Originally published on July 20, 2016
I’ve made fried chicken several times and it’s always hit or miss. Will it turn out? Won’t it? Who knows, because I’ve had a different result each and every time! Luckily, I’ve learned a few things from both my hits and misses, and now I believe I know what those are. Other than the actual chicken, there are three things you need to make great fried chicken: flour, buttermilk, and lard.
- Flour. This is for coating the chicken. Don’t use bread crumbs, don’t use panko, you don’t need them and they’ll probably even burn up in the pan. Just toss the chicken around in it so that it’s fully coated, let it sit, and that will be all the starch you need.
- Buttermilk. Okay, this one gets a little tricky. Yes, you do need to marinate your chicken in slightly acidic milk before you fry. This helps it stay juicy while it’s undergoing the fiery wrath of your pan. But – it doesn’t need to marinate overnight or all day in the fridge. I got mine ready and just left it to sit while I got the table set and the rest of dinner ready. That was plenty long enough. And it also doesn’t have to be real buttermilk. I mean, why spend that kind of cash when you don’t have to? No, no, no. Instead, just add a tablespoon or two of white vinegar to white milk, stir it up and let it sit for about 5 minutes. There. You’ve just made buttermilk.
- Lard. Yes, lard. Don’t be scared, you’re not going to be eating it by the spoonful. Did you know that lard is actually a healthy fat to use when frying at very high heats? This is because lard has one of the highest smoke points of all the oils, so you can turn that dial waaay up before you start seeing those wispy curls of smoke. Once your oil is that hot, it will immediately seal the outside of anything you put in it – including delicious fried chicken. Once that outside has been seared, excess fat can no longer nestle right alongside the actual meat that’s frying – meaning that less of it ends up on your plate. If you really, really despise the idea of cooking with lard, peanut oil also has a high smoking point and is one that’s often used for fried chicken. But I still recommend using the lard.
And now, for the recipe that scored me a home run!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound lard
- 8 chicken legs
- 4 cups buttermilk (or milk/vinegar substitute)
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- Salt
Directions:
1.) Mix together the paprika, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Place buttermilk into a large bowl and then shake half of the seasonings in. Stir to thoroughly combine, and then place chicken in. Let chicken marinate for half an hour to an hour (or longer, depending on how much time you have. If it’s going to be any longer though, make sure to put the chicken in the fridge while marinating.)
2.) Place flour into another large bowl and add the remaining half of the seasoning, along with a teaspoon of salt. Note that salt is placed in the flour, but not in the buttermilk. This is because salt can quickly dry meat out, especially if it’s sitting in for a long period of time. However, because you still need salt for flavour, putting it in the flour still gives that to you without any fear of drying out the chicken.
3.) When the chicken is done marinating, remove it from the buttermilk, one piece at a time, and drop it into the flour. Shake or toss to entirely coat the chicken in the flour, then lay it on a baking sheet. After all the pieces of chicken have been coated, leave the chicken to sit in the buttermilk/flour on the baking sheet or on a wire rack for about 15 minutes.
4.) When the chicken is ready, heat the lard in a large cast-iron skillet until it is very hot (turning my burner to mark 8 worked for me.) When the fat is shimmering and piping hot, start placing the chicken in. Brown the chicken on both sides (this should take about 3 minutes per side), then lower the heat right down (I put mine down to 2), and cover it with a lid. Cook chicken for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally.
5.) Remove fried chicken from the fat and allow to drain on paper towels or on a wire rack.
6.) Serve and enjoy!