On 4/20/2010 2:08 AM, Food Snob® wrote:
> On Apr 20, 3:30 am, > 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.

Good advice, I guess. I just stick with the thighs for simplicity in
cooking i.e., I get to cook all the pieces the same length of time and
turn them all simultaneously.

>>
>>> 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.

I don't alter other people's recipes - feel free if that's your thing. I
prefer to use good clean vegetable oil. Here's a clue for you: a piece
of chicken cooked in shortening ain't gonna kill you. Try it yourself if
you don't believe me. :-)

>>
>>> Kate
>
> --Bryan