How do you make a really good fried chicken?

Question

My family is asking for fried chicken for dinner and I have no idea how to do it and I don't want to buy the frozen kind. Anyone know a good recipe?

Answer 1

get 3 large plates on one put regular flour and season it. I use season all. Then on the second plate you can use egg as a binding agent but I like to use Buttermilk. its thicker and makes the flour grab easier. Then on the thrid plate I use corn flour and season that too.

I do not like to cook chicken with alot of bones in it cause its hard to get it all cooked through. So I use either chicken breawswts with no bones and not too big. Usually when I buy them from the grocery storte I slice them in half so they are easier to fry up. Then its ieasy

Fill a large pot with vegetable oil so that when you put the chicken in there it comes to about half way up the side of the chicken adn put it on med-med high heat. Then wash the chicken dip in quickly in the first plate with regular flour then inthe buttermilk then in the corn flour. If you want the batter to fry up crispier then dredge all chicken in all the mixes then refridgerate them for about and hour before frying.

Answer 2

The secret is not getting a good recipe, it's what to do with it before you cook it. There are always going to be several different ideas on how to get chicken with the best flavor. Sometimes, it's what you do to the chicken before hand that can make a large difference. If you put too much oil (or too high heat) the chicken can burn. Using Crisco on a lower heat setting can prevent burning. It's a lot more fattening, but it is the way the South does it. Basically, what needs to happen is you need to experiment (but not on your family, friends). Sometimes, chicken breasts work the best, but unless you can cut them, legs and thighs are the easiest (only about 25 minutes per pan full). Sometimes, just keeping the chicken tender is the best way to ensure a good fried chicken. Get lukewarm water, add a little bit of salt (about a teaspoon) and let the chicken sit for about an hour (any longer and you'll ruin the integrity of the chicken). Also, try allrecipes.com, a wonderful place that has a whole lot of recipes. Find something that sounds good to you and then practice, practice, practice. Have fun and good luck.

Answer 3

Fried Chicken is really hard to screw up. And it's a very individual serving for everyone's kitchen....IE you will never taste the same fried chicken twice...unless you go to a restaurant....even then it sometimes varies on how long it's been sitting out.

First you have to decide on your chicken. You can buy it already cut up or you can buy a whole bird and cut it up however you like.
If you decide on the whole bird make sure you have an extremely sharp and non-flexible knife to do the job.

Secondly decide on your batter. Some people dip the chicken in a beaten egg then roll it in flour and corn meal. This makes for a great crust. Other people will soak the chikcen in salt water for a while then roll it in all purpose flour/cornmeal. All purpose flour doesn't contain much salt (if any). Whichever method you use, make sure the chicken isn't too wet before rolling in the flour/cornmeal. Also note that using too much cornmeal will result in the crust soaking up too much of the oil. If you don't want any excess oil in the skin, don't use cornmeal. Again, it depends on your preferences.

Thirdly, decide on an oil. You have thick oil and thin oils. Lard, being the thickest is also the most unhealthy as it contains too much fat and cholesterol. But, it fries chicken the best. The next lightest oil is corn oil. It cooks the chicken pretty well. Then you have your lighter oils like vegetable oils and blended oils. Peanut oil has a nice consistency...but it is also the most expensive.

Lastly, decide how you want to fry your chicken. You can pan fry it, deep fry it, or pressure fry it in a pressure cooker. Note, the pressure method is what KFC uses, and it is more complicated and even dangerous for inexperienced cooks to try (plus you need another pot of oil hot to finish frying the chicken because the steam from the pressure cooker will make the skin fall off....like I said it's complicated...and why KFC is so expensive! ).

I deep fry my chicken in an electric fry daddy. It works well.

Be sure to cook the thighs at least 15 minutes.
All other parts at least 10 minutes.

Good luck! :)


EDIT---- I forgot to add how hot the grease should be. Turn your eye between Medium High and High (closer to medium high). Leave it there. When the oil becomes clear ( looks like there are no lines moving in it) and has a watery consistency..it is hot and ready to fry. Note, when you remove a batch of chicken allow the oil 1-2 minutes to heat back up as the next batch will cool it considerably.

Answer 4

Wash and skin chicken ,but the wings. Salt well,

Put 3 cups of self -rising flour in a bowl.

