The Best Southern Fried Chicken
Double Dipped Buttermilk Southern Fried Chicken
Lets get messy!
Frying chicken is a messy endeavor and should be enjoyed. I would assume that unless you practice this art form, you don’t do it that often because you think it is a messy process. This is why most folks don’t bake much anymore…lets dispel all of that and try to keep it quick, clean and tasty!
The ingredients are simple and the way you want it to taste is your deal so I will reference seasonings by saying ‘seasonings’…heh heh…
The trick is to double dip the bird, let it rest and fry it in a speedy manner while cooked all the way through.
Easy…cool.
Part II (still in edit mode)
There are many ways to fry chicken. This is my favorite, yet the one that takes the most practice. The other way is using the deep fryer, but that still takes practice. Why? Timing! It is always about timing!
Legs and thighs are the best for this method, season them well, soak in buttermilk and let sit for a few hours in the fridge.
Remember, time is your friend here so gettin your oil to the proper temp is a must.
Now I know my Grama never took the oils tempurature when she fried chicken. The oil should not smoke. But suffice it to say, too cool of heat makes for greasy chicken and too hot, well, burns it before the inside is done.
The chicken parts are going to take about 10 minutes per side so think about it, a medium heat is optimal here, your golden brown crust comes from time, not heat. Plus, burnt flour tastes like crap! Bring up the brown slowly, like a roux!
But if you are concerned here, 325 degrees…good luck with that.
Drain the parts from the milk and re-season. Then dredge them in flour, dip them again in an egg/buttermilk wash and re-coat with flour then let rest for a minute or so.
Place the parts in the skillet, this is my way, legs on the outside, thighs in the middle…heh heh…
Do not turn them until ready! Check them around 8 minutes, but I guarantee you 10 is about flip time. Do so. And yes, the black spots are to be expected and are awesome!
Many folks say that placing them on paper towels is bad, well they are half right but still, a drain screen is best. Here is my theory…
Paper will soak up the grease faster, but you need to remove it from the paper soon so it doesn’t sit in it and get soaked back up…A rack though, takes longer for the grease to escape if you didn’t have your oil hot enough…This is where practice comes in…Perfect fried chicken should never be greasy. You will get a feel for what works for you. I guarantee you your first fried chicken will not be the best you ever ate, if so…kudos!
I love Alton Brown but this is not science.
Food for thought – The chicken has been in hot oil for 20 minutes creating an airtight crust, let it sit for 30 minutes before chompin, not only to save your tongue, but to let it continue cooking the inside. Besides, room temp fried chicken is the best.
Th’ow down some baked beans and some mashed taters w/gravy and get busy!
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Man, I wish I had a plate of that chicken RIGHT NOW! Double dipped huh? It looks great!!
I see the potatoes in the picture, but my comment is about rice. The other night, I happened to have made an oven-cooked chicken (in a stewed tomato bath). I sauteed onions and garlic (in olive oil) in the pan that I was to boil the rice in. I dumped the o&g’s into the tomato bath which then went on the chicken. Now, don’t wash the rice pan! Put the water in the now savory-filled pan and boil it for the rice. It was a great flavored rice! It went well with broccoli. This was good food, but I’ll be trying that double-dipped frying method. 2