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Fried Chicken


Photograph of Neely Family Spicy Fried Chicken. Food Network, 12 June 2014, www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/neely-family-spicy-fried-chicken-recipe-1939660.

Know by many as the staple of the soul food tradition, fried chicken was originally a Scottish cooking technique to fry chicken. However, the slaves brought life to the technique with seasoning: "A number of West African peoples had traditions of seasoned fried chicken (though battering and cooking the chicken in palm oil). Scottish frying techniques and West African seasoning techniques were combined by enslaved Africans and African-Americans in the American South."* Today fried chicken is a staple that is present on every soul food plate.

Prep : 20 min | Inactive : 2 hr | Cook : 15 min | Yield : 8 servings

 

Ingredients

  • 1 (2 1/2-pounds) fryer chicken, cut into 10 pieces

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 quart buttermilk

  • 2 tablespoons hot sauce

  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • Peanut oil, for frying

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 tablespoon cayenne

  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder

  • 1 teaspoon paprika

 

Instructions

  1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in a casserole dish. In a nonreactive bowl, mix buttermilk, hot sauce and cayenne. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the chicken, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours.

  2. Preheat a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.

  3. Into a large paper bag, measure the flour, cayenne, garlic powder, paprika, and salt and pepper. Shake off excess buttermilk mixture and place the chicken, a few pieces at a time, into the bake and shake to dredge.

  4. Place the chicken into the hot oil and fry until golden and crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes for white meat and 13 to 15 for dark meat. Remove from the fryer onto a paper towel lined sheet tray and season with salt and pepper.

References

Neely, Gina. “Neely Family Spicy Fried Chicken.” Food Network, Food Network, 12 June 2014, Accessed 1 May 2018, www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/neely-family-spicy-fried-chicken-recipe-1939660.

Sumnu, Servet Gulum; Sahin, Serpil (December 17, 2008). Advances in Deep-Fat Frying of Foods. CRC Press. pp. 1–2.

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