Making fried chicken may seem like a daunting task, but patience is all it takes to make a perfect batch. Beginners will find that making great fried chicken is not as difficult as it seems – all you need is a little time and a big appetite. Dieters beware; this recipe is not heart-healthy, but it sure is good for the soul.
Start with your choice of chicken cuts. I prefer boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but many people like bone-in fried chicken. You can use legs, thighs, wings; whatever your heart desires. Make sure your chicken is fully thawed.
Crack four eggs into a bowl (I estimate about one egg per chicken piece, unless you are using small cuts, like drum sticks). Add ½ cup of milk. Whisk it together until you have a nice sunny yellow color. This will be your base for the chicken.
Next, in a flat dish or bowl, whatever is handy, combine 3 cups of flour, and a pinch of salt with whatever spices you like. I recommend a few hearty shakes of granulated garlic and pepper. Spices easily get lost in oil when fried, so use a heavy hand. Mix all of this together until the nice white flour is dotted with your spices.
Next, get out a medium sized skillet or deep frying pan. Fill it about ¾ full with vegetable oil. Different people prefer different oils, but I always use vegetable oil. Turn the burner to medium. Your oil will heat up while you batter the chicken.
Now the fun begins!! This next part is very messy, so take off any rings or jewelry that you don’t want battered. A dish towel that you don’t mind getting funky will be handy at this point. Dunk a chicken piece into the egg mixture. Make sure to submerge the meat so that the whole piece is covered with egg. Next, flop it into the flour mixture. Pat the piece of meat so that flour coats the surface, and all wet parts have flour sticking to them.
I happen to like double-dipped chicken, with a nice crispy crust. If you feel like it, repeat the last process all over again. Don’t worry about little bits of flour and egg flying everywhere – that’s how you know this recipe is working. Once your chicken is nice and white with flour and egg, place it aside.
By now your oil should be hot and ready to go. To test it, gather a little scrap from the dough and place it carefully into the pan. If the piece sinks to the bottom, leave it be a little longer. If the piece is suddenly surrounded by millions of little bubbles and it rises to the surface, you’re good to go. Frying anything too soon will result in a heavy, more greasy than usual piece of food.
If your oil is bubbling, use tongs to lower a piece of the coated chicken into the oil. It’s best to fry only about two pieces at once, so the heat can spread itself evenly. The chicken will fry for about ten minutes. Flip it every so often. The chicken is done when the outside is a nice golden brown, and you can pierce the center without seeing pink juice. While you are baking, place the cooked chicken on a pan lined with paper towels and keep it in a very low heated oven (200 degrees or less). This will make the fried part even crispier, and keep your meal warm.
If you have a lot of leftover batter and flour mixture, slice up some onions into rings and batter and fry them. I recommend serving fried chicken with mashed potatoes and peas, but match it with anything your heart desires.
