What is the secret to great fried chicken?

In 25 years I've never made good fried chicken. It always comes out wrong, I just can't get the actual frying right.

I mix salt , pepper and garlic powder, sometimes I also add a bit of red pepper to about 2 cups flour. first dredge chx in flour, then dip in eggwhite, back in flour let rest for 20 min. I use grapeseed oil heated to just as a drop of water sizzles. add in chicken and turn heat down to med. I usually cook about 8-10 on each side per piece. Eat... and eat and eat.....

How do you keep it from burning R2? That's my problem, the outside cooks before the inside if done.

Oh, just call the Colonel.

r3 You can fry it until it's crisp and golden and then finish it in the oven.

You don't find that it gets a bit mushy R5?

Ok, one try to do .... you've chicken, you dip it in milk or not, flour it or not with seasoning (the above seasoning is good, I've done it), and in a large skillet fry it .... in lard. Yes, lard. Buy it like a block of butter in any store. Lard. You'll love it, once you get the hang of it.

I fry it covered until nearly done. Uncover and in a few minutes it crisps back up again.

r6 You have to use a wire rack so that the hot air circulates underneath.

Marinate in buttermilk first.

I'm not OP but reading these tips makes me want to try again.

Crisco

Or, R10, simply soak in salt water (not a seasoned brine just plain old saltwater). Cisco or vegetable oil work. Frying chicken in a seasoned cast iron skillet is best. R3, you have the temperature too high.

Try using deep fryer.

[quote][Crisco

Minnie don't burn chicken.

Has anyone coated the chicken with crushed Saltine Crackers? I tried it once and it was delicious.

You'll need to constantly check the oil temperature; it needs to be between 325 and 350 degrees fahrenheit to maintain a "gentle" frying temp. Also, light meat cooks faster than dark. The average cooking time is 15-20 minutes (white meat), 20-30 minutes (dark).

My southern uncle always uses lard and it's the best fried chicken I've ever had. He always makes it for me whenever I visit.

Great suggestions so far, thanks! Keep 'em cooking.

I felt deficient because I just watched a cooking show that involved 8 - 13 year-old kids making delicious fried chicken, and I am determined to get it right!

soak it in buttermilk overnight in the fridge,

Shake-n-Bake.

This is really a great thread!

R8 is correct.

Isn't the real trick to use a Pressure Fryer?

Bake chicken. Buy fried chicken.

r23 Chicken Express? Does that have something to do with Bryan Singer?

Do you have a gas cooktop? As a previous poster noted, maintaining the right temperature is key to avoiding either burning or under-cooking. You'll be constantly fiddling with the heat--raising it to overcompensate when the temperature drops after you put the chicken in, then lowering it to stabilize the temp as it comes back up. Electric burners just don't adjust as quickly. I use a clip-on candy thermometer to try and help. Also, I always fry in a Dutch oven--too much splatter in a skillet. Another option: Just buy fried chicken from the Piggly Wiggly--those ladies do it right.

Just as community centers in many cities offer computer classes taught by retired engineers or anyone who knows the basics about using home computers & smart phones, they should add cooking classes taught by grandparents -- there's no substitute for helping your mom or grandma when you're 6, but this would be the next best thing.

Meanwhile, look for Alton Brown, Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, & Sara Moulton on TV or YouTube -- good cooks & good teachers. And they all have several cookbooks that are available at most public libraries, with lots of pictures & explanations that are easy to follow.

Anyone good at Korean fried chicken style? Or just the barely there batter style? Any tips?

I use lard in a deep fryer. I've also tried brining and buttermilk and prefer the buttermilk method. Lightly seasoned flour, egg, then the breadcrumbs. In between coating with the egg and breadcrumbs, I put the tray into the freezer to firm up the coating.

R28: Corn starch instead of flour. Search for Kenji Lopez Alt or Alton Brown recipes--both are good.

I find that modern-day supermarket chickens have been bred and fed and genetically altered to be so huge that their parts are too big to fry. The coating turns into cement and burns long before the insides are cooked. So get a smaller chicken, maybe an organic one sized like in the olden days.

R31, or just cut them down into smaller pieces. I always split the breasts in half, since that's the part that's most-Frankenstein-sized. Thighs are still too large, but since they're dark you can cook them longer without drying out.

It was Shake and Bake and I haaaylped!

snitches get stitches, you little bitch

Here is a short video that shows you the basic science behind frying chicken.

Crown Fried Chcken is great. So tasty. So cheap. Not worth the muss or fuss to make it at home. A juicy breast with crunchy skin is just $2.00!

Soak it in buttermilk.

Fry it in lard.

Use lots of salt and pepper in the flour mix.

The temperature of the lard is important and yes,use a Dutch oven.

Paprika or no paprika?

R30, I just found a recipe by Kenji that includes adding vodka to the batter. This looks promising. Thanks!

