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