, so if I want good fried chicken- or rather, some fried chicken- I usually have to go to a restaurant. I don't have any family members older than I living anymore, so I can't go to Mom or Grandma and ask them to make some for me.
And KFC sucks.
These recipes sound delicious!!!!

KFC is terrible, if you want good fried chicken go to Churchs Chicken, Popeyes or Bojangles.

Hey! We do have a Bojangles here in my town, Thanks *smiles*

 

[AllieBaba]

o i have never heard of letting the crust dry to fry

you got to use cast iron.....and you have to cover it and let it cook for the last part of the cooking....you crisp it up then cover the pan and leave it for about 30 minutes...a milk soak will draw the blood out giving you a nicer finished product...soak the chicken overnight in milk or buttermilk...if you dont have butter milk just add a teaspoon of vinegar to the milk and let it stand for about 5 minutes

always watch your temps.....

i bet that drying crust makes a nice finished product

My mom always fried chicken just by dredging it and then frying it, pretty low, for a long time (in a cast iron skillet, in lard or shortening). Our fried chicken was never particularly crispy, but it was fall off the bone delish, and the skin was completely rendered down; no big lips of squishy fat...

I went through a stage where I was using a recipe to fry chicken...marinade in buttermilk (or milk), flour, let sit a bit so the flour and milk bond, then dredge again, and let dry just a little...then fry.

It really is gorgeous, and it tastes wonderful...but I think the crust is just a little TOO crunchy/hard. It's yummy for sure, though...

Often we make what we called fricasee but which has no veggies in it...dredge the chicken, fry it until it's browned (can be at a little higher temp than for plain frying) take it out, layer in a casserole, put water not quite to cover, cover the dish and bake @ 350 or so for maybe an hour. The longer the better, really. Sometimes you need to add a little more water, or turn down the heat.

Super good...sometimes it will make an actual gravy sometimes it's not exactly gravy-like, more like really hearty bone-in soup (but not with very much liquid) but it really is good.

If you don't fricassee it, you have to make milk gravy in the pan after you've fried the chicken...and if you're frying a lot (more than one pan) you need to sort of remove the burned flour from the pan as you go...I usually use my spatula and remove what I can in between batches, before adding more oil. I don't get anal about it, but it's best if you get most of it out. But just the burned stuff...leave the bits and pieces and even flour in until it turns color, that flavor is good.

 

[Dabs]

I'm feeling so very hungry *tummy growl*

 

[Sarah G]

I thought about this because I'm going to a party tonight, and we're supposed to bring a dish that reflects our heritage. My family's been in the US since just after the Revolutionary War, and is thoroughly intermarried among a variety of ethnic groups. All I can really claim for certain is Southern American Hillbilly, so I'm taking homemade southern fried chicken (a dish many people have not gotten to experience).

There are as many homemade fried chicken recipes as there are people who make it, and everyone thinks they know the "best" way. So I'll share mine, and you guys share yours.

I say skin-on, dredge in a mix of flour, salt, pepper, and paprika, dip in buttermilk, re-dredge in the flour mixture, then fry in a deep pan with an inch- 1 1/2 inches of hot oil. The oil has to be hot before you put the chicken in, because you don't want it to sit too long. Peanut oil is great, but with so many peanut allergies out there, it's risky when serving to non-family. I like blended oil or wok oil, something formulated to get really hot without scorching, and I like to add a little minced garlic to the oil for flavor.

I do mine several different ways... skin on..skin off. Bone in...boneless.. White or dark.

the only real difference between what you and i do is that i marinate mine in the buttermilk with some seasonings for 24 hours. It makes it very tender. Try it sometime

I'm going to try this, I am the worst at cooking any kind of meator poultry but when I marinate steaks, they turn out really good.

 

[Sarah G]

I just go to Lee's Famous Recipe Fried Chicken and buy some.
Light years better than the Colonels.

You're so right about that. Love Lee's.

 

[syrenn]

I thought about this because I'm going to a party tonight, and we're supposed to bring a dish that reflects our heritage. My family's been in the US since just after the Revolutionary War, and is thoroughly intermarried among a variety of ethnic groups. All I can really claim for certain is Southern American Hillbilly, so I'm taking homemade southern fried chicken (a dish many people have not gotten to experience).

There are as many homemade fried chicken recipes as there are people who make it, and everyone thinks they know the "best" way. So I'll share mine, and you guys share yours.

I say skin-on, dredge in a mix of flour, salt, pepper, and paprika, dip in buttermilk, re-dredge in the flour mixture, then fry in a deep pan with an inch- 1 1/2 inches of hot oil. The oil has to be hot before you put the chicken in, because you don't want it to sit too long. Peanut oil is great, but with so many peanut allergies out there, it's risky when serving to non-family. I like blended oil or wok oil, something formulated to get really hot without scorching, and I like to add a little minced garlic to the oil for flavor.

I do mine several different ways... skin on..skin off. Bone in...boneless.. White or dark.

the only real difference between what you and i do is that i marinate mine in the buttermilk with some seasonings for 24 hours. It makes it very tender. Try it sometime

I'm going to try this, I am the worst at cooking any kind of meator poultry but when I marinate steaks, they turn out really good.

I love what the buttermilk does to the chicken....it tenderizes it. There are no measured amounts...enough butter milk to cover, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning ( i like bells) paprika, garlic and onion powder.....and 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup....and let that go for 24 hours.