Looking for Fried Chicken Tips

[albionmoonlight]

So I am ready to try out one of my wedding presents--the Fry Daddy (or some variation thereof). Specifically, I want to fry chicken.

In poking around and finding some recipies, I am seeing that most of them tell me to put the chicken in "hot" oil and then to lower the heat and cook it until it is "done."

I tend to be a fly by the seat of the pants/improvisational chef, but I would like a little more info than that.

So, does anyone know how hot and how long to cook fried chicken?

Any other tips that you would like to pass along?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Mmmm... Fried Chicken..... *drool*

[JeeberD]

KFC?

[Draft Dodger]

Alton Brown did a Good Eats episode on fried chicken - he's probably got a good recipe up at foodtv.com

[scooper]

It's been awhile but I seem to recall 12 minutes being about right.

[Franklinnoble]

Just go by the color ... when it looks the right shade of golden brown, it's done.

[rkmsuf]

remove feathers

[Cards4ever]

Albion, go over to foodtv.com like DD recommended, go to the recipes section, there are several good recipes for Fried Chicken.

[Scarecrow]

You people make things too difficult...

Fried Chicken - Alton Brown
1 broiler/fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 cups low fat buttermilk
1 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Flour, for dredging
Vegetable shortening, for frying

Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.

Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Place chicken skin side down into the pan. Put thighs in the center, and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)

Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Don't drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags. If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it's a gas oven.

[condors]

don't put frozen chicken in the fryer

I remember reading a link from this site some time ago where the guy put a frozen turkey in the thing and burned himself to death

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

You people make things too difficult...

Fried Chicken - Alton Brown
1 broiler/fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 cups low fat buttermilk
1 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Flour, for dredging
Vegetable shortening, for frying

Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.

Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Place chicken skin side down into the pan. Put thighs in the center, and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)

Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Don't drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags. If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it's a gas oven.

This is a killer recipe. My wife started frying chicken like this, and it is great. It comes out VERY DARK, but it is killer. A very important point that isn't listed in the recipe is "Don't turn or move the chicken around in the pan. Let it lay there until you turn it, and then don't mess with it until it is done.


As for recipes that tell you to turn the heat down after initially dropping the chicken. Ick. The hot oil is what keeps the chicken from being greasy. If the oil cools off it will start to be absorbed by the food, and that is not usually desired.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

As for recipes that tell you to turn the heat down after initially dropping the chicken. Ick. The hot oil is what keeps the chicken from being greasy. If the oil cools off it will start to be absorbed by the food, and that is not usually desired.

The reason that recipes tell you to do this is to compensate for the inevitable temperature drop when the chicken is first put in. Thus they have you get the oil too hot initially. As we all know by now, fried chicken is cooked at 375 for 12 minutes per side. Some recipes will have you heat the oil to 400. When the chicken is dropped in, the oil drops to 375, and you adjust the heat accordingly, so that the oil temp does not drift back towards 400.

But, you cannot go wrong with the Alton recipe. Unfortunately, it would probably need some adjustment to be in the Fry Daddy, as it seems key to have the top half of the chicken exposed while the first side cooked.

[rkmsuf]

I'd also suggest beating the heck out of the bird before you do anything. Smash it against the wall and such. That's the way the pros at KFC do it.

[rufusjonz]

Try to get the Coon's/Cook's Fried Chicken recipe ... its great!

hxxp://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0162346/Ss/0162346/GW_157.jpg?path=gallery&path_key=0162346

[Tigercat]

Originally Posted by rufusjonz

Try to get the Coon's/Cook's Fried Chicken recipe ... its great!

hxxp://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0162346/Ss/0162346/GW_157.jpg?path=gallery&path_key=0162346

Ok, this board freaks me out sometimes. I bought the DVD and watched Ghost World in its entirity for the first time a few hours ago. And then suddenly someone pulls a reference to the movie out of their ass? I'm scared. I want Thora Birch to hold me.

[rufusjonz]

That movie rocks the house