Post by gypho on Nov 1, 2008 11:40:58 GMT 9.5
FRIED CHICKEN
INGREDIENTS:
Chicken, (cut up) whatever amount you want
(you know how to cut up a chicken, right?)
Self-Rising Flour..... several cups, at least 3
*Garlic Powder (to smell/taste)
*Salt
*Pepper
*Parsley Flakes (a handful, maybe more)
Crisco Shortening or Peanut Oil – enough to fill the bottom of a large cast iron skillet or Dutch Oven to at least 1 ½” deep – more if possible, for deep frying.
*These ingredients' amounts need to be judged by the cook!*
You will need:
Either a Large Cast Iron Skillet or Dutch Oven with Lid
Two Large Bowls (plastic is fine)
A Colander/Strainer
There are several secrets to great fried chicken, in my humble opinion. The ones I know I will tell you now.
Practice cooking it... the more you cook it, the better you'll get. Just ask my Buffalo born and bred BIL - he can fry chicken after three years of practice - and pretty good, too! And the first batches were even edible! LOL
First, do not cook your chicken on a TOO HIGH or TOO LOW heat. Always somewhere around a med-high heat is just right, depending on what kind of pan you are using. You will have to “play with it” to find out what is just right for your favorite skillet. Cast iron holds the temperature better, for longer, and hotter than other cookware.
If you happen to notice that your chicken is no longer "bubbling" in the oil/melted shortening, then it is not cooking, it is SOAKING UP GREASE. This means that your temperature is too low. And if it is burning or scorching on the outside, and not done on the inside, your temperature is too high.
My grandmother told me......... “20 minutes for each pan of fried chicken. And you'll have to stand there and watch it, or it'll burn.” Every time. Now granted, sometimes it was 19 minutes or 21, but 20 is the rule, and cast iron is the standard for fried chicken – at least in the South.
Fry a whole pan at once, never fry two or three pieces at a time unless it’s the LAST two or three pieces of the whole batch. But don’t OVER fill your skillet either. Not filling it enough burns your grease/oil; overfilling it tends to make your chicken oily from sitting too long in the pan of oil.
A batter for fried chicken is great....... IF you have been cooking it forever and you have forever to keep cooking it. I only use a batter on extremely rare occasions, when I want something different - it's not better than flouring the chicken, and it's simply too much trouble.
Here's what I do, every time, and it's great.
In one bowl mix together the SR Flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and parsley flakes. Use your nose to guide you on the amounts. Except for salt, do not oversalt.
The second bowl is for water. Fill it at least 1/2 way full. The colander is for the chicken AFTER it has been floured once.
Make sure your chicken is not WET. Moist is okay, sopping wet is not good. It can drip-dry for a minute and be okay, though. While it is moist, season the chicken. Yes, directly on the chicken, put salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley. When it’s enough for you, mix the chicken up good with your hands and spread the seasonings around.
Then flour your chicken (the flour should already be seasoned), and make sure you knock off any excess flour before putting it in your colander. ONLY FLOUR ENOUGH CHICKEN FOR ONE PAN FRYING AT A TIME – five or six pieces at the most. “Bump” two floured pieces of chicken together to do this. When it's in the colander, dip the colander into the bowl of water. Make sure every piece gets WET, then let it drip-dry until it's dry enough to go back in the flour once more.
Flour chicken a second time, then put directly in the heated skillet of oil. Watch it closely, let it cook for 5 minutes, turn over. Keep doing this until all your chicken is cooked. Then make gravy from the chicken liquor and serve over rice or mashed taters. YUM!
INGREDIENTS:
Chicken, (cut up) whatever amount you want
(you know how to cut up a chicken, right?)
Self-Rising Flour..... several cups, at least 3
*Garlic Powder (to smell/taste)
*Salt
*Pepper
*Parsley Flakes (a handful, maybe more)
Crisco Shortening or Peanut Oil – enough to fill the bottom of a large cast iron skillet or Dutch Oven to at least 1 ½” deep – more if possible, for deep frying.
*These ingredients' amounts need to be judged by the cook!*
You will need:
Either a Large Cast Iron Skillet or Dutch Oven with Lid
Two Large Bowls (plastic is fine)
A Colander/Strainer
There are several secrets to great fried chicken, in my humble opinion. The ones I know I will tell you now.
Practice cooking it... the more you cook it, the better you'll get. Just ask my Buffalo born and bred BIL - he can fry chicken after three years of practice - and pretty good, too! And the first batches were even edible! LOL
First, do not cook your chicken on a TOO HIGH or TOO LOW heat. Always somewhere around a med-high heat is just right, depending on what kind of pan you are using. You will have to “play with it” to find out what is just right for your favorite skillet. Cast iron holds the temperature better, for longer, and hotter than other cookware.
If you happen to notice that your chicken is no longer "bubbling" in the oil/melted shortening, then it is not cooking, it is SOAKING UP GREASE. This means that your temperature is too low. And if it is burning or scorching on the outside, and not done on the inside, your temperature is too high.
My grandmother told me......... “20 minutes for each pan of fried chicken. And you'll have to stand there and watch it, or it'll burn.” Every time. Now granted, sometimes it was 19 minutes or 21, but 20 is the rule, and cast iron is the standard for fried chicken – at least in the South.
Fry a whole pan at once, never fry two or three pieces at a time unless it’s the LAST two or three pieces of the whole batch. But don’t OVER fill your skillet either. Not filling it enough burns your grease/oil; overfilling it tends to make your chicken oily from sitting too long in the pan of oil.
A batter for fried chicken is great....... IF you have been cooking it forever and you have forever to keep cooking it. I only use a batter on extremely rare occasions, when I want something different - it's not better than flouring the chicken, and it's simply too much trouble.
Here's what I do, every time, and it's great.
In one bowl mix together the SR Flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and parsley flakes. Use your nose to guide you on the amounts. Except for salt, do not oversalt.
The second bowl is for water. Fill it at least 1/2 way full. The colander is for the chicken AFTER it has been floured once.
Make sure your chicken is not WET. Moist is okay, sopping wet is not good. It can drip-dry for a minute and be okay, though. While it is moist, season the chicken. Yes, directly on the chicken, put salt, pepper, garlic powder and parsley. When it’s enough for you, mix the chicken up good with your hands and spread the seasonings around.
Then flour your chicken (the flour should already be seasoned), and make sure you knock off any excess flour before putting it in your colander. ONLY FLOUR ENOUGH CHICKEN FOR ONE PAN FRYING AT A TIME – five or six pieces at the most. “Bump” two floured pieces of chicken together to do this. When it's in the colander, dip the colander into the bowl of water. Make sure every piece gets WET, then let it drip-dry until it's dry enough to go back in the flour once more.
Flour chicken a second time, then put directly in the heated skillet of oil. Watch it closely, let it cook for 5 minutes, turn over. Keep doing this until all your chicken is cooked. Then make gravy from the chicken liquor and serve over rice or mashed taters. YUM!