How to Make The Best Fried Chicken
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- Опубліковано 24 січ 2023
- In Indiana kitchens, chicken pieces are seasoned with salt and plenty of black pepper, dunked in a light coating of flour, and then cooked in bubbling lard. The result is fried chicken that is crisp (not craggy) in texture on the outside, super-juicy on the inside, and uniquely savory.
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This lard method is exactly how grandma used to fry chicken but she used an old black cast iron fry pan. A Dutch Oven pot makes so much more sense in terms of safety. Thanks for the video.
Where has Christy been all of my life?! Between this and the butter burger recipe from Milwaukee last week, I'm going to stay warm this winter. Thank you!
Love it! Air fryers be gone! Lol
Biggest scam in the cooking industry.
I think I would add seasoning to my flour to make it extra tasty!
Me also
Adding seasoning to flour, makes the seasoning burn.
Facts I always seasoning my flour as well when frying it just makes sense and more flavorful with every bite and no it do not burn
That's what I do also.
@@Pt0wN973b0iI After seasoning your chicken, use dry seasonings in your flour, mix well, you'll see that the dry coating won't burn, please try it and you'll never ever just use flour without again. I promise!
This is how I was taught to make fried chicken. No batter, just a light coating of seasoned flour. I switched back to lard after the AHA come out with their announcement several years ago about how wrong they were to recommend shortening and other hydrogenated fats instead of lard and butter. Very low key announcement in which they essentially admitted they, in large part, caused the heart disease epidemic. I don't do the water dip, though.
As a Brit from an industrial part of the UK, we mainly use beef dripping (tallow) while most of the UK used lard. Oil has been a disaster, my great grandmother lived to 96 and had 16 kids and worked from the age of 12 and eventually had to look after my great grandfather who lost his legs , she survived a botched hip replacement at 90 and now we see 40 year olds in the city look like walking skeletons while complaining about headaches and other mild things. She ate raw sausage meat nearly everyday and up to 1lb during her first pregnancies or so I was told. She use to put plates in the oven too so she could use fat as a gravy and keep it warm. Mmmmmm
@@bmc9504she ate raw sausage but put plates in the oven🤔 this sounds surreal
@@LilReese728 fats would solidify, in the UK we also use kidney fat to make dumplings. The brand is called Atora. Of course food food was fresh,. nothing needed warming up except the plates.
Atherosclerosis is mostly an inherited thing - too low an HDL, too high LDL. Not too dietary-related, really - aside from obesity (usually just from eating too much).
My 91 year old mom never used batter. Just flour, seasoned salt & paprika in a gallon sized ziploc! 🍗
Looks like my mom's but she would get the chicken out of the freezer put in into a bowl of salt water in the fridge so it would brine while it thawed when it was time to cook she mixed flour salt garlic powder and seasoned salt in a gallon freezer bag threw the chicken in then dropped in the hot grease let it cook while making mashed taters, gravy made with the flour she put on the chicken and a veggie usually green beans my favorite. I make my fried chicken the same way it's my oldest niece and nephew's favorite.
Please continue to implement cooking tips with Lard. Q:What's Eating Dan? A: The price of Vegetable oil. Lard science makes things crisper in fry, and more tender in Baking. When i was a Porter, I couldn't believe how the Vegetable oil would harden on the frier heating coils, and forming and impossible film on my vents. Turns out that Vegetable oil becomes a plastic when you heat it (DAN!) I took a second look at Lard and Tallow when i listened to Nina Tiecholtz talk about "the big.. FAT.. lie."
Love you ATK you've been a part of my life for over 20 years, and I don't miss anything you guys do! ❤
Don't waste your seasonings! Always season on a sheet tray or in a dish so you can roll the chicken around in the seasonings and not leave half behind😉
I have never ever cooked fried chicken but watching this has given me knowledge and confidence to know what Im doing in the preparation
Lifelong Hoosier here and this is very similar to how I make my fried chicken. I use milk instead of water and also season my flour. Otherwise, it’s the same and my family loves it!
