(Southern?) fried chicken (drumsticks)

Parent Cafe
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<p>So my gf wants me to replicate this dining hall item (served some days back) that she found to be actually one of those dining hall dishes to be actually craved for. </p>

<p>So I’ve had my fair experience** in roasting chicken (**e.g. about 4 times) – and apparently all my experiments that she’s tasted so far have come out good, so she seems fairly confident that I can pull this one off. I have some doubts. </p>

<p>Nevertheless, I’ve checked some recipes online and it seems fairly simple. It doesn’t seem that I need to marinade the chicken or anything or do anything that requires overnight preparation? What’s best, and what’s the difference between skillet-frying it and oven-frying it? I’m using drumsticks – any techniques to keep in mind? Are drumsticks the best choice anyway? What is the role of stuff like mayonnaise / ranch dressing in the batter, and what are the effects of substitutions? </p>

<p>For breading should I use pure flour, or perhaps supplemented with things I can get from the dining hall? (Ground bread or pestle-and-mortar unsweetened corn flakes, etc.?) If shortening is replaced with stuff like sour cream and yogurt, I suppose I would dramatically decrease the smoke point? </p>

<p>I want to avoid deep frying, since being a college student I would like to minimise the amount of oil I use in one meal. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Oh and lastly – seasoning. Apparently I don’t need as much as compared to say if I were making … roast chicken. Will Italian seasoning (with a slight addition of basil paste and cilantro paste, salt and pepper do for a first try?</p>

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<p>Don’t bother. Too much wasted oil. Too much absorbed oil. You don’t have the right equipment. Too dangerous. You don’t have the correct seasoning mix. KFC is still the best.</p>

<p>Best substitute is something like “shake-n-bake”</p>

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<p>It’s too dangerous even with oven-frying?</p>

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<p>This is the way my mother did Maryland (southern) Fried Chicken. It is not dangerous and it is not difficult. I don’t do it often because it is “fried” after all. But it is delicious.</p>

<p>You can soak the chicken pieces in milk for about an hour (optional). Don’t ask me what that accomplishes, but many southern cooks do it.</p>

<p>Put enough flour to coat your pieces liberally in a large paper or plastic bag. Add salt and pepper. Shake it around (do this over the sink in case there are pinholes in your bag). </p>

<p>Dry the chicken pieces (and yes, drumsticks will be great because they will stay moist and juicy longer than breasts, but all pieces are good).</p>

<p>Toss the chicken pieces into the bag (if you have a lot of pieces, do this in batches). Shake around so each piece is thoroughly coated. Remove each piece and shake off excess flour.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, heat over medium-high heat about 1/2" of Crisco or other vegetable shortening or vegetable oil (NOT olive oil; not for this recipe) in a large frying pan or skillet. It is hot enough when, if you toss a cube of bread into it (or a tiny piece of chicken) … the bread sizzles and starts to quickly brown.</p>

<p>Add the chicken pieces, skin side down. Cover and cook 10 minutes. Check after a few minutes and turn heat up if not browning and sizzling; turn heat down if browning too quickly. Uncover, turn pieces over. Cook 12-15 minutes further until done.</p>

<p>Drain on brown paper bags (if you’re an old Southern cook) or paper towels.</p>

<p>This takes a while to write up, but is really quite simple and delicious.</p>

<p>Can you marinate in something? Add cilantro (which I love) or other seasonings? Yes, but then it won’t be traditional Southern Fried Chicken but could be more like Kentucky Fried or something else you might like.</p>

<p>Can you do oven frying? Yes, but it won’t be the same. You can google for ideas on how to do that. Many attempts to make it seem the same, involving egg whites… cornflakes… spraying with Pam… Why not just do the real thing? :D</p>

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<p>I worked in a mom and pop fried chicken joint right before starting law school in 1982. A deep fat frier makes this easy, but a cast iron skillet works just as well. BEWARE of the popping grease and use a screen over the skillet if you have one. Also, use tongs to turn the pieces.</p>

<p>jmmom’s receipe is good, but if you want a thicker batter use egg in the milk that you dredge the drumsticks in before you put them in the bag of flour. [Traditional</a> Southern Fried Chicken Recipe : : Food Network](<a href=“http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_14895,00.html]Traditional”>http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_14895,00.html)</p>