I bake it first to make sure it's done inside and then I fry it.

Why bother with the fuss and mess? Most grocery stores have decent fried chicken. Here in Philly Acme's fried chicken is absolutely delicious. 8 pieces $6.99.

What I have started doing is only frying the chicken in oil for about 5 to 8 mins just to get the coating nice and brown and then I cook it off in the oven for about 30 mins at 350, works perfectly.

Soulful T will tell you how to make it.

Another technique to help with making sure it's cooked all the way through is to cook the first side until it's browned, then lower the heat and cover for anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken pieces. Remove the cover, turn the heat back up, and when it's hot again, turn the chicken. The middle, low-heat section will guarantee the chicken is cooked all the way through.

What you really need, OP, is restaurant-grade equipment.

If you want spicy fried chicken you have to source chickens that have had their feed supplemented with chili peppers. The birds love 'em!

Tyler Florence has one of the absolute best Fried Chicken recipes. Not exaggerating. I couldn't get fried chicken right for the life of me until I found his recipe.

The woman in the video at R43 seems like a very nice person and a decent cook. I won't be buying any Avon from her or anyone but her recipe seems simple enough although I would marinate my chicken in the buttermilk overnight. I make chicken fingers out of chicken tenders that way, just seasoned buttermilk and flour and they could out great. It helps to add a little of buttermilk to the flour (before you spill it out). It makes the crust a little bumpy and those bumps get real crispy and delicious.

Something I always order in a restaurant now. It makes too much of a mess. I did like one of Martha's recipes though, but it was a 2 day process. One day in brine, the next in buttermilk.

Anything Kenji does is spot-on.

I grew up in the south watching the finest fried chicken cook who ever walked the earth fry chicken that would melt in your mouth. The secret is to not get too high falutin with it. Properly done southern fried chicken is just chicken seasoned with salt & pepper ONLY, and then dusted in a thin layer of flour making sure you knock off any excess flour. AND DO NOT SEASON THE FLOUR! And none of that thick wet batter for God's sake! That's for commercial establishments scamming you with chicken that is 1/4 meat and 3/4 crust. And you can forget about all the silly soaking of the chicken overnight in buttermilk. Martha Stewart be damned!. A complete waste of time. Also, it should be cooked in a cast iron skillet in oil at 350°. Use a thermometer to make sure the oil stays at temperature and DO NOT crowd the pan because you'll reduce the oil temp and you'll end up with ruined chicken. The chicken pieces should not be touching when they're frying.

r33, see r20

r50 But some of us think the crust is the best part!

OP,

Ask Janet Jackson.

As the contributor at R23 who suggested a 'Pressure Fryer' (which KFC use) I thought that I should add that I hate fried chicken and have only eaten it once or twice every decade in my whole life (about 10 times in total) , usually just to placate my dining companions. I'm almost 50!

First , you must use a cast iron skillet. Then use lard or crisco,although I've fried in shortening or oil and still got good results. Then I just take the chicken out of the package and put in a bowl of water to wash em up a bit. Then I get flour, salt and pepper. That's all. Put the chicken in and coat. When your grease sputters put it in but don't overcrowd. Medium heat and just let it fry. Just check and when it gets crispy on one side turn it over till the other side gets crispy. Ain't no shame in getting a knife and checking to see if it's done, but I can usually tells when the juices start running clear. Hope that helps!

Waste of Crisco R55!

[quote] Then use lard or crisco,although I've fried in shortening

Crisco IS shortening, so what are you trying to say?

Real southern fried chicken is cooked in pure lard.

Honeys, the only good fried chicken is that which is fried in bacon grease. One you're done frying up a big mess of bacon, you just stick your chicken right in there and fry away.

R 57 You don't get to go out much?

But for the love of God, OP - whatever you do - DON'T STRAIN IT!

[quote]What's the secret to great fried chicken?

Wesson-ality!

My mother saved bacon grease for chicken frying too.

R59, you'd have to fry 15 lbs. of bacon to get enough grease to fry chicken in it.

Not really, R64, not unless you're using a deep fat fryer. If you want enough to cover the bottom 1/4" of an iron skillet, you wouldn't need more than a pound or so.

Ok, I am gathering all of these great tips and trying this tomorrow. It [italic] will [/italic] come out crispy and delicious, dammit!

Oh Flo r62, not your tired old oil again! You save that mess for greasing Mike's testicles. It's shortening all the way, honey.

R28, I've had Korean glazed fried chicken, and that is a very delicious variation.

r60 I was just trying to understand what was meant by "Then use lard or crisco,although I've fried in shortening." Since Crisco IS shortening, that sentence doesn't make sense.

Probably miss fried chicken more than anything else.

Salt and pepper. Place in a paper bag with a cup of flour and shake. Shake offf excess flour. Fry in a covered skillet. Turn once. Drain on a rack.

