This is why your grandma had an electric frying pan--it wasn't just for making bacon in the morning with an extension cord on the porch of the tiny cabin you rented near a lake in the summer. Electric frying pans have temperature controls that are useful when frying chicken, so if you really like to fry chicken and your grandma's still works, see if she'll let you have it. Hmm...I just found out that they still make electric skillets. So leave grandma's alone and buy your own.
Both of these recipes are for about 10 pieces of southern fried chicken, light or dark meat: one 4 lb (2 kg) chicken cut in pieces, or to get simple, 10 chicken drumsticks. Both recipes involve soaking the chicken overnight in salt water (brine) so that the meat is moist and flavorful, so you'll start that recipe a day ahead. The second recipe adds more ingredients to the brine and a buttermilk marinade, taking two days before the actual cooking. Personally, I skipped the first step in the second recipe and just did the buttermilk marinade (without celery seeds though as I didn't have them) and then coated the chicken.
I am lazy so I usually skip the brining and frying (and even the buttermilk part), I just dip the chicken in milk, dredge in flour mixture, place on an aluminum baking sheet coated with vegetable oil, and bake in a preheated convection oven.
Gwen's Fried Chicken
Trisha Yearwood's mother's recipe. Clipped from the July 2013 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. (I'd spice this up by adding a teaspoon each of cayenne, paprika and garlic powder to the flour, bake in the oven and drizzle on some hot sauce before serving, but this is the original....)
- 10 chicken drumsticks or other pieces of light or dark meat chicken
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 2 cups peanut oil
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Place chicken pieces in a large bowl.
Cover with water.
Sprinkle 2 Tbsp salt in the water.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight, up to 24 hours.
Pour oil into an electric frying pan or deep, heavy skillet.
Heat to 375 degrees F or check the temperature by sprinkling flour over the oil.
If the flour sizzles, the oil is hot enough.
Drain the water from the chicken.
Pat lightly with paper towels.
Sprinkle each piece with pepper and coat with flour.
There may be flour left over.
Carefully place chicken in the hot oil.
Cover the pan and open the vent to allow a small amount of steam to escape.
Partially cover pan if there is no vent on lid.
Cook 15 minutes.
Remove cover.
Using tongs, turn each piece of chicken.
Replace the cover and cook for 15 minutes more, or until done.
Use a sharp, thin-bladed knife to check for doneness by slicing a drumstick to the bone.
Neither the meat nor the juices should be pink.
Drain chicken on paper towels.
Makes 10 servings.
Classic Southern Buttermilk Fried Chicken
This recipe is from the summer 2017 issue of Food & Drink magazine provided by the LCBO with the original ingredients but some modifications I've made in the instructions for brevity.
Also requiring 10 pieces of chicken, this recipe has a more involved brine recipe and a second buttermilk marinade step.
Brine
- cold water
- 1 coarsely chopped onion
- 3 Tbsp kosher or pickling salt
- 3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 4 bay leaves
Put 1 cup cold water and all other ingredients in a small saucepan.
Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar.
Pour into a large non-reactive bowl and let cool.
Note: a non-reactive bowl is one that isn't metal, copper, aluminum or a plastic that will stain.
Add 4 more cups cold water.
Refrigerate until chilled.
Chicken
- 10 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken
Trim off any skin and fat.
If using chicken breasts, cut each crosswise into 2 pieces.
Add chicken to the cold brine in the non-reactive bowl.
Press to immerse in liquid.
Alternatively, put the chicken in an extra-large resealable plastic bag (that doesn't leak!) set in a container, and pour in the brine. Seal the bag.
Refrigerate chicken in brine 12 to 24 hours.
Drain brine from chicken and discard brine.
Rinse off chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels.
Buttermilk Marinade
- 2 cups (500 mL) buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp sweet paprika
- 2 tsp celery seeds
- 2 Tbsp Frank's original hot sauce
Combine the ingredients in a non-reactive bowl.
Add chicken pieces and turn to coat.
Cover and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours.
Chicken Coating
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4-6 cups canola or peanut oil for frying
Set 2 or 3 wire racks on 2 or 3 separate rimmed baking sheets. (One for the raw dredged chicken, one for fried chicken pieces to drip oil, one for any fried chicken pieces that may need to finish cooking in the oven.)
Whisk together flour, cornstarch, paprika, thyme, salt, garlic powder, pepper and cayenne.
Spoon 2 Tbsp of the buttermilk marinade into the flour mixture, whisking until small clumps form.
Working a piece at a time, remove chicken from the marinade and dredge in flour mixture.
Turn and press chicken to coat well.
Place coated chicken on one of the racks over a baking sheet.
Repeat dredging until all pieces are coated with flour mixture.
Discard any excess marinade and flour mixture.
Pour oil into cooking pan to about 3/4 inch or 2 cm deep.
Heat at medium-high to around 350 degrees F (or until a little flour sprinkled over the oil's surface sizzles.)
Working with similar-size pieces in each batch, add chicken pieces to hot oil 2 to 4 at a time, keeping at least 1 inch between pieces.
Oil should come at least halfway up the sides of chicken pieces and be at least 1/2 inch below top edge of pan.
Cover pan loosely with foil, or open vent in lid if there is one, or tilt lid.
Fry, adjusting heat to maintain at around 300 degrees F for 6 minutes or until bottoms are deep golden colour.
Flip chicken pieces over with tongs or a metal spatula and fry uncovered 6-8 minutes longer or until deep golden brown and crispy.
Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer cooked chicken pieces to second clean wire rack over baking sheet.
Use meat thermometer to test chicken for doneness (165 degrees F at the thickest part) or cut the biggest piece in the thickest part--juices should run clear and meat should not be pink.
If chicken needs to cook more after it has browned in the pan, finish cooking on the third rack over a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 325 degrees F.
After all chicken is fried and and done, let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
To make chicken ahead, cool, then cover with foil (on a rack on a baking sheet) and refrigerate for up to 1 day.
Reheat on the rack in a preheated 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) oven for about 15 minutes.
