On 4/19/2010 8:18 AM, Kate Connally wrote:
> in my new Lodge pre-seasoned cast iron chicken cooker that
> my SIl got me for Xmas. It was much to my chagrin because
> not only does the damn thing weigh 15 lb. but now I have to make
> fried chicken!!!!! The thing is, I love fried chicken, but I
> hate frying stuff because the oil get all over the place and I
> hate cleaning, which is what you have to do a lot of after you
> fry stuff! I guess I could get one of those splatter guards but
> that's just another gadget to find a place for. And I probably
> should get an instant-read thermometer because it was tricky
> keeping the oil at the proper temp with just my candy thermometer,
> but they are not cheap and, again, another gadget to find a place
> for.
>
> And then there's buying the oil. Good oil is expensive, especially
> in the quantities you need to fry chicken. And then, unless you
> make it all the time so that you can reuse the oil several times
> before you have to throw it out, thus getting your money's worth
> out of it, well, it's expensive. And then there's the cleaning up. What
> a pain in the butt.
>
> So, okay, I made the chicken. (recipe follows) It was okay.
> I sort of followed a Cook's Country recipe for Extra Crunchy
> Fried Chicken. It involves "brining" the chicken in buttermilk
> and salt for 1 hour prior to cooking. The flour has garlic powder,
> thyme, pepper, and baking powder in it. But you're supposed to add
> some buttermilk to the flour mixture and rub it in with your fingers to
> make a mealy consistency. I decided to dispense with that part as too
> much trouble, besides being just plain weird. I just took the chicken
> out of the buttermilk and didn't drain it a lot and coated it with
> the flour. I think it gave me pretty much the same effect as their
> method.
>
> I fried it according to their directions as well as I could, given
> the thermometer problems. It turned out pretty well. I thought it
> was a little salty so I would use a lot less salt next time. Also,
> I thought it was *too* crunchy. But I liked it okay.

Welcome to the world of fried chicken. I make a pretty good fried
chicken. :-) To simplify things, I'll use only chicken thighs. The
thighs are moistened by holding it under the running tap and dredging in
seasoned flour. The idea of rubbing buttermilk into the flour mixture
for texture is an interesting one - will try that next time. I like to
turn the chicken over several times while frying because I think it
makes for a juicer chicken. I don't use a thermometer, opting for the
"not too" method of temperature regulation; after browning both sides in
hot oil, turn the temperature down low but not too low, in the last few
minutes, finish browning in hotter but not too hot oil. Yeah, it's tasty
alright. :-)

>
> EXTRA-CRUNCHY FRIED CHICKEN
>
> 2 c. buttermilk + 6 additional tablespoons
> 2 T. salt
> 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (~ 3 1/2 lb.)
> 3 c. flour
> 2 t. baking powder
> 1/4 t. thyme
> 1/2 t. black pepper
> 1/2 t. garlic powder
> 4-5 c. vegetable shortening or peanut oil
>
> Whisk together 2 c. buttermilk and salt in large bowl until salt is
> dissolved. Add chicken pieces to bowl and stir to coat; cover bowl with
> plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Don’t let chicken soak much longer
> or it will become too salty.) Whisk flour, baking powder, thyme, pepper,
> and garlic powder together in large bowl. Add remaining 6 tablespoons
> buttermilk; with your fingers rub flour and buttermilk together until
> buttermilk is evenly incorporated into flour and mixture resembles
> coarse wet sand. Working in batches of two, drop chicken pieces into
> flour mixture and turn to thoroughly coat, gently pressing flour mixture
> onto chicken. Shake excess flour from each piece of chicken and transfer
> to wire rack set over rimmed baking sheet. Heat oil (it should measure
> 3/4" deep) in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven with 11" diameter over
> medium-high heat until it reaches 375F. Place chicken pieces, skin-side
> down, in oil, cover, and fry until deep golden brown, 8-10 minutes.
> Remove lid after 4 minutes and lift chicken pieces to check for even
> browning; rearrange if some pieces are browning faster than others. (At
> this point, oil should be about 300F. Adjust burner, if necessary, to
> regulate temperature of oil.) Turn chicken pieces over and continue to
> fry, uncovered, until chicken pieces are deep golden brown on second
> side, 6-8 minutes longer. (At this point, to keep chicken from browning
> too quickly, adjust burner to maintain oil temperature of about 315F.)
> Using tongs, transfer chicken to plate lined with paper towels; let
> stand for 5 minutes to drain. Serve. Serves 4. (We wanted to create
> juicy, rich tasting fried chicken at home without the big mess, and with
> a crust as crunchy as KFC. Keeping the oil at the correct temperature is
> essential to producing crunchy fried chicken that is neither too brown
> nor too greasy. Use a candy/deep-fry thermometer to check the
> temperature of the oil before you add the chicken. If you cannot find a
> chicken that weighs 3 1/2 lb. or less, or if you don’t have a pan that
> is 11" in diameter, you will have to fry the chicken in two batches.
> Follow the recipe, frying the chicken four pieces at a time and keeping
> the first batch warm in a 200F oven while the second batch is cooking.
> From Cook’s Country TV)
>
> To go with it I made a roasted potato salad. I had some baby white
> potatoes which I cut into approximately 8-10 pieces each. I sprayed
> a baking sheet lined with non-stick foil with olive oil PAM and then
> spread the potatoes on the sheet, salted and peppered them, and then
> sprayed the potatoes with the PAM. Baked for about 1/2 hour at 350F
> until nice and brown. Cooled to just warm to the touch. Meanwhile
> fried some diced bacon. Also had some shallots left over from something
> so I chopped them up. Put potatoes in bowl and added diced bacon and
> shallots. Then I sprinkled on some seasoned salt and added MW and a
> splash of fake balsamic vinegar and mixed it all up. It was quite
> tasty.
>
> Kate
>