On Apr 20, 3:30*am, dsi1 > wrote:
> 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. :-)
>
Pre-processed thighs are usually pricey. If you buy leg quarters, you
can often get the thigh and drumsticks both for not much more than the
thighs alone. That back piece that's on there is great for broth,
after removing the nasty kidney thingies.
>
> > 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

Only an idiot would fry in shortening these days. I'm not calling you
an idiot, you were just too lazy to remove the words from your quoted
post, but then you openly admit to being lazy.
>
> > Kate

--Bryan