Fried Chicken
Are you one of those folks like me who has a real appreciation for great Fried Chicken?
Fried Chicken, like mashed potatoes is right up there among my favorite foods though I do not eat Fried Chicken as often. One reason is that I just plain don’t eat many fried foods on a regular basis. Another reason, despite many Headliners and Recipe claims I have seen over the years on making the ‘Best Fried Chicken Ever’ I have still not mastered those expectations or skill level in my own home cooked Fried Chicken.
Recently, I was on an International Association of Culinary Professionals webinar with Test Kitchen Representatives from around the country. This and some very fresh meaty chicken legs offered at the international market inspired me to give Fried Chicken another try using a couple different types of flour combinations and following a second dipping into the beaten egg mixture using Panko breadcrumbs as the outer coating on both.
Did you know that there are Test Kitchens throughout the country for all sorts of diverse food purposes from recipes posted on food product packaging, to magazines, cooking and baking equipment and beyond?
Each of these business segments have their own kitchen ‘Laboratories’ with their own specific designated protocols creating and providing recipes developed to insure your success should you try them from among the broad scope of recipe choices.
Test Kitchens throughout the country contain many of the same and some different sets of equipment depending on the food related product to insure that within the preparation of using their product recipe the outcome will be flawless.
If a specific food product is the business then the focus aims at creating the best recipes using that food product within a recipe. If the business is cooking or baking equipment then created and tested recipes are maximized using that equipment.
One commonality among Test Kitchens is that recipes are tried, tested and retested, even photographed multiple times among different individuals all performing the same recipe following the strict protocol guidelines to insure streamlined consistency in recipe outcomes.
Recipes tested in any variety of cooking equipment from wall ovens to stove ovens to toaster ovens, convection ovens and the list goes on, each undergo exhaustive testing.
Much consideration is also given to residential altitudes throughout the country as well as the most likely national brands to be found in home pantries both regionally and nationally.
You might find it fascinating too knowing that the single recipe on the pound container box of stick butter that you recently purchased has been through extensive research and development for your pleasure and success toward your home recipe preparation.
One common essential garnered to cooking in our own individual homes is not so much in following a specified protocol but paying attention to proper cooking techniques and ways that we combine foods in our own homes, such as preparing Fried Chicken.
You may in your own home have your own Test Kitchen going on without even realizing it, trying recipes over again, perhaps something you or your family have enjoyed but you think to yourself, next time I will add this or that, not add so much of an ingredient, or heighten or lessen a spice combination. These are all examples on how we adapt and adjust recipes to suit our tastes or even cultural food preferences.
This time I made one batch of mixed spices split between each of the flours to be tested after dipping each into the beaten eggs.
The first flour I used was Korean Pancake Flour, which fries well and has a very, very light powder consistency. The other flour included Premium Korean Flour that is much more finely ground and softer than an all-purpose variety.
The spice selection included season salt, kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, Spanish hot paprika, you can really combine any spice mixture of your choice.
I fried all of the chicken in about an inch of canola oil in a cast iron fry pan and once fully golden brown colored all around, finished off the chicken in a heated 350 degree oven for about ten minutes.
In the end, both samples tasted very good for home Fried Chicken perhaps much due to the Panko Bread Crumb outer coating.
The household ‘taste testers’, including me, all voted for the Fried Chicken using the Korean Premium Flour as the favorite winner between the two. However, even with this really good Fried Chicken Recipe, and I do very much recommend it for homemade, I still continue on my quest for making that restaurant worthy fried chicken in my home, the ever evolving Test Kitchen.
Fried Chicken in my own Test Kitchen
Ingredients
- 3 pounds, small chicken drumsticks
- 4 beaten eggs
- 3 cups Korean Premium Flour
- Spice Mixture (recipe below)
- 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- Canola Oil for Frying
- For Spice Mixture:
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon season salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon Spanish hot paprika
Instructions
- Dry chicken using paper toweling, set aside on a baking sheet
- Into a large sized bowl blend together the spice mixture, scoop in the flour, and stir throughout to blend
- Beat the eggs in another bowl large enough to comfortably hold chicken pieces
- Into another shallow, wide bowl, add Panko bread crumbs
- Dip each piece of chicken into the flour and spice mixture shaking off the excess, dip chicken into the beaten eggs, shake of the excess, then roll the chicken into the Panko fully coating all around
- As each chicken leg is battered return to the baking sheet, when completed refrigerate for about thirty minutes before frying
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Heat Canola oil in a cast iron pan until very hot, set chicken into the hot oil one piece at a time, avoid crowding the pan, fry until golden brown on all sides, transfer finished pieces to a clean baking sheet, once all of the chicken has been browned in the pan place in the oven to finish cooking until just done inside, around ten to fifteen minutes
- Set cooked Fried Chicken on paper towels to absorb any excess oil, cool to nearly room temperature for flavors to absorb
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