Flour the chicken well

Turn the heat on Medium high.

Place the chicken in the oil when hot. Test with a drop of flour, it should sizzle

IMPORTANT!
Make sure the pan will hold all pieces of the chicken.

Place the all pieces in the pan. Close the lid. Check everyfew minutes say 4 and then less or so to see if it has turned a golden brown

Turn the chicken and cook till this side is golden brown.

Drain on paper towels.

You may add spices if you like, but add to the chicken before you flour it.

This has always produced well cooked and flavorful chicken and it really does not need spices.

Remember a pan that all pieces will touch, This will keep the heat even and prevent burning

Answer 5

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 13 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder


Southern Fried Chicken:
4 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 cup hot red pepper sauce
2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon pepper
House Seasoning
2 1/2-pound chicken, cut into pieces
Oil, for frying, preferably peanut oil


To make the House Seasoning, mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

In a medium size 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 the oil to 350 degrees F in a deep pot. Do not fill the pot more than 1/2 full with oil.

Fry the chicken in the oil until brown and crisp. Dark meat takes longer than white meat. It should take dark meat about 13 to 14 minutes, white meat around 8 to 10 minutes.

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Answer 6

I buy a bagged chicken dredge. Look near the flour . There are several kinds and degrees of seasonings. You also need milk.
A deep skillet or chicken fryer pan (I like cast iron). Fill the pan about 2 inches deep with a good cooking oil. I use canola. Heat oil til a pinch of the dredge sizzles.
A bowl for milk.
A large freezer bag (put about a cup of dredge in it).
A baking pan to set fried chicken in as it comes out of the oil.

Wash your chicken well and pat dry with paper towel . Dunk the chicken in the milk then put it into the bag and shake it to coat it. Gently add it to the hot oil (the oil should make a sizzling sound if it is hot enough I usually do 4-6 pieces at a time depending on their size. . After 10 minutes turn the chicken. After another 10 turn it again. Make sure it's golden brown colored and floating beore you remove it from the oil.
Take the floating pieces out and place them in the baking pan. Set the pan in the oven at 325* while you cook the next pieces. Continue until all your pieces are brown and crispy and floating adding each batch of finished ones to the baking pan in the oven until you are done. I usually do 16-20 pieces as I have a large family it takes me a good hour plus to fry enough for everyone.
you can test for doneness while frying by gently piercing a piece with a toothpick or kabob skewer. If any pick oozes it is not done.

Answer 7

Go to www.cooks.com for a ton of good recipes for fried chicken. Or, use mine:

Skin the chicken (this removes more than a third of the fat.) Soak the chicken in warm salty water while you prepare the flour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Take flour (about a cup or two) and stir in pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder -- a good sprinkling of each over the flour -- and paprika. It's better to err on the side of more spices than less, as so little will actually get onto each piece of chicken.

Pour about 1/4 cup of cooking oil into a large shallow baking sheet -- a cookie sheet with sides is ideal. Take the chicken pieces one by one out of the water, shake off what excess water you easily can, then thoroughly coat in the flour mixture. Place meaty side down on the oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle a little paprika over the pieces before cooking.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit 30 min, turn pieces over and bake 30 min more. This recipe gives you tasty chicken that is much lower in fat than traditionally pan-fried chicken. It's my fave!

Answer 8

Hi
here is my NOT TOO MESSY recipe. Soak your chicken in buttermilk and let it marinade a few hours at least. Then get your chicken skillet ready with fresh oil (I use veggie or peanut oil) make sure oil is hot and ready to go. In a big ziploc bag (gallon size) put 2 cups of flour and add Tony Cachere's or some other creole type seasoning (about 4 tbsp). Put your marinated chicken in bag a couple pieces at a time and shake well to coat. Place carefully in hot oil. If you start running low on flour add 1 more cup and 2 more tbsp of the seasoning. But when you are done, you just throw that bag away and no messy plates to deal with, just the container you had your chicken marinating in. I fry my chicken until it is golden brown on both sides. If you are worried about doneness, just warm it in oven in a 9 X 13 cake pan. That is what I do anyway if I am frying alot of cluck.
Good Luck to you.

