Below you will find the two best fried chicken recipes I have ever tasted.
I know, I know, the first thing that comes to mind when you think of gourmet cooking isn’t fried chicken. Well, I don’t care. I love fried chicken!
Now, there is fried chicken and there is good fried chicken. I’m sure you agree. But here, on my web page, you will find only the two very best fried chicken recipes in the world. Take my word for it. You need look no further.
7 Steps To Perfect Fried Chicken
1. Brine the Bird
Meat usually loses 30 percent of its moisture before you cook it, but if it’s brined it loses just 15 percent – and that’s a big difference.
Brining does two things: The salt solution turns certain compounds into liquid in the muscle, which means more juice, and you’re plumping up the cells and filling them with water.On its way into the meat, the brine will carry any extra flavorings you’ve added. So season the brine, if you like, with herbs or spices.For brining overnight, the classic brine is one cup of table salt to a gallon of water. For smaller pieces, like a cut-up fryer, you can increase the salt tremendously and brine for a shorter time. Take a cup of table salt, rub it well over all the pieces, cover them with ice water and refrigerate for three for four hours. Rinse it really well.
2. Marinate the Bird
Season the marinade. If brining makes the meat juicy, marinating it in buttermilk will make it tender. The calcium in the buttermilk tenderizes the meat. A buttermilk bath also sweetens up the chicken a little bit . . . and it attracts a good bit of flour, so it solves the crust thing. Use low-fat or nonfat buttermilk, and season it generously with hot sauce, such as Tabasco, or Red Pepper Sauce.
3. Create the Crust
Season the flour generously. Stick with all-purpose flour because of a light coating. Use salt and pepper – no sugar (because the sugar will get too brown on the outside before the inside is done). As you finish flouring each piece of chicken, lay it on a rack over a cookie sheet. Refrigerate the coated chicken for an hour before cooking. This resting time helps the breading stay on.
4. Choose the Right Pan
It’s got to be cast-iron. A cast iron
5. Fry Right
Fry in vegetable oil, but add a little bacon grease for flavor. I like to use oil rather than shortening. And use fresh oil at high temperatures. Whether you use canola, corn, peanut, sunflower, safflower or soybean oil is up to you.
The oil should come halfway up the side of the chicken pieces. Using less means the food stays on the bottom of the pan instead of floating above the bottom of the pan. You need a different temperature for the legs, which are smaller, and the breasts, which are huge. You will need to cook in batches. 340 degrees is the temperature needed for smaller pieces (dark meat takes longer to cook), 325 degrees for the breasts.
When you drop the pieces into the hot oil, that sizzle you hear is moisture coming out of the food. As long as moisture is coming out, no oil can go in. As long as there’s moisture inside, creating outward pressure, your food won’t get greasy. But if you overcook the food and run out of moisture on the inside, the food sucks in the grease.
If the temperature is too high, and you take out the food because it’s too brown, too fast, its still so full of moisture that it will make the crust soggy.
The side of the food you put into the oil first will always look better than the other side, so start the pieces skin side down. When you see tiny bubbles in the crust on the uncooked side, it’s time to turn the piece over. Turn the chicken only once, and don’t poke it or push it around while it cooks.
6. Cover It Up
Covering the chicken keeps the heat even and helps the chicken cook through. Uncover it toward the end, to crisp it.
7. Serve It
Sprinkle the cooked chicken with a dusting of spices. Fried chicken should be eaten within 15 minutes, or be chilled completely. Don’t try to keep it warm in a oven. It will release moisture and make the crust turn gummy.
Here are the two of my best fried chicken recipes; one is without an egg wash and the other one is with one:
Perfect Fried Chicken
- 1 cup salt
- 1 quart water
- 1 chicken, 2 ½ to 3 pounds, cut into 8 pieces
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp. each salt, ground red pepper and garlic powder
- 4 cups vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp. bacon drippings
Dissolve salt in water in a large bowl; add the chicken. Cover; refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Pour off the brine; rinse the chicken well under running water in the bowl. Drain. Add buttermilk and hot sauce to chicken. Cover bowl; refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 8.
Combine flour, salt, red pepper and garlic powder in another large bowl or food-storage bag. Drain chicken and add to bowl or bag 2 or 3 pieces at a time. Turn in bowl or shake in sealed bowl to coat. Remove chicken to rack; refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; stir in bacon drippings. Heat to 350 degrees, or until a drop of water spatters when it hits the hot oil. Add drumsticks, wings and thighs, skin side down (the oil should come about halfway up the sides of the pieces of chicken). Cover; cook until tiny bubbles begin to appear in the crust on the side facing up, about 10 minutes. Turn; cook 10 minutes. Uncover the skillet; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until chicken is golden brown, 5-10 minutes. Remove to a rack placed over a cookie sheet.
Raise heat under skillet to medium-high. Heat oil to 350 degrees; add breasts, skin side down. Cook until tiny bubbles begin to appear in the crust, about 10 minutes. Turn; cover. Cook 10 minutes; uncover. Lower heat to medium-low; cook until golden brown, 5-10 minutes.
Southern Fried Chicken
- 1 cup salt
- 1 quart water
- 1 chicken, 2 ½ to 3 pounds, cut into 8 pieces
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 cup hot red pepper sauce
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 tsp. pepper
- House seasoning (approx. 1-2 tsp.)
House Seasoning
- 1 cup salt
- ¼ cup black pepper
- ¼ cup garlic powder
Dissolve salt in water in a large bowl; add the chicken. Cover; refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Pour off the brine; rinse the chicken well under running water in the bowl. Drain. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the water. Add enough hot sauce so the egg mixture is bright orange. In another bowl, combine the flour and pepper. Season the chicken with the house seasoning. Dip the seasoned chicken in the egg, and then coat well in the flour mixture.
Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; stir in bacon drippings. Heat to 350 degrees, or until a drop of water spatters when it hits the hot oil. Add drumsticks, wings and thighs, skin side down (the oil should come about halfway up the sides of the pieces of chicken). Cover; cook until tiny bubbles begin to appear in the crust on the side facing up, about 10 minutes. Turn; cook 10 minutes. Uncover the skillet; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until chicken is golden brown, 5-10 minutes. Remove to a rack placed over a cookie sheet.
Raise heat under skillet to medium-high. Heat oil to 350 degrees; add breasts, skin side down. Cook until tiny bubbles begin to appear in the crust, about 10 minutes. Turn; cover. Cook 10 minutes; uncover. Lower heat to medium-low; cook until golden brown, 5-10 minutes.
Do you want a little extra love from your family and friends? Just serve either of my best fried chicken recipes and you will have it in spades . . . no, make that hearts.
Fried chicken is maybe the best “comfort food” in the world, so you will definitely score a hit with any of these recipes. Trust me.