I love fried chicken. It's not something I indulge in often, even when we ate at fast-food restaurants, fried chicken was only an occasional treat. And now that we eat 99% of the time at home, fried chicken had not entered into my cooking repertoire. Then my husband asked for some good old-fashioned fried chicken for his birthday, and James doesn't ask for much, so I knew I had to deliver.
I mixed, whisked, brined and coated. Oh, and fried. The end result was deliciously crispy, crunchy gluten-free, dairy-free fried chicken that tasted so good, we spontaneously called up James' parents to come on over and enjoy it with us. I did a shallow-fry in a deep skillet, then finished the chicken in the oven in a recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen.
Fried Chicken
1 whole chicken, cut up, breasts split and cut in half (or any other combination of pieces you want)
Brine
1 cup almond milk (or regular buttermilk if you can eat dairy)
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
Breading
1/2 cup sorghum or brown rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp baking powder
dash cayenne pepper
About 2 cups of oil for frying: peanut, palm, lard, organic shortening, etc. . .
1. Brine chicken: In a large bowl, whisk together almond milk, pepper, salt, garlic powder, and paprika. Place chicken in the bowl, toss to coat and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
2. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet to 350 to 370 degrees F. Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top.
3. Breading: In a medium bowl, combine flours, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, baking powder, and cayenne pepper. Pour in milk and gently mix with fingers to make a shaggy breading. Pick up a piece of chicken, let the brine drip off and toss to cat with breading. Place on a large plate. Repeat with each piece of chicken.
3. Gently place chicken in hot oil and fry. Be sure not to overcrowd skillet; chicken may need to be cooked in two batches. Cooke 4-5 minutes until brown and crispy. Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes until brown. Transfer to wire rack on prepared baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees 20-30 minutes until cooked through (160 degrees for breast, 175 degrees for thighs).
*wings may get cooked all the way through during the frying process, check with a thermometer (they make good appetizers).
I mixed, whisked, brined and coated. Oh, and fried. The end result was deliciously crispy, crunchy gluten-free, dairy-free fried chicken that tasted so good, we spontaneously called up James' parents to come on over and enjoy it with us. I did a shallow-fry in a deep skillet, then finished the chicken in the oven in a recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen.
Fried Chicken
1 whole chicken, cut up, breasts split and cut in half (or any other combination of pieces you want)
Brine
1 cup almond milk (or regular buttermilk if you can eat dairy)
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
Breading
1/2 cup sorghum or brown rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp baking powder
dash cayenne pepper
About 2 cups of oil for frying: peanut, palm, lard, organic shortening, etc. . .
1. Brine chicken: In a large bowl, whisk together almond milk, pepper, salt, garlic powder, and paprika. Place chicken in the bowl, toss to coat and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
2. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet to 350 to 370 degrees F. Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top.
3. Breading: In a medium bowl, combine flours, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, baking powder, and cayenne pepper. Pour in milk and gently mix with fingers to make a shaggy breading. Pick up a piece of chicken, let the brine drip off and toss to cat with breading. Place on a large plate. Repeat with each piece of chicken.
3. Gently place chicken in hot oil and fry. Be sure not to overcrowd skillet; chicken may need to be cooked in two batches. Cooke 4-5 minutes until brown and crispy. Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes until brown. Transfer to wire rack on prepared baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees 20-30 minutes until cooked through (160 degrees for breast, 175 degrees for thighs).
*wings may get cooked all the way through during the frying process, check with a thermometer (they make good appetizers).