<p>I rarely make fried chicken.
When I do- I brine overnight - remove the skin or at least the loose and dangly bits with kitchen shears,
rinse and dry
mix flour in a bag with generous amounts of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Shake one piece at a time. ( forgot- if I have it, I like real Hungarian paprika too)
Brown in well heated cast iron pan- no crowding- usually with peanut oil.
I like chicken cooked on the grill better though.</p>
<p>Re: buttermilk…yes, with hot sauce in it. We had a housekeeper who made fried chicken for us a few times. It was fantastic! And no, she wasn’t southern. She was from El Salvador. Well, actually she was southern…just south of southern. This was HER grandmother’s recipe. I remember watching her dredge the chickens in flour, salt, pepper and paprika. My kid s still talk about it.</p>
<p>I agree with Crisco and I will soak in regular whole milk with lots of pepper and salt. I dip in mostly well seasoned flour with a touch of cornmeal.</p>
<p>My grandmother served her fried chicken to 200 customers every Sunday at her smorgasboard dinner in her old farmhouse. She was famous for her fried chicken.</p>
<p>She taught me very close to SRW’s method. Just toss and coat in seasoned flour and skillet fry with the oil about halfway up the chicken. The one key: cover the skillet while frying the first side. It draws moisture into the breading for a light fluffy breading. You can season the chicken how you like. Salt. Pepper. Whatever. Some cayenne pepper will turn it into spicy cajun fried chicken. </p>
<p>The key is to perfect the exact combination of burner heat and time on each side for your skillet and your stove. There’s no substitute for practice to learn what burner setting gets it brown, crispy, and cooked through without burning. You only want to turn it once.</p>
<p>Now for fried catfish or shrimp or oysters, I like Paul Prodhommes breading:</p>
<p>1/3 cornmeal
1/3 corn starch
1/3 masa harina (corn flour tortilla mix)</p>
<p>Oh, man. Now, that will make an Oyster Po-Boy.</p>
<p>What’s healthy and what tastes good are two different things. My mother, as had her mother, used Crisco back in the day. Crisco and your arteries are not a good match. I fry rarely but when I do I use Canola oil. I hear the buttermilk method works well. The spices and the temperature are key. Iron skillet works great.</p>
<p>Saturated fat is not nearly as bad for you as “conventional” wisdom would say.</p>
<p>[What</a> if bad fat isn?t so bad? - Health - Diet and nutrition - msnbc.com](<a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22116724]What”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22116724)</p>
<p>
So lard away. :)</p>
<p>350 degrees is the ideal frying temperature, and it is a good idea to invest in a thermometer or an electric fry pan. It’s not worth it to try to guess the temp or constantly fiddle with the heat. Frying at the right temp is the most important factor in turning out nicely browned, yet cooked through chicken or avoiding an oily breading. </p>
<p>I usually preheat the oil to about 375 degrees before I add the chicken - the cold chicken immediately lowers the temp to 350.</p>
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<p>I never deep fry without a candy thermometer in the oil. Never. There’s just not enough margin between good frying temperature – 350+ when the food goes in the oil – and the temperature at which you have a house fire. The thermometer lets you stay in control of the oil temp.</p>
<p>Skillet fried chicken, though, is a different animal in that the chicken is in contact with the bottom of the skillet. Thus, there’s an interaction of your skillet, your burner setting, and time that must be right to get the chicken cooked and the coating as golden brown as you like it without burning.</p>
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<p>I don’t care about any of that cholesterol stuff. The problem with fat is that it’s about 120 calories per tablespoon. It’s all about the calories. Eat more calories than you burn and you’ll gain weight. Eat fewer calories than you burn and you’ll lose weight.</p>
<p>As much as I love fried chicken, it takes a relatively low calorie main course protein (a chicken breast, for example, grilled outside) and turns it into a very high calorie dish with the flour and the oil. As long as I’m losing weight, I have to look at it as a special treat – the exception, rather than the rule. Certainly not every week.</p>
<p>I only fry chicken once or twice a year for a treat, usually as a request for a birthday dinner. My husband makes killer Chicken Spedini and I make fab Fettuccine Alfredo we also only eat that two or three times a year - heart attack on a plate.</p>
<p>I hear ya. I make Fettucini starting from scratch, rolling out my own pasta and tossing it with butter, cream, and Parmeggiano Reggiano. I just can’t eat like that right now.</p>
<p>I’ve also had to take a hiatus from Buffalo Wings. Deep fried chicken wings, tossed in melted butter and hot sauce. Those suckers are 100+ calories each before we even talk about the homemade blue cheese dressing. </p>
<p>I’m happy with a chicken caesar salad or a roast whole chicken or bar-b-que chicken breasts and it’s a lot easier to hit my calorie target.</p>
<p>it isnt the the saturated fat. Butter is better than margarine.
Saturated fat can never be * trans fats* because they have no double bonds.</p>
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<p>Fat may be calorie dense but at least it sticks to your ribs!
;)</p>
<p>I’m too lazy to fry chicken. I end up grilling it. :)</p>
<p>ya me too cause I either get burned by spatter or in any case there is a big mess to clean up.
Much easier to rub some tom douglas on it and put it in the bbq.</p>
<p>Or buy some Popeyes… Yeah, I know…</p>
<p>oh and for oysters, while if I am lazy I use cornmeal, much better is a little egg and crushed saltine crackers ( or panko breading)- same thing for the pork tenderloins my relatives used to bring from Missouri.( after you pound them a little)</p>
<p>We don’t make sandwiches though, just dip them in garlic aioli. or squeeze lemon & tabasco.
( I don’t think I ate enough dinner)</p>
<p>^ LOL! Go eat.</p>
<p>Interesteddad - I use a deep pot or skillet to fry so that there is no contact with the bottom of the pan. It is important that the chicken (or whatever is being fried) move freely in the pan, otherwise the browning is uneven. </p>
<p>I rarely fry whole pieces of chicken. Instead, I dip thin-sliced chicken cutlets in flour, then an egg wash and into freshly ground Italian bread crumbs that I season with fresh herbs. My sons who need to gain weight love them, but I usually steer clear. The secret is really in grinding fresh crumbs out of day-old bread - the breading ends up light, crispy and tasty. Commercial crumbs just aren’t the same.</p>
<p>Jeez Louise, IDad. I nearly fainted just reading about your ‘nuclear’ deep fried wings (BUTTER!!!) and your pasta with CREAM AND BUTTER!!! That would have to be about a twice a year meal for me. I’d guess that when dairy cattle see you coming, they stampede in the opposite direction.</p>