No seasoning??
@@fredabatts2346 Salt, pepper, and paprika in the flour and sometimes a touch of finishing salt right before serving.
Thanks for a great recipe. It was fun watching you two and I can't wait to cook this.
Brilliant recipe. This was how my mom and dad used to cook fried chicken back in the day. Thanks for being it back.
My friend Jay's mother grew up Cajun in Louisiana. Her opinion is that lard is not just the appropriate fat for frying chicken but the ONLY choice. I make her chicken recipe a couple times a year because Lipitor and Zantac can only do so much.
We're learning now that meat fat is much less harmful than veg and seed oils. What's really dangerous is the pharmakeia, which, at its root, means "witchcraft, sorcery". No thanks.
I'm almost 74 and take none of that crap, even OTC. My brain is sharper now than when I was in school.
It was the meds that caused the brain fog.
😂😂😂😂
🤣
"Cajun" is so overrated. Fried chicken is soul food not cajun. Slaves used to fry chicken parts in a pot on an open fire.
Lard is made from pork so its a no from me.
Beautiful recipe! I appreciate the attention to detail.
I made this yesterday. It was truly exceptional in flavor and texture; the crust was incredible. Thank you for this recipe.
Wow that looks so yummy and taste. Thanks for the that wonderful tip with the water, i didn't know about that but it come out delicious.
I just bought a deep fat fryer. This is a perfect recipe for that! Thanks much.
basic and simple just the way it was. Thank you so much!
Made this in lard turned out fantastic
Oh my LARD! Looks delicious!
Thank you for sharing this online : ) It's in the fridge right now. I'm excited to see how it turns out!
Looks so tempting, so easy to make
Born and raised in Alabama. I have eaten my share of fried chicken. The best fried chicken is chicken that is seasoned ONLY with salt and pepper. Lightly coated with flour without any egg wash or thick batter that just falls off and burns in the bottom of the skillet during cooking. This recipe is truly the best example of how to properly fry chicken. Don't complicate it. My grandmother and her mother and her mother before that used salt and pepper. Why? That's all they had. No Dano's, No Tony's, No whatever, just salt and pepper. Thank you for posting this video!
She is absolutely right about using lard. My mother cooked with lard with just about everything. She would julienne potatoes and fry them in lard with her cast iron pan. They always had a beautiful crisp brown coating and were absolutely delicious. Did the same thing with hash browns and taco shells. Her fried chicken turned out just like you two made and it was never dry.
I would use vodka and water, 50/50, instead of just water.
I live in England. We all use lard, duck fat, goose fat, chicken fat, beef tallow.
Wonderful.
Why vodka?
@@t.martin3179 It would create a crisper coating.
Turned out great. Thanks so much.
OK, I’m going to have to try this one. Looks delicious.
Trust me, once you cook your chicken like this, you’ll never go back.
Thank you Christie and ATK for doing my suggestion!
In Portugal we do use lard for many savory dishes. 😋😋
We also use a mix of lard and olive oil.
Thanks for posting the recipe
Thank you for your informative tutorial video 👍
We always used lard (or shortening) in the Maritimes to deep fry.
I fry chicken like my mom. Preheat oven to 360°. Pour flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika to a paper bag(or plastic bag). You can also just use Seasoning Salt. It has the same ingredients. Shake to combine ingredients together. Dip chicken in a milk/egg mixture, put into flour bag one piece at a time. Shake until chicken is thoroughly dusted. Place aside until lard is hot. Fry. 4 minutes on each side. Place fried chicken onto a sheet of aluminum foil. Close/seal foil around chicken. Bake for 35 minutes. Perfect every time. Crispy and delicious.
The bag makes clean-up so much easier. Just toss it in the trash
Mmmmmm yum ❤
Yes it looks amazing
Classic.
