Tonight we headed to the south for some home style fried chicken. Lisa has been wanting me to try making fried chicken for a while. So why not give it a shot and make some easy sides to go with it. First thing was to break down a whole chicken. Now I will say it was my first time doing this and I thought the end result was pretty good. Takes 5-10 minutes to do but for the price it is worth it. We paid just under $5 for a whole chicken which is for the chicken pictured is less then $1 a pound. Ended up getting 2 wings, 2 drums, 2 thighs and 2 very nice breasts. The skin can be left on or taken off and we choose to try it both ways for this meal. End result was that it really didn't seem to make that big of a difference in taste. The pot on the left is a brine which is made with 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 sugar and ice cold water. Once the chicken was cut up I placed the cleaned pieces into the brine and put it in the fridge overnight.
Now it was time to prepare the chicken for a nice crispy crust. In one pan we have 3 large eggs beaten. In the other pan we have 2 cups AP flour, salt, pepper and some paprika. If you like a little heat then add some cayenne to the flour. Simply two coat crust which means flour, then egg then back into flour.
This is what it should look like. The key is to let the chicken sit like this for 15-30 minutes so when you cook the chicken all the coating doesn't fall off.
This is what 20 minutes in 325-375 degree oil gives you. A crispy juicy fried chicken dinner. Sides on this plate are homemade mash potatoes and a drop biscuit. We thought next time some fresh green beans would accompany it nicely.
Bonus item this week was I got to make real chicken stock using the chicken carcass. Pretty simply deal and it will get you around 1 gallon worth of good stock for future meals. One chicken carcass (bag), one onion, 4 stalks of celery, 2-4 carrots (handful of mini since I had them), tyme, bay leeves, pepper corns, garlic and 2 gallons of water. Put everything in a large 8+quart stock pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 6-8 hours. Place in fridge and skim of fat the next day. Either use the stock or freeze up to 3 months.
Now it was time to prepare the chicken for a nice crispy crust. In one pan we have 3 large eggs beaten. In the other pan we have 2 cups AP flour, salt, pepper and some paprika. If you like a little heat then add some cayenne to the flour. Simply two coat crust which means flour, then egg then back into flour.
This is what it should look like. The key is to let the chicken sit like this for 15-30 minutes so when you cook the chicken all the coating doesn't fall off.
This is what 20 minutes in 325-375 degree oil gives you. A crispy juicy fried chicken dinner. Sides on this plate are homemade mash potatoes and a drop biscuit. We thought next time some fresh green beans would accompany it nicely.
Bonus item this week was I got to make real chicken stock using the chicken carcass. Pretty simply deal and it will get you around 1 gallon worth of good stock for future meals. One chicken carcass (bag), one onion, 4 stalks of celery, 2-4 carrots (handful of mini since I had them), tyme, bay leeves, pepper corns, garlic and 2 gallons of water. Put everything in a large 8+quart stock pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 6-8 hours. Place in fridge and skim of fat the next day. Either use the stock or freeze up to 3 months.
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