Fried Chicken

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind. My cold decided to turn itself into a sinus infection which is actually quite painful! Rex has been so busy that he hasn't been home for dinner at least 2-3 nights a week for the past 2 weeks, so dinner hasn't been going quite as planned. Last Saturday, I wanted to make fried chicken but due to a late lunch, I postponed frying until Sunday. Little did I know I would only sleep 2 hours Saturday night (or shall I call it Sunday morning!). Let's just say taking Sudafed at 3pm is a bad idea. I slept from 7 am to 9 am on Sunday and went to the main service at church. Afterwards, we ate lunch, went to see Thor, and came home to fry some chicken.

I actually like frying things in oil with a pot or wok. It's pretty fun and everything tastes better fried :) I enlisted Rex's help since I was still in sleep deprivation mode. I used a recipe I randomly found on a website that happened to show my favorite chef Curtis Stone. By favorite, of course, I mean that he is the only chef I can watch on Netflix Instant Streaming.

Here is a video of him making it: http://www.kitchendaily.com/2010/03/09/southern-fried-chicken/

Rex and I really enjoyed the recipe. It tasted great and we'll definitely be using it again whenever we get a fried chicken craving :)

Deep frying in the Wok with my trusty candy thermometer

The Result: Crispy fried chicken and creamed corn

INGREDIENTS:

4 tsp salt divided

1 whole chicken (4 lbs) backbone removed chicken cut into 8 pieces

3 c buttermilk

6 c canola oil for frying

2 c all-purpose flour

1.5 tbps dry mustard

1.5 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp ground pepper

3 lg eggs

2 tbsp water

DIRECTIONS

    

1. Massage 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt into the chicken pieces.

2. Combine the chicken pieces and buttermilk in a large bowl or large shallow dish and turn the chicken pieces to ensure they are completely coated with the buttermilk.

3. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

4. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Add enough oil to fill a large wok about halfway. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it registers 350°F to 375°F on a deep-fry thermometer.

5. Stir the flour dry mustard paprika garlic powder onion powder pepper and 2 teaspoons of salt in a shallow dish to blend.

6. Whisk the eggs and water in a medium bowl to blend.

7. Working with one chicken piece at a time lift the chicken from the marinade allowing any excess marinade to drip back into the dish then dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture to coat completely.

8. Dredge the flour-coated chicken pieces in the egg wash.

9. Dredge the coated chicken in the flour mixture again to coat completely.

To Fry the Chicken:

10. Working in 2 to 3 batches carefully place the coated chicken pieces into the hot oil and cook for about 12 minutes turning as needed until they are golden and almost cooked through.

11. Using a skimmer transfer the chicken pieces to a rack set on a baking sheet to drain any excess oil.

12. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked through but still moist and juicy. Sprinkle with the remaining salt and serve.