Crispy Fried Chicken

In my opinion, frying chicken well is an art. Watching my gran prepare and fry chicken looked so simple, but for me, it is something I've struggled with for years. When I finally did get it right, we remodeled our kitchen and replaced my stove with a glass top. What difference does that make? You cannot use cast iron skillets on a glass top stove. Foiled again. All those years of figuring out the perfect way to fry chicken went down the drain and I started over. I love my cast iron skillet and cast iron really is the best material for frying chicken that doesn't burn. I have not found a good substitute, a heavy grade of stainless steel with a copper bottom is close, but not close enough, and so this past Christmas, I admitted defeat and bought a turkey fryer. I don't see me ever using it to fry a turkey, although I hear they are amazing fried. I'm too much of a holiday traditionalist and my turkeys always come out moist and flavorful from the oven. I'll post that recipe later. Anyhoo....the turkey fryer is much easier until you have to clean it, but I don't fry chicken more than once a month so that isn't much of a consideration. I also need to add that when I do fry chicken, I'm frying lots of chicken, usually two whole fryers and 10 or 12 extra drumsticks and thighs. Lots of young men in my family. Any recipe that I post is centered around feeding a minimum of 6-8 people, since that is usually how many I'm cooking for, but any recipe I post is meant to be flexible and easily modified.

Crispy Fried Chicken

Prepare pan or fryer with shortening and heat to 365◦ (this can take a while depending on the size of the pan/fryer and the amount of shortening)
If you are using a turkey fryer, vegetable oil will be heated to 400◦

Metal Lid for pan/fryer

Fresh or Thawed cut fryer and/or favorite pieces, try to get smaller chickens, but if chicken pieces are large, you can cut a deep slash into the thickest part to help fry quicker
Flour
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Garlic to taste
Cayenne Pepper to taste
Milk
Eggs
Shortening for skillets/pans: use enough to cover chicken 2/3 deep and leave room for the oil to rise after adding chicken
Vegetable oil for fryer


Take chicken out of refrigerator several hours before cooking, keeping cool, not cold (Yes, yes, I know about the dangers of bacteria and food poisoning, but, the bottom line for crispy chicken is that you have to have the right pan, the right temperature grease and you don't want to dump really cold chicken into your nice hot grease because then the grease cools down and your chicken becomes saturated with grease. Okay?)

Rinse chicken and set aside while you prepare the batter.

Mix your milk, seasonings and several eggs, mixing well and either set aside to dip chicken into batter or pour batter over chicken and coat well. I use a very large tupperware container with a top and add my milk batter to the chicken for soaking.
In a large container, mix flour and seasonings (you should put enough seasoning to be able to see seasonings thoughout the flour) and either dip chicken into the batter and then into the flour, or, take the coated chicken out of the batter, drop the pieces into the flour, place lid on flour container and shake chicken until completely coated.

Common sense alert: Grease is hot and dangerous, you should be very careful cooking and moving around the pan with the grease. Do not drop the chicken into the skillet, make certain the handle of the skillet is away from you, keep baking soda and a metal lid close by. If you aren't watching your oil carefully it can overheat and catch on fire.

When your oil is ready (flour should sizzle when a small amount is sprinkled in) and using long handled tongs, add chicken one piece at at time into skillet and place lid, or, place chicken pieces in fryer basket and lower, place lid.

If using a skillet: cook chicken for 12-15 minutes on each side, checking carefully to make certain it doesn't burn, you can turn the heat to medium and then turn it back to high before you turn the chicken over. I'd rather stay close and watch it. To check for doneness, you can stick a fork or knife into the thickest part of a piece and if the juice is clear, it is done. Remove chicken and place on a cooling rack, or paper bag, if chicken looks greasy, you can use paper towels to absorb extra oil. If someone comes across a piece that has a uncooked spot, just pop into the microwave and finish cooking.

If using the fryer: let it fry undisturbed for approx. 30 minutes or until pieces of chicken begin to float. Lift basket and let drain for a few minutes before removing. Place on cooking rack or paper bag, absorb any excess grease with a paper towel. Easy.