It's Shake 'N Bake

R43's video made me cry. I want a lady like that caring for me and making meals for me. Getting old sucks.

r72 Seriously?

R69, if that is the least sensical thing you've read on The Data Lounge, consider yourself blessed.

I always take the skin off and throw it away. Ugh. Cannot stand chicken skin. So gross.

Fry it twice: at a low temperature to cook it, and then at a higher temperature to crisp the skin.

I know how to make good fried chicken (I learned from my mother), but I cannot make a good chicken gravy. Any tips?

The secret is eat out, preferably at an African-American Grandma's house. Just one of the many perks of not being a racist cunt.

R50 has it right. I grew up with a southern mom too and she kept it very simple. Salt, pepper, flour and then fry in shortening, no buttermilk or overnight marinating necessary. She did let it come up to room temperature first before drying in paper towels, dredging and frying. Don't move it around in the cast iron skillet. Just let it sit and fry before turning.

And the poster up thread talking about chicken size is correct also. You need to use fryer chickens which are small and young and cut them up yourself. They are hard to find now.

Crisco

R30 called it - you really need corn starch to get that super crispy, crunchy, heaven-on-earth batter. That said, I use 50% flour and 50% corn starch. You need the mix to get it just right. All of the southern cooks swear by Crisco, but I have always had "soggy" results. Personally, I only fry chicken in peanut oil. The flavor is amazing and the crunch is just perfect. As so many posters above stated - cut your chicken into pieces. Each breast should at least be cut into two - sometimes three pieces. I hate thighs, so I never really care how those turn out - but yes, they need longer cooking time. The best tasting chicken that I have ever fried was certainly soaked in buttermilk mixed with a clove of garlic (smashed), lots of salt and a dash of cayenne pepper. Soak 4 hours to overnight. Drain the pieces a bit, but do not worry about buttermilk getting into the dry mixture - it will not hurt it at all. Take your 50/50 mixture of flour and corn starch (add salt and black pepper) and dredge the chicken parts. Let them dry on a rack for at least 20 min or so (this part is actually very important for attaining the the eventual crispy texture). As stated above - your dutch oven needs to maintain 350 degrees while frying in the peanut oil. I know that a thermometer is obnoxious and I hate doing this as much as you do - BUT it is crucial if you want perfect results. If you do not own one, use the 5/medium setting on a gas cook-top and hope for the best. If you fry this way, but the time the pieces (cut them small like I mentioned above) are crispy and medium browned - they are DONE. I do not care for the oven method of finishing them or re-heating them. The crackly crust will turn soggy quickly. SO, when the crispy pieces are fried, lay them for 30 sec to a minute or so on paper towels and then once oil is somewhat blotted - MOVE them to a wire rack. If you leave them on the paper towels - sogginess will occur. They need the air to circulate. Once on the rack, the chicken can easily come to room temp and still taste like a million bucks - hours and hours later. If you fried them hours before, you can always throw the cooled chicken on said rack into a 275 degree oven for 3 to 5 min to heat up and not ruin the crust. This MUST be done after the chicken cools completely however. Hope this helps someone; it took me 15 years to figure out.

Damn you all. I now have a craving for fried chicken of all things!

With older relatives in town recently, we went to places with mild, easy-to-chew food like KFC and Captain D.

At KFC - a place known for their use of herbs and spices - I found both noticeably lacking in their food. I had the buffet so I tried a taste of several things, all bland. However, I will admit the chicken was piping hot and juicy so they do still make that properly.

Season the buttermilk, it should be like a brine, soak over night. Season the flour and the egg, dip, dip, dip, rest in flour.

Fry in either lard, bacon fat or peanut oil. No fucking Canola.

I also ask for the chicken to be chopped for a curry, this gives me small pieces. Let's face it, we eat it more for the Fried than the chicken.

Do not listen to R50 unless you want that super bland white people chicken.

I know from frying schnitzel in beef tallow that it makes it taste very similar to Popeye's. I found an ingredient list and that's what they use. I gave up on frying chicken because it's impossible to find a small enough chicken outside of buying from a local farmer. I read this is caused by restaurants buying up the smaller chickens. The smallest I could find in store was 3.5 pounds. You end up with too much meat to crust ratio. Following popular recipes my crust was burnt before the meat cooked through. I used a thermometer and everything! Also wasting a batch of chicken to find out the seasoning isn't right. Much easier to just go to to Popeye's.

Lard?

Forget Lard or Crisco. The best fried chicken is cooked with peanut oil. As others have said. add your flower and seasonings to a paper bag. use an egg wash or a milk bath for the chicken shake in the (closed) bag and let it rest on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes (I use a cake cooling rack). The breading will puff up and you'll even wonder if it's going to fall off. gently place the pieces into the peanut oil after it's reached about 325 degrees and cook for roughly 10-12 minutes per side. (move the chicken around a bit while it's cooking, you don't want burnt spots from sitting in one spot in the pan. Lift the pieces out and place them onto another cooling rack (this one over a shallow baking pan lined with paper towels. and enjoy.

