November 28, 2011

America's Test Kitchen Easier Fried Chicken

 I am very very IMPRESSED with this chicken!!!  It is no shocker that it's from America's Test Kitchen!  This chicken was soooooo incredibly moist, which is hard to get with chicken and I even used, boneless, skinless chicken.  Can you believe it?  Must have something to do with the brine?  My first bite of this, I was honestly shocked.  It was crunchy on the outside, but juicy on the inside!  I was planning on dipping the chicken in either ranch or barbeque sauce, but I actually ended up just eating it plain, because it was SOOOOO good!  For real - you need to make this for your family or for yourself!  

Easier Fried Chicken
adapted from: America's Test Kitchen

Brine:
1 c. buttermilk
1 Tbl. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
pinch of cayenne
dash of hot sauce

3 1/2 Lbs. bone-in chicken pieces (I used boneless)
   cut them to all be the same size

Flour Coating:
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt  (use less)
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. paprika
little cayenne
2 tsp. baking powder (makes crust very crispy)
1/4 c. buttermilk

Whisk together all of the brine ingredients until salt is dissolved.  Add the chicken pieces and make sure each is well coated.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to overnight.  When ready; whisk together flour, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne and baking powder.  Add buttermilk and mix with your hands to get some shaggy bits to form.  Remove chicken from the brine and allow excess buttermilk to drip off and then pack on the flour coating.  Heat 1 3/4 cup of vegetable oil to 375 degrees in a deep skillet or a dutch oven.  Add the chicken, brown 3-5 minutes, then flip and brown 2-4 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack that has been placed over a cookie sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through (internal temperature should read 160 degrees and the dark meat 175 degrees).  Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before eating.  

Jenn's Notes: I really liked this chicken and I wish I was eating it for dinner tonight!! It was soooo moist.  I used 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I cut in half to get 4 tenders.  I kept the chicken in the brine for around 3-4 hours.  The only thing I would change next time is to add less salt.  It was almost too salty.  The salt is needed in the brine, so I would probably add less to the flour mixture or just leave it out completely. 

10 comments:

  1. Very well explained. I would like to say that it is very interesting to read your blog.

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  2. This looks so good! I am going to make it. Thanks! I also want to invite you over to link this up on Totally Tasty Tuesdays.
    http://mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/2011/11/totally-tasty-tuesdays_29.html

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  3. Sounds like a recipe that my teenager would love. I plan to try it for him soon!

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  4. Once you start bringing, it's hard to go back! Love ATKs recipes!! Happy Foodie Friday!

    :)
    ButterYum

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  5. P.S. I'm featuring these tomorrow on TTT, thanks for linking them up!

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  6. This is really good but next time I will cut the pepper in the coating. It was too peppery for my personal preference. Thanks so much for sharing =)

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  7. How deep is the oil when you fry the chicken?

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    Replies
    1. Maybe an inch or so up the side of the pan. It should cover half of the chicken pieces, because you have to flip the chicken over halfway through to cook the other side.

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  8. Ok. apparently I am a total failure here. I used chicken pieces when I tried this tonight. It looked beautiful when I took it out of the oil. Put it on a baking sheet and put it in the oven. This is where things went drastically wrong. 15 minutes and my kitchen is filled with smoke. temped the chicken, not up to temp. 15 more minutes. My children are gagging and choking on the smoke that has now begun to fill my entire house. the smoke alarms are going off and I am afraid my neighbors will call the fire dept. It is currently 20 below zero and all of my windows are now open. I have brought up a fan from the basement to disperse the smoke. The dog is barking non stop. Icicles are hanging from our noses. Children refuse to eat said chicken they have lost their appetites and are pretty sure I am trying to poison them. Truthfully it was their loss. the chicken had a beautiful crispy coating, the inside was tender and juicy. But I don't know what the deal is. I think this recipe should come with a disclaimer that you should not attempt it in January when the house is all closed up. :)

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    Replies
    1. OMG - are you serious? That is quite the night you have had. Did you use vegetable oil? Did you let the excess oil drip off the chicken before transferring it to the wire rack? The only thing I could think of is if too much oil dripped down onto your sheet pan and that caused it to smoke. I didn't have any problems with this or trust me, I would have warned you. You better whip up some hot chocolate now :)

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