There are lots of ways to fry chicken. I’ve tried a few with varying degrees of success and am currently limiting my efforts to nuggets, although this thread is about all kinds of fried chicken.
Here’s what I do: I’m usually working with frozen chicken, so I start by thawing thick breast fillets overnight in brine. The next day, a few hours before lunch, I dry the fillets, cut them into pieces and dust them with my own blend of freshly-ground spices. This morning, I used salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, chili seasoning (contains pepper), hot paprika, allspice, cardomom and mustard seed and a couple more that I didn’t label before storing. I pretty much used everything in my cupboard that smelled right, and I think it’s going to work well. After that, I coat the pieces in flour and put them in the fridge. About an hour before lunch, I take them out of the fridge, add more flour and leave them on the kitchen counter in a sealed container to warm up a little. When it’s time to cook, I dip the pieces in beaten egg and dredge them in crushed corn flakes. I prefer to use a cheap off-brand, as Kellogg’s are too sweet. It takes a lot more flakes than you’d think, about two big handfuls per person, and I crush them into a coarse meal. One of the secrets to breading is to push the meat or whatever into the dredge, applying pressure. I normally use the heel of my hand, but with these smaller pieces, what works best is to press them one at a time between my hands. Gives them a good, thick coating that sticks to the meat. I fry them in about an inch of olive oil for just a couple of minutes on each side and drain them on paper towels.
And that’s my trick, as Clemenza would say. What are yours?
Simple, chicken in egg then though flavored breadcrumbs, and yes some pressure. Turn as little as possible while cooking. This means that the oil temperature needs to be right, ideally 1 turn to perfectly crisp up the crust and maintain juicy delicious meat without overdoing it. Oh the big secret in this is to use only dark meat.
Often just make simple Southern Fried Chicken, wet the chicken and dredge with flour seasoned with salt and pepper. That’s as easy as it gets. But if I have time I go the next step and dip in egg wash (1:1 egg & water), then roll in seasoned fine breadcrumbs. I throw a lot of seasoning into those crumbs including sage based poultry seasoning and white pepper (the secret to KFC). The extra crumb coat seals it all up well and if you’re cooking ahead of time like to take the chicken on a picnic this will hold up a lot better.
Sometimes I make the buttermilk type, just marinating the chicken in buttermilk that tenderizes the meat. It works with yogurt also. With the acid there you can add baking soda to the crumb mix.
I actually prefer not using bread crumbs, but a simple single or double dip of flour - egg (or marinating liquid) - flour. Season the chicken directly; season the flour. I actually like Old Bay or Slap Ya Mama for that. Deep fry at around 350. Sometimes I’ll cut the flour with a little bit of corn starch for a bit of extra crispiness. The best tip I have for the flouring part is to drizzle in some of your marinating liquid to make the flour clump up a bit. That makes very nice flakes. If you’re ever done a lot of fried chicken, you’d note that the later pieces fry up a bit flakier as you’ll naturally have a bit of liquid in your dredging flour by then.
And if you want to make it a “Nashville hot chicken” take some of your frying oil at the end, mix it up with whatever hot pepper you have, and baste it over the chicken before serving. (You can add garlic powder, sugar, black pepper, etc. to it as well, of course.)
I dip my wings in potato starch then fry them twice for extra crispness.
Regular chicken, I’ll just go down to Popeye’s and get a 12 piece for under $10. To me that’s a bargain when you think about the mess and hassle involved with frying your own. Plus, they can do it better than I ever could anyway.
I think you need a really big vat (so it maintains temp) to get it right.
Haven’t tried it yet but the NY Yimes cooking has this oven fried recipe that sounds remarkably easy and not messy.
Also it is free access during the Covid19 response.
I pan-fry. Never more the a quarter inch or so of fat in the pan. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, paprika, and granulated garlic (or Slap Ya Mama), toss in flour seasoned with the same, lay out while you get other things ready. When the pan is hot and ready, do a second toss in the flour. Start with dark meat, after ten minutes add the breasts (cut crosswise once or twice, depending on size) and the wings (separated). Turn frequently, ready in about 20 minutes more.
My mother used to make great fried chicken. When I moved back home to help her with things as she was getting older, she finally told me what was wrong with my breading mixture. I was doing most of the cooking by then.
Add a little sugar. Not enough to get that burnt sugar taste when fried, but just enough.
Right. You need time for the coating to ‘set’ or it can just fall off while cooking.
Great point from pulykamell about letting the breading get a little clumpy. That’s how you get that traditional flaky surface you always see in the pictures.
Thanks Dopers. Good ideas there with the yogurt, corn meal/starch, potato starch, sugar, baking soda, etc.
Good tips, as always. This recipe has a few of those ideas, with the corn starch and the mixing of the dry coat and the marinade. It does make a difference. It also calls for egg white, which adds to the crispiness, doesn’t it? I like that recipe a lot but don’t often make it because of the lengthy prep. A good distraction in these times.
Yeah, for frying bigger pieces, I think you’re right.
Yeah, brining makes a big difference. I can’t see doing it any other way. I’m not sure how it works, though. Salt draws out liquids, and when you dump the brine you can see that it’s become a little cloudy with chicken “juice,” but it gives the meat another texture, as it goes from slimy and floppy to slick and compact (plasticky). Definitely juicier in the end, even when using frozen breast meat. It’s easy to end up with too much salt, though, by having too strong a brine, letting the chicken soak too long and/or not reducing the salt in the dry coat.
Any particular reason? In my experience, if it touches the metal for long enough to cook the chicken through, then - even with careful turning - the dredge will burn. Floating in hot oil, it avoids contact and cooks more evenly.
It obviously works for you though; what’s it got going for it?
Well, panfrying is just like sautéing, only using more grease. I never have a burning problem when I sauté a cutlet, paillard, or chop…you just need to keep a close eye on the process and regulate the heat.
Panfrying chicken parts, I use 4-5 tablespoons of fat rather than the 1-2 for a sauté. It requires more turning — especially those damned 4-sided drumsticks and squarish crosscut breasts, which need to be browned all over. But there’s enough grease going on that there’s no chance of burning them. Unless you leave the kitchen and become interested in something else entirely, like a fascinating mystery novel.
Sautéing sounds a bit lively for that much fat! And I wouldn’t sauté a cutlet or chop, I’d turn it with tongs.
I don’t have a problem burning such things when pan frying, but I don’t generally coat those in flour, which is more prone to burning than the meat is - by the time the meat is cooked, the flour is burnt. Unless you turn them regularly and keep an eye on temperature, of course…but then I’m back to the fact that deep frying seems easier: get the oil hot enough, float the chicken in it, drain it. I wondered what the shallower version had going for it, given that it seems to require more care.