R87, You're right about fast food places using all the smaller birds, Bojangles uses the smallest at 2.25-3 pounds. Popeye's and KFC also keep their birds to under 3.25 lbs. They buy by the pound and sell by the piece, which is what makes fried chicken so lucrative. Whole bagged fryers can be either under 2.25 lbs or over 3.25. Stores with hard delivery schedules like Wal-Mart will end up with a lot of the smaller birds as their orders tend to be ran earlier in the day. whereas smaller chains and mom and pop stores tend to have their orders ran later in night when birds under 3 lbs are hard to come by. it all comes down to whether or not Flock Management can accurately predict the size of the birds (most can't). At the six week mark, when broiler sized birds are usually killed, the difference in what a bird weighs in the morning vs at 10PM can be a half a pound or more. Many plants are forced to run on a Saturday from time to time because the birds will be too big for most customers by Monday otherwise.

Flower is never a good idea. Roses and other flowers burn badly, I suggest Flour.

Lard is great, peanut oil is also great, bacon fat is best, you are all pretty.

Here, youngsters of DL, learn some American history:

Like a couple of folks have said, the recipe matters but also the size of the chicken. If the breasts, for example, are half a pound each, then it's gonna take forever to get the inside cooked. Find a small size chicken for smaller chicken parts - they cook more evenly/quickly before the exterior gets overdone and over-brown.

I'm a fan of brining for several hours, then marinating in buttermilk/tabasco for about an hour, then the standard egg and seasoned flour dredge before frying.

Thomas Keller's fried chicken at Ad Hoc or Addendum in Napa. And he uses small chickens. Perfection.

Seriously I just can't be bothered, so I just head out to Church's, Popeye's, or KFC when I want some.

They should sell FROZEN smaller chickens; it would alleviate some of the issues discussed above.

Try frying Cornish Game Hens in Lard or Tallow.... Delicious! I use a combo of "secret" spices in mine, sorry Southern Americans advocating only S&P. Craggy breading is best, and I don't think with the tiny hens brining or buttermilk makes much difference. (Have tried both) Bell's Poultry seasoning is a good mix, If you want to make your own: garlic & onion powder, black & white pepper, bit of powdered ginger, bit of oregano, bit of thyme, marjoram and even less sage. Very easy to cut up these tiny hens if you own even a halfway decent knife

I have heard that fried chicken causes fingertip cancer.

The main thing that keeps me from making fried chicken at home (or just plain deep frying in general) is what to do with the oil afterward. Can you keep it and use it multiple times? How do you know when to pitch it? I guess you just put it in a bottle into the regular trash but somehow that seems "wrong".

Yes, for 2 people the oil and mess isn't worth it. There are plenty of nice restaurants in my area that serve great chicken. No need to resort to sodium-ridden dumps like KFC.

You can reuse the oil a few times if you strain it and refrigerate it, but it's kind of a hassle. Even worse is deep-frying a turkey, which requires GALLONS of oil.

Comb it through your hair for a welcome oil change.

R99 Do not reuse vegetable oils. Very bad for one's health. Each time the oil comes down in temp, then up again, it creates oxidation and unhealthy fats which create weak cell membranes in the body. Do research online before taking R101's advice. This is very new science. Saturated animal fats however do stand up to using a second time however, and straining and filtering as R101 suggests is a good idea.

Anal lube! But you really crave chicken afterwards.

Crisco

R103 - I did a quick search and can't find anything to support your statement. Also there is the obvious. Restaurants worldwide reuse their oil.

The key to reusing oil is to clean and store properly. Skim and filter. Let come to room temperature and store in a cool and dark place. Doesn't need to be your fridge.

Frying in oil is based upon the fact oil and water don't mix. The more you use oil the more likely they are to mix, making the oil less effective. A sign of this is a foaming layer on top of the oil. Time to stop using that oil. Of course if it smells rancid or of the food you've been cooking in it. Time to change.

Also if you are only using flour, not a batter, to coat your food the life of your oil will be shorter. Almost impossible to skim and filter out flour from the oil.

If you are frying in a bare cast iron skillet that isn't enamel-coated, just use the oil once. There is a reaction that occurs between the oil and the iron that oxidizes the oil rapidly, turning it rancid.

R103: Unhealthy or not, my great-grandmother from Suoth Carolina reused Crisco oil and her fried chicken was awesome! Great taste and crispiness. She would also use bacon drippings and fatback in vegetables (cabbage, collard greens, string beans) and they were delicious too.

We cheat. Our next door neighbor is this wonderful black lady who is known as Miss Flora. Every time we want to have a southern fried chicken dinner party, we give Miss Flora $100 to make the fried chicken. She has to buy everything and she keeps what’s left over. Best fried chicken you will ever want to eat. I have no idea what she does to it, but dear god in heaven.