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<p>Roadtrip to AQ Chicken in Springdale, Arkansas (poultry capital of the universe).
Best fried chicken and best green beans.</p>

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<p>Two big hints - do not shortchange the salt and pepper, especially pepper. And do not turn the chicken over more than once. Oven frying will not come out the same but is an acceptable alternative.</p>

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<p>Southern style green beans with bacon grease? </p>

<p>How about corn bread? Or better yet, spoon bread? </p>

<p>Anyone’s grandmother make boiled custard?</p>

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<p>07DAD, yes please. Yes, please. Yes, please! And please pass the biscuits.</p>

<p>And yes, she did.</p>

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<p>I intended to get bake and shake, but I got this brand made in North Carolina (apparently since 1812 or something) whose photo seemed more attractive than Kraft’s. It after all, had corn flour whereas Kraft didn’t. And not only that, it was cheaper for more mass. </p>

<p>So … </p>

<p>does anyone get mix like that but supplement it with stuff? </p>

<p>The thing is, I still have ample access to dining hall, so I could get lots of stuff that can be used in breading. The thing is, if I have pre-mixed breading, I am not sure whether it would be enriching or detrimental to add more spices and herbs (such as ginger, garlic, cilantro and basil paste, and various seasonings). </p>

<p>I’m running over to the dining hall to get vegetables to stir fry. Does the whole “lay your chicken in milk for 1 hour” thing actually work?</p>

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<p>brings back old old kiddie memory in Arkansas. especially the neighbors spicy peppery BBQ chix. We measured how good by how many glasses of water we drank.</p>

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<p>Ginger?? Garlic??? Basil paste in Southern Fried Chicken??? Son, you need some edu-fi-cating - (sorry, just saw a Beverly Hillbillies re-run on TV) Look on the Food Network website and see what Alton Brown has to say about fried chicken, if he has an oven frying recipe, try that one.</p>

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<p>Well I’m not trying to reduplicate southern-style exactly. I want it at least to taste as good as southern-style … we both like fusion, so if it has extra flavours that aren’t distracting, it’s a boon.</p>

<p>Currently I’m moistening them in a water + milk + ranch dressing mixture for half an hour or so.</p>

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<p>What’s up with the ranch dressing you like to put on everything? And the water isn’t helping either.</p>

<p>I like a soak in buttermilk for a few hours.</p>

<p>The key, IMO is to season the flour really well–lots of salt/seasoning salt/pepper. Deep frying is key too. </p>

<p>Then, frying at the right temperature is very important if you don’t want greasy chicken. 360 degrees is my favorite temp for crispy chicken though Alton Brown insists on 325. If you fry right, the food absorbs very little oil and many people reuse the oil for frying other things. Maybe a little zucchini on the side?</p>

<p>I’m with the first poster though, it’s hard to make good fried chicken and KFC is probably about the same price with a coupon as cooking it at home. And no greasy mess to clean!</p>

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<p>sugar pops or grits for me.</p>

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<p>I get my fried chicken at this Korean restaurant where the chickens are fried in fresh olive oil. It was delicious, much better than KFC. I would agree with posters who said not to try to make this at home. It’s not worth the cost & effort.</p>

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<p>Well, I’m not from the south (unless Southern California counts), but here is how I do oven fried–I think I got this from Oprah’s chef’s cookbook:
Place chicken in ice water for a while,pat chicken dry, dip in yougart, roll in seasoned bread crumbs, place on baking sheet that has been heavily sprayed in pam. Spray chicken in Pam after placing on sheet. Bake at 350 or so for about an hour, hour and a half. It works for us…but I have to say I’m going to try the real thing…</p>

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<p>I think Oprah’s gone back to the real thing:)</p>

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<p>

Well I’m combining recipes. I assume the main purpose is to coat the thing and tenderise the outside so that the breading may be bond to it more easily…</p>

<p>I’m planning to shallow pan-fry it …</p>

<p>I bought about 4 pounds of drumsticks for about 4.79 + 12 servings’ worth of breading for 2.29, perhaps to be augmented with other stuff in the future. KFC is about the same price with a coupon…?</p>