Chicken

 

Hello everybody I’m back with some new hacks and lovely food for you. Let’s talk about some delicious fried chicken today and all the ways you can get it to be full of flavor. Personally I love fried chicken it’s one of my guilty pleasures, and it is also made very frequently in my home. Yes I know it’s bad for you but sometimes it’s okay to indulge a little. So fried chicken can be made in a number of different ways but whatever the way you can never go wrong with it.

There are three deciding factors that lets us know if the chicken we have is worth our money.

·         The first factor is crispiness. It should have a crispy breading.

·         The second factor is it should be moist. Yes, we all hate that word but let’s get over it now.

·         The third factor is the flavor. It should be popping with flavor.

And of course it should look good because come on, we all eat with our eyes first.  So which way to go? Homemade or the fast food/ restaurant version? There is no correct answer, since you could be craving fried chicken but would not be in the mood for cooking. So go and order it. Or if you’re like me you may prefer the home made version by adding your own twists and flavors.

Different ways to make it…

There are a multitude of different techniques to make a delicious, crispy and juicy fried chicken at home. You just need the proper spices that complement your chicken.  Different cuisines have different versions of their fried chicken. I’ll be listing down some ways that make it easy to make it at home.

The Brine:

Brining is typically a salt and water solution that most restaurants use, by submerging their chicken in it overnight usually, patting it dry and moving on to the next step of frying it. I prefer a buttermilk mixture as it makes the chicken really tender and adds additional flavor to it. You can find buttermilk from any grocery store, or the DIY way that I do, that is, taking a cup of milk adding around a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and letting it sit for about 15-30 minutes. After you have your buttermilk hee are steps that are required:

·         Add a teaspoon of salt, or, depending on how you like it and the quantity of your chicken

·         2 teaspoons of smoked paprika powder

·         2 teaspoons of garlic powder

·         3 smashed cloves of garlic, so they’re easy to take out later

·         Add to the buttermilk and mix

·         Add your chicken and leave it to rest preferably overnight or if you don’t have as much time then an hour is fine as well

The Breading:

Some would argue it is the most important part of a fried chicken. And I would have to agree. What sort of breading would you use? The most common type used is a flour mixture which is very easy as well. People also use a bread crumb mix but this one is typically used with an Alfredo pasta or a chicken parm. The steps for making the breading of the chicken are:

·         Take 2 cups of plain all-purpose flour

·         Add 2 teaspoon salt

·         1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika powder

·         2 teaspoon Onion Powder

·         2 tablespoons Garlic powder

·         1 teaspoon Black pepper

·         1 teaspoon mustard powder

·         ¼ teaspoon chili flakes 

·         1 teaspoon white pepper powder

·         Add all this in the AP Flour and mix

The Dredging:

We’re almost there don’t look back now I bet you can see the fried juicy goodness just in your reach now.

·         Just take your piece of buttermilk coated chicken, put it in the flour mixture and coat it properly. Really press that flour in there.

·         Now this is important. Shake off the excess flour so it creates little pockets of flour clinging to the chicken.

·         Dunk it back in the buttermilk mixture and then press it back in the flour and really shake it off now like your chickens doing the salsa dance.

·         Heat your oil beforehand and as soon as the chicken is coated put it in the oil to fry. It’ll take anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes depending on what your cut of the chicken is.

·         Remember to flip it every 3 minutes or so and not keep the temperature so hot as to burn the flour coating before the chicken is cooked.

Serve:

As soon as your chicken is done take it out and out it on a wire rack and immediately salt it a little. You could use a paper towel but I find that it makes the side resting on the towel a little soggy.

If you like a little spice, take 2 teaspoons of the hot fry oil add a little chili flakes, paprika and salt to make a nice chili oil and put it on your piece of chicken.

That’s it for today’s recipe, if your mouth is watering like mine is right now I suggest you get up and go make yourself a juicy and crispy piece of fried chicken. Trust me you wouldn’t want to share it with anyone.

A little tip: you can always adjust the salt and spice level in the flour mix depending on how you like it. And add any other spices if you want. Remember there is no hard and fast rule just go with whatever feels right to you and you’ll constantly learn as you cook more