R108 Try searching for the breakdown of unsaturated vegetable oils. I have read several things online. I am sorry I cannot provide you with a link, I'm not clever enough to have figured it out yet. Trans fats and oxidation results with the refined vegetable oils. I'll try to find you somewhere to begin in the meantime.

Op-make your life easy by getting a good, accurate, deep fry skillet that monitors its own temp and keeps it even. Or you’ll go crazy with the dumb thermometer moving around, messing with the fire and chicken pieces, all the while oil is splattering and getting close to and even into your eyeballs. The best recipe I ever used was from Edna Lewis’ Southern Cookbook. I reuse oil. Her recipe is so simple, I don’t know why it’s so good. My black friends said I was trying to steal their husbands with food like that. Good luck.

R2, here. CAST IRON ONLY. GRAPESEED OIL ONLY. IF YOU WANT CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN..

Like I said, heat oil so that a drop of water sizzles. add chicken and LOWER HEAT TO MEDIUM TO JUST BELOW. IF evenly done chicken is an issue, turn every 4 min. Don't overly coat chicken. Cornstarch can make a gummy crust depending on oil used and temp.

R112: Grapeseed oil??? WTF. LOL (Northern white people's fried chicken).

^Sorry, meant for R106... Look for an article "The Hazards of Reusing Cooking Oil" @ Livestrong.com Dr.Weil.com has info that is up to date also, Telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11981884/.... Is a good one too:"Cooking With Vegetable Oils Releases Toxic Cancer-Causing Chemicals, Say Experts

R106, also check out healster.com DANGER IN REUSING COOKING OIL. I sincerely hope this info helps dissuade you from the idea.

r113, I may be considered light skinned, however I assure you I am black and southern, at that! Grapeseed oil has a high smoke point and will not impart off flavors as it heats. Today's lard is awful, due to pigs being raised by big Agra. So I never use it, not even for flaky pie crust.

r109 Have you ever noticed a lot of Church's Chicken boxes in her trash?

I agree with those saying that fried chicken is one of those items that it is just easier to buy good fried chicken rather than trying to make it yourself.

R117 her house (s close enough to ours that we can smell it as she cooks it. Miss Flora is not shady.

R115 Fat from organic Berkshire hogs, home rendered makes a wonderful frying medium.

Grapseed is a sucky choice. Bacon fat or peanut is better.

R103 - Thanks for the links but neither supports you claim. The Telegraph link has nothing to do with reusing oil. The livestrong.com link starts with stating oils can be reused if stored properly. From reading both articles it seems the answers to your concern is to use peanut oil and store it properly.

The way I make fried chicken. Definitely soak in buttermilk. If you don't have buttermilk, you can use whole milk and mix with lemon juice. In my breading I put salt, white pepper, and paprika. All to taste. I don't have a cast iron skillet, but that is definitely the best skillet to cook in if you don't have a deep fryer. Preheat the oil to 350. If you use lard, manteca is the best to use. Just dredge it in the flour mixture really good, I don't use any eggs wash with mine. Cook to at least 165 degrees, no higher than 190 degrees.

Now, I cook by preference, but you also want to make sure you have the right chicken. If you want a nice juicy piece, use thighs. Legs and wings just don't render enough meat and with the higher fat content you end up with more breading than anything else. I prefer white meat, so I use tenderloins. The tenderloins, like any other meats are the leanest and most tender part. The breasts tend to be tougher and dry out a lot quicker since there's little fat. If you are going to use all of the chicken, put the breast in first, then thighs, legs and wings last. Since there's less meat on the wings, it takes a lot less time to cook than it does the breasts.

But again, it's all about taste especially with the breading.

My southern great-grandmother used lard. She also had her own chickens. She was famous for her fried chicken.

I would recommend getting a chicken from a local farm if you can. They are smaller and skinnier than store chickens but the taste is so much better.

Make sure them farm raised chickens have been pecking at chili peppers – – I love my fried chicken spicy!

[quote]If you use lard, manteca is the best to use.

What does this mean? "Manteca" is just the Spanish word for lard.

It's a label on Armour's commercial package of lard so Spanish people recognize it. It's not a brand.

Yes, I know manteca is lard, but there was one in particular that my friend's mom used to use when cooking that she'd get from the Caribbean grocery where I grew up that we just called manteca. I forget the brand, but it wasn't Armour. I used to see the Armour brand all the time at ShopRite.

[quote] My southern uncle always uses lard and it's the best fried chicken I've ever had.

Nothing spreads quite like lard!

Lard is a secret ingredient that makes everything taste better. My grandma used it in both her fried chicken and in her chocolate chip cookies, and it made them both taste better than any others I've ever had.

Did she also smear it all over her poonanny for the dog’s enjoyment?