Tons of good information here. Im the type of person who needs details and why some things are certain ways. America's test kitchen is the best place to go to get this. You both work well together also. Oh i also love the end when you recap everything. ❤
Beautiful Christie and Julia❤
Looks delicious 😋
Great Video ! Just a nice basic fried chicken recipe 😋
Great video Thx
that is such a straight forward recipe, you can just imagine it is from the Midwest.
Thanks for sharing
I am so glad I get to see you cooks pest the kitchen I will try this chicken. And it’s so good to see your braces and Julia, two ladies are so beautiful.❤️🌹
The look on Julia's face @0:44 was "You don't even need to explain it. Just start cooking. LFG."
LMAO
Thank you,
OMG !
This is prepared and looks just like my Mom’s chicken.
Absolutely delicious 😋 😍 😊
At 76'never fry chicken that way except in lard; was raise on home made lard; daddy and my uncle; brother always killed to hogs in the fall an all day night working at it great memories; so thankful my son and I moved back on the home place 39 yrs ago now nothing is like those great days; going to try your chicken that way even call my son that lives right here at can see his kitchen light in the. winter??🎉
Hi ATK 😋
Salutations from California
I'll have to try this. I tend to prefer recipes like this one that use just a few seasonings in abundance, rather than 1/8th teaspoon of twenty different things. It's much more deliberate when you just pick a seasoning and *use* it.
Absolutely!
Your chicken looks delicious!
Here for the health freak comments.
French fries cooked in lard are delicious too!
No, that would be beef tallow, not pork lard.
Only difference... I brine my chicken parts in salt & pepper water over night, then lightly re-season before frying.
What's your brine solution?
@@t.martin3179I think you mean a ratio... Enough water to cover the chicken, and I use a little less than a regular coffee cup of salt, and half as much pepper. Sometimes I add pickle juice. Your mileage may vary, because everyone has a different salt liking.
Good job ❤❤❤❤❤❤
ATK,HELLO,CHRISTENE
What kind of kosher salt did you use? Diamond crystal or Morton’s because the other doesn’t salt as aggressively. Thanks
Diamond Crystal is ATK's Kosher salt default.
Growing up in a house with a mom who was a "simple" southern mom, and watching, learning how to cook from her. This is nothing like what I learned about frying chicken. Salt, pepper, a quick dip in seasoned flour with salt and pepper added to the flour,f ried in vegetable oil. That's fried chicken.
Lard is the only way to go == my parents were southern and midwestern and lard was the only shortening in my home! I am wondering if Panko could be part of this recipe for more crunch!
When I want more crunchy chicken I've always used 3-4 Tablespoons of cornstarch in the flour mixture.
@@chrishellemaitland5775 Do you think arrowroot powder would work in place of the cornstarch?
@Chrishelle Maitland : Thanks for that suggestion! There was way too much pepper in this recipe for me but that is easily adjusted.
@@t.martin3179Yes absolutely.
@T. Martin yes arrowroot would work
I've seen candy bars, pizza.... but never fried chicken on the bone.... being eaten with a knife and fork! This is a first for me. :)
Splurge on the leaf lard. Don't go for that shelf-stable hydrogenated stuff. Better yet, head to the farmer's market and get local lard! Make it a special occasion in your house: lard-fried chicken night
What is leaf lard, and where does one purchase it? My grandparents used to use their own rendered lard, which was kept in a covered bucket in the kitchen. It was used for baking biscuits, greasing casserole dishes, mixed with flour to make a roux for gravy, keeping cast iron cookware well-seasoned, and of course for frying anything that needed frying. They both lived well into their 90's and were very healthy. Well, except for when they died.
I'm assuming the lard gets strained and reused...if so, how many times can it be used before throwing it out?
delicious
What kind of difference can expect using lard vs veg oil? Does it affect the taste?
Not really. I regularly use lard for frying. I render it myself, but you can buy it in the supermarket. Lard does not break down readily when frying and so is superior for culinary purposes. Lard has been unfairly villainised by marketers of vegetable oils. You may want to read the article "Praise the Lard".
