My son, never liked Kentucky Fried Chicken, and still doesn't today. When he was little, I would buy it, peel and eat all the skin off it, then give him the chicken meat. We still laugh about this as I'd call it a "treat" for him, but we both knew that wasn't true, even back then...
All that being said, I rarely, ever make it. Probably have made it a handful of times. I've made deep fried "Buffalo" wings countless times, but I haven't had much success with frying a whole chicken. Today I was just going to do thighs. I got them super cheap on sale ($7) at IGA and decided to use up my buttermilk by making a marinade. I remember my dad's wife had chicken pieces sitting in the sink in water, but I don't know if it was a brine or why she did that (this is 25 years ago now) but I remember lots of salt, so it probably was a brine of some sort...
I used and put into a large ziploc bag:
- 2 & 1/2 cups buttermilk
- Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
- Kosher salt, to taste
- About a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- About a tablespoon of smoked paprika
- A few shakes of Crystal Hot Sauce
- 8 chicken thighs
I marinated this overnight.
Now, I do remember my dad's wife would tell me that after the chicken was coated in the flour mixture, you had to rest it on racks and put it in the fridge a couple of hours so it could "set" before you fried it. So, for my coating today - trying to keep it simple (and I mean that), I used, in a plastic bag:
Now, I do remember my dad's wife would tell me that after the chicken was coated in the flour mixture, you had to rest it on racks and put it in the fridge a couple of hours so it could "set" before you fried it. So, for my coating today - trying to keep it simple (and I mean that), I used, in a plastic bag:
- About a cup of all purpose flour (a.k.a "white death")
- About a tablespoon of fresh cracked pepper
- About a tablespoon of kosher salt
- About a tablespoon of cayenne pepper
- About a tablespoon of smoked paprika
- About a tablespoon of onion powder
- About a tablespoon of granulated garlic
- About a tablespoon of Old Bay seasoning
I shook it all like "Shake 'n Bake", two pieces at a time, and then put it on a rack, on a foil lined baking sheet.
I had to add more flour to the bag halfway through as the mixture became "gloopy". I might try and do this in a bowl next time, piece by piece. I seasoned the chicken with S&P again after it was all on the rack and put it in the fridge to "set".
When I was ready to cook, I brought the chicken to room temperature. This took about as long as I needed to heat the oil properly (1/2 hour?).
I tested by dipping a bit of the chicken in and making sure it had a "good sizzle" going on. I used a cast iron pan. That's what my dad's wife used too, but I don't remember what oil or if it was lard (for some reason, I see bricks of lard melting, in my memories of her making chicken - it could have just been Crisco though...). I used avocado oil as it has a high smoking temperature (you can google WHY I use avocado oil, I only ever use olive oil and this one now).
I put in about half an inch. I let the oil get hot on medium heat. I did two batches of frying - four thighs each round,about 5 minutes on each side or twenty minutes or so.
I said the word "about" a LOT in this recipe. I didn't actually measure amounts or time, is why...this would all depend on your own stoves and tastes to be exact. If you have a meat thermometer, the chicken should be at 165 degrees.
I have to be honest, I did NOT like the smoked paprika taste at all, in fact, I hated it. The chicken was really well seasoned, a little too brown but juicy. It was juicy - I surmise because it was not cooked properly... each piece was a little "pink" or more pink by the bone which totally grossed me out. Yuck! I put it all back in the oven and heated it for a half hour more because of that...FAIL!!!
I will try this again, and will CHANGE the seasoning, and the oil temp - lower and longer, methinks...the skin was nice and crispy. However...AND most unfortunately, this tasted nothing like my dad's wife used to make...so, back to the ole drawing board...I think I need to go "simpler" next time... :( "Love" didn't help this and lack of proper seasoning and technique ruined it.
I had to add more flour to the bag halfway through as the mixture became "gloopy". I might try and do this in a bowl next time, piece by piece. I seasoned the chicken with S&P again after it was all on the rack and put it in the fridge to "set".
When I was ready to cook, I brought the chicken to room temperature. This took about as long as I needed to heat the oil properly (1/2 hour?).
I tested by dipping a bit of the chicken in and making sure it had a "good sizzle" going on. I used a cast iron pan. That's what my dad's wife used too, but I don't remember what oil or if it was lard (for some reason, I see bricks of lard melting, in my memories of her making chicken - it could have just been Crisco though...). I used avocado oil as it has a high smoking temperature (you can google WHY I use avocado oil, I only ever use olive oil and this one now).
I put in about half an inch. I let the oil get hot on medium heat. I did two batches of frying - four thighs each round,about 5 minutes on each side or twenty minutes or so.
I said the word "about" a LOT in this recipe. I didn't actually measure amounts or time, is why...this would all depend on your own stoves and tastes to be exact. If you have a meat thermometer, the chicken should be at 165 degrees.
I have to be honest, I did NOT like the smoked paprika taste at all, in fact, I hated it. The chicken was really well seasoned, a little too brown but juicy. It was juicy - I surmise because it was not cooked properly... each piece was a little "pink" or more pink by the bone which totally grossed me out. Yuck! I put it all back in the oven and heated it for a half hour more because of that...FAIL!!!
I will try this again, and will CHANGE the seasoning, and the oil temp - lower and longer, methinks...the skin was nice and crispy. However...AND most unfortunately, this tasted nothing like my dad's wife used to make...so, back to the ole drawing board...I think I need to go "simpler" next time... :( "Love" didn't help this and lack of proper seasoning and technique ruined it.
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