Lard is supposed to make wonderful piecrusts, but I've never tried it.

R131, duckfat was the best pie crust I've ever tasted. In lieu of, good quality butter. I've tried a lard piecrust, but I must have done something wrong.

Lard is great. But as somebody upthread mentioned, a lot of commercial lard available these days is garbage. I still find Armour brand tolerable, but Morrell is gamy and Farmer John brand is rancid and vile. Ethnic markets are an option for some. Lard and tallow tried to have a healthy-food resurgence in the past couple years, but I suspect the gamy flavors and ridiculous prices (often over $10/lb for beef and pork fat) quashed many people's enthusiasm.

Soak in buttermilk for a few days, drain, roll in flour seasined with smoked paprika, white and nlack pepper and seasonjng salt, coat in butter, bake at 375, for 40-50 minutes, turning once midpoint. Crispy, not greasy and flavorful.

That sounds like the Bisquick oven-fried chicken. Minus the buttermilk soak.

R106, R121 Polyunsaturated fats (aka vegetable oils) oxidize when heated, forming trans fats and peroxides. It’s just chemistry. You’ve probably heard of the inflammation associated with the above and its health effects by now. Saturated fats are much more stable and resistant to mistreatment. The “heating then cooling” thing I assume is a misunderstanding.

R106/R121 I don't understand why you cannot open the same article I just re-read for you @ LIVESTRONG... It clearly states in the very first sentence to always use fresh cooking oil as free radicals and trans fats result in re-using cooking oil. The Healster.com blog points up the same with more "advanced" chemistry about peroxides and carcinogens created when oils break down. These can cause damage to pur DNA, which can lead to cancer in the long run. Believe what you want. I stand by the science it is unhealthy if you are using unsaturated or polyunsaturated vegetable oils. None of which are healthy to begin with anyway. It is also not a misunderstanding that allowing the oil to cool down, only to be re-heated later is part of the degradation of the fat. No one should trust restaurant practices just because they do so, however in this case they are choosing the best option, as they keep their oil in fryers at a constant correct temp, rather than turning off, and allowing it to cool. Try a different search engine if you are unable to find content that supports this. What did you type as your query in your browser?

Mrs. Flora. Loving this.

Could one fry duck in this same manner as chicken, and would it taste similar?

The Armour brand is the absolute worst you can use. It is partially hydrogenated and really bad for you.

REAL lard or peanut oil.

R138 NO. It is not the same.

If you want to fry duck, prick the skin and steam it so the fat melts out (save that fat) then you can fry it.

[quote]all the while oil is splattering and getting close to and even into your eyeballs.

Use a splatter screen, my good man.

Okay so how deep should the melted lard be in the pan?

And what do you have for sides?

R142 an inch is more than sufficient.

You may have what you like for sides. I go to vegetables and salads but if you prefer fries and mac and cheese than have that. For me this is an annual treat.

All this turmoil over brining for a day, then soaking in buttermilk for two days, then dredging in every spice known to man, then heating the most exotic combination of oils to just the right temp. Bullshit.

My grandma in South Georgia made the best chicken. How? She went to the yard, snatched the perfect sized fryer chicken, swung it round by its neck, cleaned it, seasoned with salt and pepper dredged in flour and fried it in Crisco with maybe some lard too.

That's it. Nothing magical. Just freshness and size and technique.

This thread has attracted more southern queens than an episode of Designing Women!

You've never dressed a chicken if you think it's quick and simple, r145. It's a hell of a lot less trouble to ask about the best fat to fry in than it is to behead, gut, pluck and cut up a live chicken.

I have cleaned chickens r147. I never said it was quick, but it is pretty simple. And it certainly doesn't take 2 days of brining and soaking (and wasting) buttermilk.

This thread might give some pointers:

"Fried Chicken & Potato Salad! -- Share Your Recipes"

Salt and pepper = bland

I'm making the 18th century fried chicken recipe from Jas. Townsend & Son this weekend.

Why suffer through the mess? Splattering oil all over the stove, splattering and burning your skin? One word: Popeyes! Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 2 piece special, one side (omg red beans and rice are foreplay) and a drink for $5.49. I live for the $5 Bonefide deal where you get 2 sides (Ong, adding mashed potatoes may lead to orgasm).

Marilyn Monroe used to eat fried chicken in bed and sleep with the oily crumbs.

Look, if you take enough Valium, crumbs don't bother you at all.

Bojangles has the best fried chicken known to humanity.

Yeswhen it comes to fast-food fried chicken, Bojangles is the best.

I'm tired of the reusing oil comments. But R137 let my finish by quoting the last sentence from the paragraph you quote the first sentence:

[quote] By choosing oils with a high smoke point, preparing food for minimal contamination of the oil and straining the oil to get out any food particles left over, you can reuse most oils as long as they are properly stored.

