Healthy Fried Chicken or a good Fried Chicken recipe?

[modern_pioneer]

Now that bread making is out of the way, I have to be honest I never had/made a good fried chicken.

I sure would like to try some of your recipes mild or hot/spicy.

Also do you use the same recipe for chops?

 

[Occamstazer]

My fried chicken:

I dip the chicken in a few beaten eggs and roll it in a mixture of panko crumbs and spices (whatever you like, ranch, cajun mix, etc)
Bake at 350F until brown and crispy!

The fat in the chicken makes it plenty rich, but it's much lighter than actual frying. Also, for a party variation, take wings and slit into the meat of each one. Stuff a cube of pepper jack in the wing, then dredge and bake like before.

Mmmm...

 

[sufficientforme]

This is hands down my families favorite fried chicken, I do not make it often but it is the only one I have used for years! The cayenne is a must, I am generous with it for a nice kick.
This was on Martha Stewart's show years ago.

* 1/2 cup coarse salt (or 6 tablespoons table salt)
* 1 whole chicken, cut into serving pieces
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup cornmeal
* 2 teaspoons dried thyme or oregano, or a pinch of cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon table salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup buttermilk
* Peanut oil, for frying

Directions

1. In a large bowl or pot, dissolve 1/2 cup coarse salt in 3 quarts of water. Rinse chicken pieces, and add to bowl. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove chicken pieces, and rinse under cool water. Clear space in the refrigerator to accommodate a wire cooling rack.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, and seasonings, and place in a large resealable plastic bag. Shake. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, then whisk in buttermilk. Dip half the chicken pieces in the buttermilk mixture, then place in the plastic bag. Shake, and lay out on a wire rack. Repeat for remaining pieces. Put the rack on a rimmed baking sheet, and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, but preferably 2 hours, to set.
3. Pour peanut oil to a depth of 3/4 inch in a large iron Dutch oven. Place over medium-high heat.
4. When oil reaches 365 degrees (if you don't have a thermometer, wait until the oil starts to smoke -- very hot oil is fine for this recipe), arrange chicken pieces in the pan, skin side down, and cover. After 5 minutes, remove the cover. Adjust heat level, if necessary, so oil bubbles at a moderate pace -- not too rapidly and not too slowly (medium to medium-high heat is best, depending on the heat conductivity of your pan). Rearrange pieces if some are browning more quickly than others. After 5 more minutes, turn the pieces over. Cook uncovered for 8 to 10 more minutes or until done. Meanwhile, thoroughly wash and dry the wire rack.
5. Remove the fried chicken to cleaned wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Let drain for 5 minutes, and serve.

 

[modern_pioneer]

What are panko crumbs?

 

[sufficientforme]

Panko are the Japanese version of bread crumbs, and they tend to be lighter, crispier, and crunchier than Western bread crumbs. They are excellent for breading.

 

[hwillm1977]

My fried chicken:

I dip the chicken in a few beaten eggs and roll it in a mixture of panko crumbs and spices (whatever you like, ranch, cajun mix, etc)
Bake at 350F until brown and crispy!

Mmmm...

This is almost exactly what I do, except that I love buffalo wings, so I cut a chicken breast into bite size pieces, prep and cook as above, then when chicken is done and crispy transfer to a tupperware type container with a lid, pour on some buffalo sauce, cover and shake until all the pieces are coated

Serve with a blue cheese dip and it's delicious!

 

[ORChick]

Panko are the Japanese version of bread crumbs, and they tend to be lighter, crispier, and crunchier than Western bread crumbs. They are excellent for breading.

We tend to think of two kinds of bread crumbs - dry and fine, from dry/stale bread whirled to a powder in a blender or food processor; or fresh, moist crumbs, from fresh bread, also whirled in the blender. Both easily made at home. Perhaps I am being cynical, but panko crumbs seem, to me, to be a way to make sure that we "The Consumer" buy our crumbs, rather than make them. I looked up substitutions once, and a decent panko alternative is to make fresh crumbs (moist, and large, from fresh bread), and then to dry them. Perhaps not exactly the same, but close enough for me.

 

[sufficientforme]

I guess each to their own but I love the texture and crunch the panko crumbs have, nothing like traditional bread crumbs IMO. At a dollar a bag from the Asian market, they are cheaper than regular and easier than making my own.