A HUGE difference... it completely changes the taste. Vegetable oil is terrible is so many ways.
Veg oil has no taste.
I should be more specific. Frying in lard will not impart a porky taste to your food.
I like a spray bottle of distilled water to wet the chicken for a 2nd dredging
All the best things come out of indiana.
Yeah, like going to family reunions to pick up women, marrying your first cousin, and Larry Bird.
YES, yes! I win! Indiana
is known for frying a lot of foods in tallow, lard, etc.
Restaurants will upcharge $2 when frying french fries
in lard/tallow. I'm at the VERY BOTTOM of Indiana,
(southern Hoosier)
directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. Some of the very best foods are prepared here. ♥️
I will try but I'll use rendered lard from Mexican grocery store.
"The best friend chicken" with Christie, Julia did fried chicken in her home kitchen and then last year Brian did the 'how to make the best one batch fried chicken'. did i miss any others?
Where to buy the John Morrel oil???
Could I use butter milk in place of the milk before the 2nd coating of flour mixture and fry in a blend of Crisco shortening with 1/3 bacon fat?
You could, but the flavor profile would not be the same as doing it how Christine did it.
Buttermilk has sugar as well as whole milk. The chicken gets dark to fast from the sugar burning. Try whipped egg whites instead of water before putting chicken in flour. Woks great for me and comes out crispy.
@@alge3399 I make my own butter milk with 2% lactose free milk and vinegar (can't have the lactose,sugar in milks) & it works really well. Some people have told me to try diluting plain greek yogurt, but I've never looked into that
@@johnhpalmer6098 yes, I realize it's going to change to a richer and smoky flavor
@Chrishelle Maitland Yes, we drink lactose milk also. I stopped buying buttermilk because there was no difference in flavor or tenderness to me. There are other alternatives that are better. I find that using a Tbsp of fish sauce instead of salt, mixed into the chicken with a tsp of rice wine vinegar and dry rub seasoning ( 4-6 hour brine) is a good concoction that makes chicken tender and flavorful . You won't taste the fish sauce either.
I made buttermilk before with milk and vinegar or lemon juice, but not the same. So I skip any ingredient that has sugar in it because the crust gets too dark and burnt sugars don't taste good.
I love fried chicken!
Lard is never out of style. The best fried chicken is cooked in lard, and that's not a lie.
No seasoning besides s&p? At least a few of the Colonel’s 11 secret herbs & spices
This is one particular fried chicken recipe. ATK has many more, including one that's KFC-like.
Oh forgot my son used lard he was raise on the home place until we move off so he knows about lard how to cook it out in a big cast iron pot building a fire around it and the good crackling oh right now both of us would love to have some great home make crackling those days r over!!!!!!
Good video ❤❤❤❤❤
What does adding baking powder to the coating mix do?
Makes it Crispy and Crunchy
@@gwb7875 Thanks for the hot tip!
We in Northwest Louisiana just call it Fried Chicken. lol
The only change I would make is to dip the chicken pieces in whole milk instead of water. My mother, who grew up on a farm, made amazing fried chicken! After flouring, all she used for seasoning was salt and pepper. She would salt and pepper each piece again after browning (in a skillet). Then, she'd put the lid on and turn down the heat to slowly cook the chicken and get pull the flavor out of the bones, similar to pressure cooking. It was truly amazing! It wouldn't come out crispy, but the flavor was fantastic. Then she'd make chicken gravy to go over the mashed potatoes. Heavely!!!
