If you don't have any cooking oil and want to fry chicken, find a cast iron skillet and fry the chicken in its own juices. It will be just as finger lickin' good as KFC, only healthier. What I do is turn the stove-top up to about 6 or 7 and lay the chicken pieces in the pan. When they start cooking, you have to turn, turn, and re-turn all of them. The skin is crispy and the chicken is great.
By bentcrazy39 from Springfield OH.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I am desperately needing the help of the Thrifty Fun community. I have been trying to southern-fry chicken for a very long time, but have failed miserably. My two assets are firstly, the batter sticks to the chicken without a problem and secondly, the flavor is wonderful.
The problem is that it tends to burn before the internal temperature reaches the 180 degrees. I use a thermometer and have tried frying at 350 degrees while turning the chicken often. After those pieces burned, I tried as some have suggested to fry at 300 degrees, while turning often. Of course the last option is a little better than the first, but it still isn't anything to brag about. The area that touches the skillet gets almost black, while the crust gets very, very dark brown.
I have used several types of skillets, including cast iron, stainless steel, and nonstick. I have also used an electric deep fryer to which I keep the oil at a steady 350F. It also is too dark. I do long for some seasoned cook to give me a foolproof, time-proven formula for perfect southern-fried chicken. I do believe I am messing up in the technique because the flavor is wonderful. Thanks again for all input! You're a wonderful group.
By Marla from MO
I don't know if the way that I have always done it would be considered Southern fried, however, I find it a lot easier than standing by a stove, watching it. It is called oven-fried chicken and I found the recipe in an old Betty Crocker cookbook.
No matter what I do, I just can not make crispy fried chicken. It is very good, but it is not crispy. Any suggestions? Thanks.
nunley10
By carla from Huntington, WV
You make sure you season and flour the chicken really well and deep fry it until it is a deep brown color. it is also important to let it drain on a paper towel after you take it out of the grease.also search for your question, good luck.
I've always wanted to fry chicken with flour but it always comes out either burnt or undercooked. Any tips on how to do it just right?
Rosemarie from Lynn, Mass.
Use Crisco Shortning. Have it about 1/2 inch deep in the frying pan. Place floured chicken in the hot grease 350-360 degrees.
Fry chicken covered with a lid for about 30 minutes.
I agree. Don't be impatient and turn it too often, once is enough.
And keep the heat even. My Grandmother would never cook chicken in anything but a cast iron skillet! Said it did the cooking for her.
My husband taught me his mother's recipe for Oven Fried Chicken. I don't have to babysit the pan on the stove!
Put about 1/4" of cooking oil in a roasting pan in a preheated 350 oven. While it heating up, coat chicken parts in your flour and spices by shaking in a zip bag.
Go to http://www.foodnetwork.com and search for Paula Deen's recipe for fried chicken. It's a no-fail deal.
A tip I JUST learned! Dark meat is fattier/juicier than white meat, so in order to keep the white meat pieces from coming out drier, cook them slightly less long than the dark ( if deep frying).
You all might laugh at this: When I first read the heading 'Fried Chicken Tips', I wondered " what parts of the chicken are the 'tips'?" Haha maybe the chicken isnt the only thing 'fried' today!
I just brown my chicken good in a skillet then transfer it to a roasting pan and put it in a 350*F oven for about 45 minutes. Do not cover it! The chicken has the fried taste and is done but not burned. I can't fry chicken done either.LOL My MIL taught me this and I always "fry" my chicken this way. Hope it helps you.
We call this Aunt Debbie's fried chicken. Everyone who eats it cleans the meat right off the bones.
In a paper bag I put a couple cups of flour and add a few dashes of garlic powder, chicken seasoning, salt and pepper.
Wash the chicken pieces and leave them moist with the water. Or you can also soak the pieces in buttermilk overnight or for about four hours before frying. Put the pieces in the bag one at a time and shake until coated. Heat the oil,(I use a cast iron fryer)on the stove top. Turning the chicken every now and then and checking the doneness with a meat thermometer. This is finger licken good chicken! Enjoy!