Answer 9

I used Canola oil (not vegetable oil) Canola is better for you health wise. If you are using a skillet, put in the oil about half way high in pan. If you are using a deep fryer pour oil to the line recommended. Let the oil start to get hot (REAL HOT). Do not burn the oil or let it smoke on you. Turn the fire up high and also the thermostat on the deep fryer. (you will turn it down once the chicken has browned)

Wash the chicken parts in cold water (OF COURSE). Use a paper towel and pat off the excess water.

You only want to sprinkle the seasonings on the chicken (don't over do and don't use too little, so you have to use your judgment) In other words, don't dump the seasonings on the chicken. Use enough wear you can see it and smell it.

Season the chicken all over with:

Lawry's seasoned salt (very little) don't want the chicken salty
(No need for regular salt - will too salty)

garlic powder (not garlic salt) use enough to flavor

black pepper

Then put some All Purpose Flour in a bag (brown bag or storage food bag), you can use a large plastic bowl also.

In the flour, add some the seasoned salt, garlic powder and pepper in and mix all up together.

Make sure the oil is piping HOT!! Having hot oil is what keeps the flour on the chicken during the cooking process.

Season the chicken.
Roll it around in the flour and shake it in the bag and drop it in the hot grease. It shoud start to fry the instant it hits the grease.

(if the oil is still hot to where the chicken starts to fry instantly, leave that piece in there and wait a few more minutes until that piece start to cook and then do your other pieces.)

Work fast an fill the skillet or deep fryer. Once the chicken has browned turn the fire down to medium or temp down to a little lower temp. This way, you will be cooking the inside of the chicken without burning the outside of the chicken.

Turn the chicken regularly. Do all pieces at the same time then you can keep up with what has been turned and what hasn't been turned.

Once the chicken start to float in the hot grease while cooking, that is good indication that the chicken is done on the inside.

I put my chicken on a wire rack because I like it crunchy. If you like the skin softer, use a paper towel to absorb the grease.

Simple and very good fried chicken!! :D

Good Luck!!

Answer 10

When we have fried chicken this is how we do it. All the guests I have ever made it for love it.
You can either use chicken pieces or boneless skinless breasts. If your family likes more or less salt go ahead and adjust it. If you love garlic or paprika or some other seasoning, add it to the flour bowl.
Get three shallow bowls. In the first put flour, salt and pepper. I use about a teaspoon of salt and pepper to about two cups of flour. In the second bowl put two eggs and a cup of milk. I also add about a half a teaspoon of salt and pepper to this. Sounds odd, but makes it taste better. In the third bowl put cracker crumbs. You can buy these or just smash the heck out of crackers.
Dip the chicken in the flour and make sure it is covered. Shake off excess and dip it in the egg mixture. Hold above the bowl for a few seconds to let the extra drip off. Now place chicken in crumbs and use your hand to make sure the whole thing has crumbs on it.
You can either fry this in a skillet with about a half inch of oil or deep fry it. Deep fried is best. If you slice onions and do the rings the same way, it is really good with the chicken, but they (or mushrooms or whatever) really need to be deep fried.

Answer 11

Everybody is making it sound so complicated. here's what I do. Crack 1 or 2 eggs in a bowl, or shallow dish, big enough to hold the chicken pieces, and so that the egg won't run out. Add a touch of milk, Salt and pepper. Mix that up. Then, put Crisco shortening or oil (it doesn't soak up as much grease) or vegtable oil in a pan on medium heat. While that's heating, I get another bowl or dish, put in some flour, 1-2 Cups is usually enough. then I add a little salt and pepper to that, and stir it up. Rinse chicken pieces in running water, and put into the egg mixture. When it's all coated, put it into the flour mixture, and coat it well. Then put in frying pan. when all pieces are in the pan, cover it with a lid, (this keeps the chicken moist) in about 5 min. or so, or when a little brown, turn it over, and cook on the other side. I usually cook it on both sides twice, and more if I need to. but when one side is good and brown, and you turn it for the last time, leave the lid off, this is to help the chicken get a little crispy. (It's already good and moist.) Then if you want flip it back over for another min. or two to get the other side a little crispy too. Well, that's how I learned to do it, and everybody loves my fried chicken. You can play around and try other spices and flavorings if you like, but sometimes simple is best.... Good luck to you, and enjoy!