This meticulously curated recipe, consisting of all the BEST ideas in frying poultry, has you coat each piece of chicken in a special seasoning blend, before dredging it in hot sauce-riddled egg and a more lightly-seasoned heap of flour. There is no escaping the juiciness and flavor in every bite!
Ingredients
serve 4, cooking time about 2 hours
- 3-4 lbs of chicken parts; either a whole, broken down chicken or an array of legs and thighs
- Peanut or canola oil for frying
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons of paprika
- 2 teaspoons of ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Black pepper
Procedures
- Set out the chicken on an aluminum foil-covered baking sheet or cutting board. Mix together the seasonings (salt, garlic powder, paprika, ground mustard, and thyme), and then pat the chicken pieces all over with the seasoning mix. You might not use all of it, so you don’t need to lay it on too thick. If you’re careful to avoid contaminating the mixture, you can save leftovers for a second use.
- Next, beat together the eggs in a small bowl. Add the hot sauce and a tiny bit of water, and stir to combine.
- Mix together 2 cups of flour and around 2 tablespoons of black pepper in a separate bowl. Place these two bowls side by side on the counter.
- One at a time, dip the chicken pieces in the egg and then the flour mixture. Place each piece back on the baking sheet when you’re done, and let sit for at least 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, add the oil to a heavy bottomed pot like a dutch oven. One with high sides is ideal to reduce the oil spatter. Fill the pot up about 1/3 of the way, and begin heating over medium high. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and place separate baking sheet inside. This will serve as a warming station for the chicken while you fry the whole batch.
- When the oil reaches 375 degrees (and you will need to adjust the heat up and down while frying to keep it around a consistent temperature), place 3 pieces in the pot at a time to prevent overcrowding, and begin frying the chicken. If you use thighs and legs, you’ll be cooking those pieces 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the pieces within the pot every few minutes. Lighter pieces, like the breasts and wings, will only need about 10 minutes. You can tell the chicken is done by using a meat thermometer to ensure the center is at least 165 degrees.
- Remove the chicken to the warming tray in the oven and continue frying each piece until done.
What’s your favorite part of the chicken? It’s your kitchen, make whatever you like best. I chose to make four drumsticks and four thighs because they seem to disappear the quickest. They’re also the cheapest; a pack of four chicken quarters will only run you abut $5 at the store. The rest of the ingredients used in this recipe are easy to come by, and they should already be pantry staples in your kitchen!
Don’t forget to make some extras for sharing, or devouring cold from the fridge at midnight.