I'm sorry one morel thing - harm our DNA?

Lard is not naturally shelf stable so it is often hydrogenated for sale in grocery stores. I wonder is this accounts, in part, for the observations on the various qualities of lard. For example someone commented on a brand of lard tasting rancid. Perhaps this brand isn't hydrogenated and has gone bad on the shelf?

To buy it from some who know how to cook it?

Try Nigella Lawson's recipe, it always turns out great.

I cannot go to Popeyes as I do not have one in my country. Fried chicken is something I must make, if i want it.

It works best if you dress as Aunt Jemima.

[quote]an inch is more than sufficient.

And that is the very first time those words were EVER used on Datalounge.

It tastes best when you fry the chicken alive. Same concept as lobster.

The Dominican way is to soak it in a brine of dark rum, lime juice and garlic. Dredge in spiced flour, whatever spices you like. At least that is how my abuela made it. Everyone's different. You should just keep experimenting until you find a recipe and technique that you're comfortable with.

When I lived in the Dominican no one used Rum up North, but instead a lot of lime and garlic, masses of garlic and a lot of seasoning. In Cabrera the same stand that did the fried pork skin would fry the chicken, so fresh and good.

I can't imagine how one would go about getting the feathers off a dead chicken. It must take forever.

What should real lard say on the label, just the word lard and nothing else, right?

Would a butcher department at a local supermarket have some real lard in the back? Although my supermarket is Shoprite and I don't think they actually butcher the animals there. I think everything comes to them already cut up like steaks and chops, including pork chops, and roasts. they just wrap them and weigh them and stick a price tag on.

I do think they have real butchers in the meat departments of Fairway and Whole Foods but it they did have lard it would probably be at least $20.00 a pound.

I make my own lard at home.

Oops! That was supposed to be signed "Jeff Dahmer."

Fried Chicken From Around the World

[quote] I make my own lard at home.

Ina Garten would make a tasty lard.

Wonderful memories of after church potluck lunch when everybody brought fresh fried chicken.

[QUOTE] R133 Lard is great. But as somebody upthread mentioned, a lot of commercial lard available these days is garbage. I still find Armour brand tolerable, but Morrell is gamy and Farmer John brand is rancid and vile. Ethnic markets are an option for some. Lard and tallow tried to have a healthy-food resurgence in the past couple years, but I suspect the gamy flavors and ridiculous prices (often over $10/lb for beef and pork fat) quashed many people's enthusiasm.

Beef Lard (dripping) is very widely available here in the UK (makes great roast potatoes) and only costs 60p (80c) for a half pound pack.

R145, Your grandmother probably selected a pullet because it would have been young and tender. I've heard that the basis for brining or buttermilk soak started a long time ago to tenderize older chickens or roosters. I don't know if that's real but it makes sense.

A year ago I switched to cooking more often in butter. Or ghee. Or fat from meat I have browned. Or fat from fresh sausages. I still liberally use virgin oils on uncooked food or things that have cooked and cooled a bit. My cholesterol, already OK, dropped further. I will still fry in high smoke point oils.

R172 - Beef drippings aren't lard. Lard is the fat form a pig. Beef tallow is the fat from a cow. Drippings can be from either a cow or pig and are the actually fat drippings from cooking the cow or pig meat.

Vegetable oils are just not as healthy for frying as animal fats. It's one of those health facts that got completely reversed during the anti-fat hysteria of the 70s. That and margarine as more healthy than butter. Both are pernicious lies that have contributed greatly to obesity and cancer.

You're absolutely right about that r176.

How come suet pudding never caught on in the US?

What about chicken fat? Is that good to use?

[quote]What about chicken fat? Is that good to use?

Not according to Robert Preston and JFK.

A long time ago I cut an article out of Gourmet magazine by a bossy person about the perfect fried chicken. Packing the flour on and into crevices, double dipping in liquid and flour, then letting the coating dry on before frying. It makes a terrible mess and glues everything together, fingers and utensils. But love a thick crust.

Thanks to the video poster. I will be making the 1700's recipe tonight.

[quote][R145], Your grandmother probably selected a pullet because it would have been young and tender. I've heard that the basis for brining or buttermilk soak started a long time ago to tenderize older chickens or roosters. I don't know if that's real but it makes sense.

She always called them fryers and they were small. although I did hear her call larger chickens pullets. The attached link is helpful with the differences between sexes, sizes and ages, I learned from it not having been around chickens since I was 10.

But you're right about the brining and buttermilk being used as a tenderizer. When your chickens are young and fresh and fed by you, you don't need to tenderize them to cook. You already know how fresh and tender they are. Same for spices. Spices were very often used to disguise bad or old meats. If the chicken was too long from slaughter or in bad shape to begin with, you may need to spice the hell out of him to make him edible. Ours were fresh and only needed salt and pepper.

