KFC and All Fried Chicken

For deep fat frying, a very thin pancake batter can be used. Dip the chicken in flour, then in the pancake batter and then in the flour again. Don’t put very many pieces in the basket at the same time or the crowding will steam the chicken instead of crisping it.

Don’t know if you know it but there are two different kinds of deep fryers. The best way I know to tell you the difference is, you don’t get KFC-like chicken from the regular deep fat fryer. The second kind is like a combination of a deep fat fryer and a pressure cooker. That’s the KFC kind. If you try to fry chicken IN a pressure cooker with oil, it will blow up. Your deep fat fryer doesn’t have the tight lid so you don’t have to worry about that.

But, just wanted to let you know what you won’t be able to do with your fryer. You can do everything except the KFC chicken. I was around when the KFC Colonel first started and he cooked his chicken in his special cooker for only 7 minutes and it was done perfectly. It will take you longer than that in your fryer.

CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN

2 1/2 to 3 lbs. cut up frying chicken

SEASONED FLOUR:

1 1/2 c. flour
1 tbsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. paprika

Combine all ingredients; set aside.

CRISPY BATTER:

2/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. flat beer or water
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 egg yolk, beaten

Combine flour and seasonings in bowl. Combine egg yolks and beer. Add gradually to dry ingredients. Heat oil in deep fryer to 365 degrees. Moisten chicken pieces. Dip in seasoned flour, then batter, then back in seasoned flour. Fry in hot oil 15 to 18 minutes until well browned. Drain on paper.

I think the trick is to make sure the temperature is right, the oil is not too hot or too cool. Hopefully someone will answer your question and tell you the temp, I cook by experience and sight so I don’t know the temp it should be, but I think around 365.
The next trick, I think is seasoning. Before I started experimenting, all i used was salt and pepper. Now, I use a little of everything. For chicken, I usually use Adobo all purpose seasoning, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper and sometimes lemon pepper seasoning. I LIGHTLY sprinkle each spice over the chicken, turn over and repeat. I scream LIGHTLY to you because I have a tendency to over salt, but with the spices, you don’t need a lot of salt.
Then I let the chicken sit in the fridge for at least an hour, take it out and coat it in flour that I will usually add some black pepper and maybe cajun seasoning too and fry it til it’s golden brown.
Good luck and hope this helps!

Fried Chicken with Creamy Gravy — For a really crunchy batter, use 1 teaspoon baking powder mixed in your flour.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 (4 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
3 cups vegetable oil
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, beat together 1/2 cup milk and egg. In a resealable plastic bag, mix together the flour, garlic salt, paprika, pepper and poultry seasoning. Place chicken in bag, seal, and shake to coat. Dip chicken in milk and egg mixture, then once more in flour mixture. Reserve any remaining flour mixture.

In a large skillet, heat oil to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Place coated chicken in the hot oil, and brown on all sides. Reduce heat to medium-low, and continue cooking chicken until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove chicken from skillet, and drain on paper towels.
Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the frying oil. Over low heat, stir in 2 tablespoons of the reserved flour mixture. Stirring constantly, cook about 2 minutes. Whisk in chicken stock, scraping browned bits off bottom of skillet. Stir in 1 cup milk, and bring all to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve immediately with the chicken.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Deep South Fried Chicken –

INGREDIENTS
1 cup shortening or oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (2 to 3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces

DIRECTIONS
Heat the shortening in a large, cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
In a brown paper lunch bag, combine the flour, salt, and pepper.

Shake two chicken pieces in the bag to coat, and place them in the skillet. Repeat until all of the chicken is coated and in the skillet.

Fry the chicken over medium-high heat until all of the pieces have been browned on both sides. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the lid, and increase heat to medium-high. Continue frying until chicken pieces are a deep golden brown, and the juices run clear.

here is my favorite recipe for fried chicken.The chicken marinates in buttermilk to tenderize it and create a crisp, flaky crust

Spicy Southern-Fried Chicken

From Country Living.
INGREDIENTS
Buttermilk Marinade:
2 cup(s) buttermilk
1 tablespoon(s) Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1 teaspoon(s) cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon(s) fresh-ground pepper
Fried Chicken:
1 (3 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon(s) baking powder
1 tablespoon(s) garlic powder
5 cup(s) vegetable shortening

1. Make the buttermilk marinade: Combine the buttermilk, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a gallon-size sealable plastic bag or a large bowl with a tight-fitting lid. Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat. Seal and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Coat the chicken: Preheat oven to 150 degrees F. Whisk together flour, baking powder, garlic powder, and remaining salt in a 13-inch by 9-inch by 2-inch pan. Add chicken pieces, turn to coat, and let them sit for 10 minutes, turning occasionally to recoat with flour.
3. Fry the chicken: Heat the vegetable shortening in a 10-inch by 12-inch heavy-gauge skillet. Attach a deep-fry thermometer and, over medium-high heat, bring the shortening to 375 degrees F. Shake excess flour from the chicken and, in batches of four, fry the pieces until they begin to brown — about 2 minutes on each side.
4. Reduce heat, lower oil temperature to about 325 degrees F, and continue to fry until chicken is cooked through and golden brown — about 10 minutes on each side.
5. Transfer the chicken pieces to a wire rack set on a baking sheet and keep warm. Repeat, frying remaining chicken pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ziggy’s Fried Chicken-Ziggy is an old cook from my town. He is well know thru out the county for his fried chicken. My mother in -law used to make his recipe at her resturant and he told me that I did it just right.

8 cups flour
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp celery salt
2 tbsp poultry seasoning
2 tbsp white pepper
2 tbsp salt

Mix everything well and put in a reealable container. You will obviously not need the whole recipe, and it is great for chicken fried steaks, chicken nuggets, or anything that calls for seasoned flour.

Set up 2 bowls.One with ice water and one with the flour. Get a large sifter handy.

Dip chicken in the water then flour, then water and flour again. Drop in 350 degree oil. If ou have enough oil to submerge the chicken then your set a timer for 15 min exactly. If you only have enough oil to cover it say half way then probably around 5-7 minutes per side.

SIft the flour after every 4-6 pieces of chicken. The removes and clumps in the flour. If left in the main bowl these will stick to pieces and end up becoming hard rocks on your chicken-NO GOOD.

Even as the water becomes thicker with all the left behind flour keep it unless it gets real thick and goopy-ish. It will add to the crust of the chicken.