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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The Best Fried Chicken

Fried chicken: everyone has his or her own idea of a "best" fried chicken.  I have had lots of good fried chicken -- the bone-in, skin-on fryer pieces my mother used to cook in her electric skillet, the tender parboiled and fried chicken my Aunt Irene used to make -- who can say which is really the best?  What I can say is that this is the best fried chicken that comes out of my own kitchen.  A tender, buttermilk marinated piece of chicken joy.


There is no real recipe for this dish.  I use boneless, skinless breast meat which I usually cut in half through the thickest part to make each piece thinner and a little more uniform.  Trim off all fat, pierce each piece all over with a fork, and soak, fully immersed, in a buttermilk bath for at least four hours.  If you want a little more zip, you can add a splash or two of Tabasco sauce to the buttermilk.  Dredge each piece in salt-and-pepper-seasoned flour and fry in hot vegetable oil, turning only once.  I usually dredge in the flour twice, letting the chicken rest just a couple of minutes in between.

Any time, any place, winter or summer.  Love this chicken.

25 comments:

  1. Looks divine! Who doesn't love great fried chicken??!! The corn looks yummy too and so does the salad!

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  2. My mother-in-law made the best chicken, which she first browned and then baked. I never even tried to match it. Your recipe sounds fairly simple, like I could even be successful in preparing this version.

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  3. I have never given my chicken a buttermilk bath before, but it sounds like an excellent idea. I shall try this next time I fry chicken!

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  4. Right...never thought about the buttermilk twist. Thanks so much for sharing this. I'll definitely try it! xoxo

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  5. Everything looks so yummy. All I would need would be a glass of sweet iced tea! :-)

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  6. this sounds like heaven, and i love that you dont use an eggwash. maybe i'll try it, but im afraid of all that oil splatter in my tiny kitchen.

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  7. That is similar to the way I make my own but I have never soaked it in buttermilk before. I am going to try this next time. I add a bit of Lawrey' Seasoning Salt to my recipe. Now I have my mouth set for fried chicken- xo Diana

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  8. That looks good, just had dinner but my mouth is watering

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  9. Looks very appetising, the colours are gorgeous too. I've never had buttermilk, don't even know if it's something readily available here as I've never noticed it, how does it affect the taste? x

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  10. Sounds absolutely amazing! Looks so juicy!

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  11. Looks delicious! You just reminded me that I haven't had sweet corn yet!

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  12. That looks so good I can almost smell it. YUM! I haven't fried chicken in FOREVER!!!

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  13. I am not too picky about my fried chicken, but this looks delicious! I bet that the buttermilk makes the chicken very tender.

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  14. That chicken looks wonderful and I love that it's with boneless chicken breasts. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Looks delicious. Much better than the bagel I just ate for dinner :)

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  16. Wow, does that sound good. I also love corn on the cob. I even love the corn raw in a salad!

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  17. This looks so yummy.....I may have dinner planned....Have a wonderful day!

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  18. Oh my gosh I can almost smell this...looks incredible. Good advice about the buttermilk bath. I never knew how long you had to leave it soak. Thanks!

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  19. Good little "recipe"! Chicken bathing in buttermilk really can never be a bad thing, can it?

    Thanks for the summer inspiration!

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  20. Looks delicious. Makes me hungry looking at it hehe...

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  21. Looks wonderful! - very summery with the corn & tomato salad.

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  22. It's making my mouth water! Maggie xx

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  23. This is making me hungry! All of it looks so inviting!

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  24. Yum! I have had supper already, and could eat some of this.

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  25. Um, yum. That sounds perfect! Especially this time of year. thanks for sharing, liz

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