Make sure your grease is deep enough so the chicken can float. Needs to be about 3 or 4 inches deep. Oil must be 350 degrees no more no less!
Dip chicken in a milk bowl. Then dip it in a flour bowl that has been seasoned with salt and pepper.
Dip back into milk bowl. Then re dip to flour bowl. Shake off excess Drop in oil cooking until done, golden brown.
Cook in cast iron...forgot to add that. That makes a BIG difference.
Start at a temp to brown, then reduce temp to finish cooking. Lower temp produces fully done without burning.
I've fried a lot of chickens in a lot of different ways. The most important thing is not to use an egg wash to get the breading to stick. I also can't use milk for my chicken, so I soak it in a cup of soy milk plus a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. (Double that if the chicken won't submerse fully in it.)
You can then dredge it in your salted and spiced crust. I've used flour, matzah meal, panko (plain or seasoned), cornmeal, soy flour, finely ground nut flour (during an Atkins Diet phase), chickpea flour, or any other type of flour you want to use. My spices are usually salt, black or white pepper, and ground/dried sage, ginger, paprika, and garlic powder, with some variation here and there just for fun. If you use seasoned panko or other bread crumbs, just drop your seasonings altogether and go with the ones already in the mix.
Heat the oil on medium-high heat (about 350 F) in a deep skillet, no more than 1/3 of the way up the side of the pan. I like Crisco canola oil for this. You're going to want your thickest meat in the center of the skillet because it needs more heat to get the job done, so put your thighs together in the middle, which is good advice for frying chicken as well as for dating. Breasts on the bone will go fairly close to center, too, but breasts off the bone can be around the edges along with the wings and drumsticks.
Once you've arranged your chicken in the hot oil with tongs, set the splatter guard on top, then set the timer for 12 minutes, and then walk away. No, I mean it, just walk away. Your patience will be rewarded. When it's time to turn the chicken, turn it in a relaxed way even though the oil will boil and spit (use your spare hand to hold the splatter guard between you and the excited oil), then set the timer for another 12 minutes and walk away. Seriously, walk away. Don't keep turning the chicken or checking it, because turning it too often will make the chicken tough.
When the timer beeps, remove chicken to a rack which is turned upside down and resting atop a stack of old newspapers, to wick away the fat. Pour out most of the oil (or conserve it by draining it in a strainer with a coffee filter), but leave one or two tablespoons to use for making gravy... which is another post, but then, I'm sure you already know how to make excellent gravy.
How do you cook chicken to taste like Kentucky Fried?
By lyle
Please tell me how to keep fried chicken crisp. When I take fried chicken to work for lunch in my tupperware bowl and lid it gets real soft. I hate soft fried chicken. Any suggestions?
Don't put the lid on your tupperware container! Just place the container in a vegetable bag (with the tiny holes), or cover loosely with wax paper. It's the moisture in the chicken that makes it soggy when you enclose it with the lid.
Ruth C.
From my point of view The Tupperware is working too well.And I can use your story in my business!!lol
Leave the lid off or use a fold over kind of plastice baggy, these have enough ventilation for keeping the crispies on your chicken yummy
just wrap your chicken in a paper towel and put it in your lunch bag or box. It won't hold in the moisture and get soggy.
TC in MO
I would wrap the fried chicken in tinfoil, or even just wrap it loosely in paper towel and then place in a paper bag.
make sure the chicken is completely cold before you put the lid on. if it is still a problem, wrap the pieces in paper towels
When I take leftover fried chicken I don't put it in the frig after it's been cooked. I place it on a plate on the stove, and in the morning I wrap it in aluminum foil.
Jennifer, GA
Cool the chicken completely. Store it in a paper towel inside of a paper bag for lunch. The plastic cover is making the chicken too moist.