Mary's chicken is used in a lot of upscale restaurants, and is also in the WF at least in CA. Those chickens are treated like royalty, until they're killed. Not big birds either.

[quote]Vegetable oils are just not as healthy for frying as animal fats.

Why is that?

In modern day kitchens the best way to fry chicken without burning the outside before the inside is cooked is to use a Sous Vide precision cooker. First cook the chicken in the sous vide. THEN after, you coat the chicken in your flour egg-wash breadcrumbs/flour and then you fry it. So you only now have to worry about the outside cooking to a nice golden crispy crust and then the inside only gets heated up because the entire meat is already cooked and brought up to the safe temperature for consumption

I think it's easier to bake "fried" chicken in the oven. Always turns out great for me.

Oh R186, sous vide fried chicken? Give me a break. How long does it take to sous vide fried chicken at about 68 C? Twelve hours? That's ridiculous. Sous vide is great for flavourful fillets of meat or fish but poultry on the bone? C'mon.

I wouldn't sous vide for a fried chicken-on-the-bone prep, but I do sous vide poultry all the time. Pasteurizing the meat at a lower temperature and never having to bring it up to the bacterial instant-kill temp of 165f makes for the most juicy and flavorful chicken you've ever had.

I just fry, mine never burns.

[quote] Those chickens are treated like royalty, until they're killed.

Kind of like the Romanovs, then.

Fried chicken with bones is unbecoming a gentleman but ah do love me some tenders!

Lawd, how ah would hate to bear the scarlet “H” of the homosexualist and be forced to deprive mahself the pleasure of a succulent Chick-Fil-A tender speared on one of Mother Millie’s cocktail forks, a’swirled an a’twirled in its own little wadin’ pool* of Polynesian. Ah just about break into the chorus of Bali Ha’i and care not who hears me!

*Ya boy uses a Waterford finger bowl for that, but these heathens have no idea. Shhhhh!

Knowin that negro chick from Popeyes who can cum over and throw her special recipe into my mouth and make it all ok....

YOWZA

MAKE SURE THE CHICKEN IS 18 YRS OLD.

R185, to simplify, vegetable oils are polyunsaturated and animal fats are saturated. Polyunsaturated fats increase inflammation though multiple pathways, from being incorporated into cellular membranes, to stimulating production of inflammatory hormones, to being vulnerable to breakdown both in the body and from heat, thereby producing toxic byproducts. The rise in “diseases of prosperity” in the 20th century correlates almost perfectly with increased vegetable oil and sugar consumption.

Saturated fats on the other hand resist breakdown and due to their stability confer resilience to insult and aging when they’re incorporated into body tissues. They tend to increase positive hormone expression as well, testosterone especially. You have other benefits like satiety making you eat less overall but it mostly boils down to inflammation (as does disease to a pretty large extent).

In short, humans thrive on saturated fats. Their restriction, and the attraction of vegetable oils, has always been down to cost more than anything.

Salt and spice your buttermilk, no need for multi day marination marathons. Even if it’s just salt, garlic and onion powder. Just not the same without.

OK R195 we just need to ignore major medical group like the American Heart Association? When did all this talk of inflammation start?

[quote]... we just need to ignore major medical group like the American Heart Association?

You mean the people who told us that eating partially-hydrogenated fats was healthy?

Marinate in turpentine.

R197 The studies that originally supported vegetable oil consumption/the deprecation of inflammatory load have been throughly discredited. Beyond question, to the point that I don’t follow the developments anymore. If the AHA is still on that trip, it’s to their discredit. For what it’s worth, it is commonly assumed that they’re beholden to corporate interests a.k.a. flat out corrupt.

How does Chick-Fil-A chicken compare to, say, Popeye’s? I hardly ever go to the South...

Chick-Fil-A is breast fillet only as the name implies. It's also brined in pickle juice which gives it a unique flavor. Popeyes is all parts of the bird still on the bone. Regular and spicy is offered. They're both salty as hell and not good for you.

R197 Inflammation = the new gluten-free

I grew up on a farm in the Midwest. My mother and grandmother made fried chicken every other Sunday.

Like others have said, the kept it simple: smaller fresh birds, a little salt and pepper, a light coating of flour and then fried gently in a quarter to half inch of lard or Crisco.

Somebody up thread asked about gravy: when your chicken is done, drain off all but a couple of tablespoons of the fat, but leaves all the brown bits; sprinkle on an equal amount of flour and cook the roux.

Then slowly add rich chicken stock (made with the back, neck and wing tips) and whisk until it comes together. Taste for salt.

This is a different style than the heavily breaded deep fried chicken - but it is delicious.

R198 - when was that? You aren't honestly suggesting that at some point the American Heart Association took an offical position labeling trans fats at health, are you?

R200 -huh? Is this about fibromyalgia? I'm sorry but paint me ignorant. Frying chicken in vegetable oil causes inflammation? This hurts me how?