I thought I had a fried chicken post! I've been working on homemade fried chicken since we first were married- I think I've got it down now. Here's what we do:
I like to use boneless skinless chicken thighs if they're available for my fried chicken- they cook evenly, are moist, and tasty! I either leave in the whole thigh size- if I'm going to be slicing up for salad or putting in sandwiches, cut into bite sized pieces for 'popcorn' chicken, in half for 'nuggets' or in strips for 'fingers'.
Put your chicken in a bowl, add a couple eggs, and mix it all around (I use my hands) to throughly coat the chicken in egg. I add a little seasoning to this too- lately fresh ground pepper, sea salt, and sage for flavor.
Put about a cup of flour in a gallon plastic bag (I use unbleached white flour for this still, or coconut flour) and take a handful of chicken pieces out of the egg, allowing them to drip the egg off well. Too much egg and the flour will just make a pasty mess inside the bag.
Keep the air trapped inside, and I just twist up top to seal. Shake around to coat the chicken with flour, then repeat with the remaining chicken.
Place on a plate or pan when coated. Allow to sit for at least half an hour, I usually let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours. This is the key to have the breading not fall off the chicken when you start frying it. Add a little more flour to the inside of the pan to prevent the breading from sticking when you remove the chicken after sitting (got all that? :) ) I used shredded coconut here, but flour or bread crumbs are fine too.
Use a deeper stock pot to prevent splattering, or an omelet pan. I use about 1/2 inch of oil, you can use more if you want.
Heat your oil to medium-high and make sure it's well heated before adding the chicken. I like to try just one piece- it should become golden brown and bubble, if it just soaks up the oil it's not hot enough and you most likely just need to wait longer.
Fry on one side until golden brown, turn and do the other side. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, or usually I just put it on a plate to catch the extra oil then serve from there.
Easy, isn't it? The only thing I don't like about frying is that it gets all over the stove, and the smell lingers in the air for a long time. I like baked bread smell, fried food notsomuch :)
Part of Pennywise Platter Thursday- another of the many things that are cheaper to make yourself!
