Fried Chicken

Yes, every now and then, the family walks on the wild side and has FRIED CHICKEN for dinner.  We wouldn't be having it for dinner tonight if it wasn't for the Paupered Chef's blog asking...how to cook fried chicken?
http://thepauperedchef.com/2008/04/the-ultimate-fr.html/comment-page-1#comment-29346

As it turns out, the Paupered Chef blog was hijacked and what I thought was a recent post was actually several years old!  Their blog is back together but I'll still went ahead and put my fried chicken recipe out there.  At the time, Paupered Chef had experimented with a Tyler Florence recipe for fried chicken but wasn't impressed.

I too lament the less than perfect results using Tylers recipe - lots of trouble with not too special results.  I've since switched to Cuisine At Home's version for fried chicken using a 12 inch cast iron pan WITH LID.  This recipe was from Issue 56.  And it's the one we use when we need our fix.

In the spirit of food blogging, I sent my long suffering husband to the store (on bike) for an organic chicken and buttermilk so that I can further the cause.  Who doesn't love fried chicken.

Cast-iron pan fried chicken

Now Craig is a big fan of KFC Extra Crispy chicken.  Unfortunately, I have never figured out how to make that at home.  This recipe has a hint of KFC original recipe.  Flavorful with a bit of spice but not overly crunchy.

A 3.5 pound organic frying chicken for $6.77

I like to use kitchen shears to cut up a chicken.  Reserve the backbone and wingtips for stock.

Chicken cut into 10 pieces with wingtips and back bone reserved for later



chicken pieces soaking in a few cups of buttermilk, on the way to the fridge for overnight soaking

chicken pieces draining after soaking in buttermilk

1 whole chicken, cut up into 10 pieces (3-4 pounds)
1 cup butter milk
salt and pepper
Old Bay seasoning
2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon each salt, pepper, and Old Bay
2 cups peanut oil

Soak pieces of chicken in buttermilk for at least 20 minutes or as long as 24 hours.  It's controversial as to using buttermilk and the length of soaking. 

After soaking, place pieces on a rack over a baking sheet.  Drain for a few minutes.  Then season chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, and Old Bay.  It's the celery seed that gives the chicken the KFC original recipe flavor.

Combine flour, 1/2 T each of salt, pepper, and Old Bay in a 1-gallon ziplock plastic bag.  Dredge chicken pieces in flour, shake off excess, and return pieces to rack.

Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet/Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 360F.  Add a few pieces of chicken skin side down, reduce heat to medium, and fry until brown, 6-8 minutes.  Turn chicken over, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook to 165F, about 10 minutes.  Uncover and cook 3-4 more minutes to crisp the coating.

Final 3 minutes in oil

Remove pieces, drain on paper towels, and let rest 10 minutes before serving.  Fry remaining chicken pieces in the same manner.

The original recipe from Cuisine At Home did not include Old Bay but I think it adds the KFC flavor.  Craig thought it could have been fried a few minutes longer but I though it came out just right. 

Astrid