What if we told you that you've been making fried chicken the wrong way all this time? You probably would say it's blasphemy, but here's what you've been doing wrong all this time.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00A lot of home cooks avoid making fried chicken because the task can seem too daunting.
00:05But it's not as hard as you think if you take into account a few handy tips.
00:09Once you reach that home-cooked fried chicken nirvana, you'll never turn back.
00:14Here are some common mistakes blocking your path to damn good DIY fried chicken.
00:19Cooking cold chicken
00:21Take chicken from the fridge, dredge, and fry, right?
00:25Nope.
00:26If you do anything to the chicken at all, do yourself a favor and let it sit at room
00:30temperature for at least 30 minutes.
00:32When you fry cold chicken, the temperature of the oil drops drastically.
00:36As a result, the chicken cooks unevenly, and you definitely don't want that.
00:41Not drying the chicken well
00:43Patting your chicken dry with paper towels seems like a small, inconsequential step,
00:48but it's actually quite important to do before you get to the dredging stage.
00:52By ensuring the surface of the chicken is completely dry, you get an even coating of
00:56flour instead of ugly, irregular lumps.
00:59Not using all the chicken parts
01:00Sure, the fried chicken emoji on your iPhone is a drumstick, but that doesn't mean you
01:06should only fry up drumsticks.
01:08You should make use of all the chicken parts.
01:11For large breast pieces, be sure to cut them into smaller chunks so they can cook evenly
01:15and at the same rate as the rest of the bird.
01:18Not using a brine
01:20If you don't want to end up with dry, tasteless chicken, use a well-seasoned brine.
01:25It's a surefire way to make any meat cook up tender and succulent.
01:29In addition to adding moisture, the brine injects salt into the meat, essentially breaking
01:33down the proteins and tenderizing it.
01:36Don't skip this crucial step.
01:39Flour fails
01:40In addition to seasoning your brine, be sure to season the flour as well.
01:44While you can season the dredging flour with whatever spices your heart desires, at the
01:49very least, you ought to use a liberal amount of good kosher salt and freshly ground black
01:54pepper.
01:55Fried chicken is best with a light coating of flour.
01:58You're going for that light, crispy, addictive crust.
02:02Using too much flour for dredging results in wet, soggy, greasy crust.
02:07Simply throw your seasoned flour into a large resealable plastic bag, add the chicken pieces,
02:12and shake gently.
02:14Using a large pot
02:16While you might think you need to lug out your biggest pot in order to fry the chicken
02:19in gallons of oil, you might be surprised that a big pot isn't necessary for small-batch
02:24frying.
02:25Unless you're making enough fried chicken to service a large crowd, a skillet will do
02:29just fine.
02:30That way, you can easily flip the pieces without scary oil splatters.
02:34You gotta, I say you gotta keep on your toes, toes, that is!
02:40Using the wrong oil
02:41Be sure to fry your chicken in refined oils with high smoking points.
02:46The smoking point simply refers to the temperature at which the oil starts to break down and
02:50emit unpleasant fumes.
02:52Sesame, peanut, and canola oils are all great for frying chicken.
02:57Extra virgin olive oil?
02:58Not so much.
03:00Frying at the wrong temp
03:02Invest in a cooking thermometer to make sure you're cooking fried chicken at the right
03:06temperature, which is between 300 and 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
03:11At this heat, the chicken gets a nice, crisp crust with no burning, and the inside is delightfully
03:17cooked through.
03:19Overcrowding the pan
03:20One of the keys to even cooking is avoiding an overcrowded pan.
03:24Work in batches in order to leave plenty of space between chicken pieces.
03:28You want to have ample room for flipping the chicken to ensure it's an irresistible golden
03:33brown all over.
03:36Not letting the chicken rest
03:38Biting into hot fried chicken is tempting, but you're better served if you wait.
03:42You won't burn your mouth eating piping hot meat, plus the resting time gives the juices
03:47a chance to redistribute, rewarding you with super juicy chicken.
03:52Draining on paper towels
03:54While many of us instinctively drain fried foods on paper towels so they can absorb the
03:58excess oil, fried chicken should be drained on a wire cooling rack.
04:03Letting those crispy chicken pieces sit on a wad of paper is one sure-fire way to create
04:08steam, resulting in soggy crust syndrome.
04:12After all that hard work, no thank you.
04:14Wow, what a chicken!