Yep-times were tough and a pot of lard was not what we used-just a 1/4-1/2 inch layer of lard in the black skillet bottom, brown both sides, lower the heat, cover, and finish cooking, heat back up to crisp, then strain off part of the lard to save for next time and add flour, salt, pepper, and paprika, then milk to make gravy. My mom used buttermilk for dipping, but it was always the milk from churning butter. I use buttermilk from the store but keep the temperature a bit down because it tends to burn. It’s nice to see folks coming out again to celebrate real food. It’s been a while hasn’t it? Also the seasoned chicken needs to sit overnight in the icebox uncovered for better to the bone flavor when cooked, and no fancy spices that burn in the oil-just salt and pepper and you’re good to go.
@@stephenkormanyos766 Absolutely! Nothing but salt, pepper and a good, healthy simmer in a covered skillet. 😋 Fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, and a vegetable side dish was the weekly after church Sunday afternoon dinner meal. YUM!!!! I grew up in So. Calif., but my mother's cooking was mid-west style all the way. The only thing we didn't have on the table was a stack of sliced white bread. Ahhh, the wonderful memories! 🥰
I oiled my chicken when I seasoned it, will this method still work???
I know some fats can be saved like bacon grease and cooking oils in general but can lard be saved for a while after a cook? This stuff gets expensive tbh.
Herbs? Spices?
I'm curious how to know how much meat is on a whole chicken. She said a 4.5lb chicken is 3lb parts. Is the ribcage, sternum, and back always around 1.5 lb in a chicken, or is it 1/3 the weight? This is fascinating to me :) Thanks!
Go by the weight on the package as most chickens are in the 3-5lb range all complete. You only need to remove the backbone/rib cage for the most part, but don't toss them. Keep them in a freezer bag in the freezer and make stock out of it later on.
Lard? How’s it come- liquid in bottle like Wesson oil or tub of white grease like Crisco?
Getting the temperature right is what I always had problems with. It was either too hot and burned or not hot enough and the meat was not cooked! My mother used to tell me to just “listen to it, you can hear when it’s the right temperature”😂
I gave up and found a local grocery store that cooks it, just like my mom used to 😂❤
Tub like Crisco. Haven't you ever had potato chips cooked in lard?!
Remember, this is ANIMAL FAT, so it'll be solid at room temperature, much like Crisco.
Get one of those temperature probes similar to what was used here (that one is from Thermopen You can get one for around $20 from the likes of Taylor, but the probes are not replaceable. Thermopen units are) and keep it to the temps they say, 325-350F and monitor it and adjust as needed to keep it at that range, here I think Christine kept it closer to 350 if not mistaken.
You can find a cheap clip on thermometer in the outdoor cooking section of most stores as they are a must have for deep frying turkeys.
What did you do with the lard after you finished cooking????????
Clean/filter and reuse.
use 3 Tbs for gravy, drain and keep rest
"We're gonna be aggressive with this" ..... pursue's to just use salt and black pepper hahahaahahhaah
What about frying chicken in chicken fat or duck fat? :D
"Lard is a Gift from God" - Mildred Rowe, Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant
Question: did you season the chicken before you dipped it into water, or after?
Did u not watch the video?
My Nan used to keep her lard in a pot on the back of the stove, she used it multiple times before throwing it away. How do you store your lard?
My mom did the same thing.
*My great-grandmother made the BEST fried chicken.*
I LOVE FRIED CHICKEN
Why no seasoning?
Wait...What happened to the onion powder, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, and paprika?...I thought she said she was going to season AGGRESSIVELY 💀 🤔 😕!
Right. So dissapointing
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 she said well seasoned 😂😂😂😂😂
What if you replaced lard with beef tallow?
Where can I buy lard?
I see it in supermarkets everywhere.
A lot of recipes I look at call for kosher salt but I can't ever find it at the supermarket.
How you get rid of the lard when done
You don't lol. Filter it when it's still warm, then freeze it until you use it again.
@@VirginiaBronson Good idea, that's what i do with duck fat too when i make confit
Hi look good
Please, ATK team, can you tell what is the best way to cook chicken thighs, in a pressure cooker or in a slow cooker? You’re amazing with your instructions! Thanks a lot! And your hosts are charming ❤