Great fried chicken recipe?

I love to cook and I am the cook of my house (I cook dinner daily), but I have never been able to do fried chicken
At least not to my satisfaction

I'd love some answers to this one as well

Larry?

well, til Larry checks in, I'll tell ya what I do -

first off, I don't bother combining my own breading mix. There's a regional company here called House-Autry that makes a great chicken breading mix, but it's basically flour, salt and black pepper. Rise the chicken parts in water, dunk 'em in milk, coat 'em with breading mix (I use a gallon zip-loc bag), then fry 'em. Don't let 'em sit for long after coating with breading, or the coating will get soggy. Recoat 'em in the mix if they do.

In my opinion, the frying is the key to great fried chicken. I pan fry in iron skillets, and get the grease as hot as you can just before putting the chicken in - just short of burning. Watch above the skillet closely - as soon as you start seeing smoke, start cooking.

Lenny?

are you using a deep fryer or what? i made some inone of my culinary classes that was insanely good, but you basically have to use a deep fryer to do it this way.

crush up some saltime crackers into fine pieces, add lemon pepper (maybe 2-3 teaspoons worth, depending how much chicken youre making.) about 1 teaspoon of black pepper, and if you want a bit of kick to it a teaspoon or 2 of cayenne pepper or just crushed red pepper. mix all that up well.

take 2-3 eggs (again depending how much chicken youre making) and beat them together a bit so theres not chunks of yolk anywhere. take your chicken, put it into the egg to coat it, take it out and roll it into the mix. this makes the coating stick better. put it into your deep fryer at about 300 degrees and let it cook until it floats and is golden brown. good stuff.

This is an Emeril recipe...but Ive made it and its really good. I always add a little more seasoning than listed and marinate the chicken overnight.

Fried Chicken Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, as adapted from Emeril's Potluck, HarperCollins Publishers, 2004
Show: Emeril Live
Episode: Emeril Cooks Kids Favorites





1 quart buttermilk
1/2 cup Emeril's Essence, recipe follows
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and crushed
2 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) chickens cut up or chicken parts
4 cups all-purpose flour
Peanut oil, for frying

Combine the buttermilk, 1/4 cup Essence, salt, sugar, and garlic in a large nonreactive bowl. Stir to blend. Immerse the chicken in the mixture and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
Combine the flour and the remaining 1/4 cup Essence in a large doubled brown paper bag or plastic freezer bag and shake to blend. Drop the chicken, a few pieces at a time, into the flour mixture and shake thoroughly to completely coat. Remove the chicken and shake off the excess flour. Repeat the coating process with the remaining chicken pieces. Place the coated chicken on a large wire rack set over a sheet pan and let rest until ready to fry, at least 20 minutes.

Heat 4 inches of oil to 300 degrees F over medium-high heat in a medium Dutch oven or heavy pot. Fry the chicken in batches, skin side down, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Turn and fry until golden brown on the second side, 8 to 10 minutes longer. Remove the chicken and drain on paper towels. (Note: An even oil temperature is the key to success; a clip-on candy/deep-fry thermometer should be kept in the pot at all times. The temperature should remain between 280 degrees F and 300 degrees F at all times.) Allow the chicken to rest at least 5 minutes before serving.



Emeril’s Creole Seasoning (Essence):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container

Shake 'n Bake. The Ranch and Herb Crusted is good on drumsticks

My problem has always been cooking throughly
Outside looks done, inside is pinkish
I can never time it right

Use whatever coating or spices you like the trick is in the temp of the oil.
Electric fry pans work great because you can regulate the temp well.
Like prillenut said you want the oil almost smoking when you first put in the chicken and then if your cooker has a top cover the chicken while you are cooking the first side.
Depending on the types of pieces you are cooking this will take anywhere from 5-15 mins. Then remove the top and turn the pieces but do not replace the cover this time as it will crisp up the chicken really nice. The point of covering the chicken on the first step is it acts like a steamer and really helps to keep the larger pieces moist.
I pretty much fry them at around 350 maybe a little higher when you start.
Then only other tip is to use plenty of salt when prepping the chicken.

Buttermilk

What the hell? Alright, you guys are going to have to turn in your man cards.

That should do it. The main thing is maintaing that. If you do not have enough volume of oil the chicken will cool it when you put it in. So thats why I bump it up to around 400 when I start a new batch then turn it down after it starts cooking well.

My overweight diabetic mother-in-law makes the best fried chicken. Makes it all the time too.

Oh and she uses the cast iron skillet. That makes it healthy.

All of the greatest chefs in the world are men.

I love to cook, it's like science.
Testing, experimenting, coming up with different ideas and combinations

Try Panko, Japanese bread crumbs. If you don't use it for the chicken I suggest you try it with porkchops, crispy~

That may be true but all those guys had to turn in their man cards too.

That will all have to be taken under advisement at the council meeting.

That might work, just make sure you keep your hands to yourself. Actually I might be the best cook in my house too but that would be a tightly guarded secret.

I heard that was killer on fish also.

Sorry, mine's grilled or baked 99% of the time...