Remember a while ago I wrote about fried chicken and buttered beans being one of my favourite breakfasts? Well I had it for dinner last night and thought I should share my tips and tricks…
The two most important things:
- The coating
- The frying
The Coating
There are two elements to the coating – the base and the seasoning.
The Base
There are lots of options for the base; crushed pork rinds, almond flour, coconut flour, psyllium husk, flaxmeal and probably others. The one I love best is lupin flour.
Lupin flour is relatively new, it was added to the list of allergens in just 2018, it is a type of legume and related to peanuts, so if you have a nut allergy, best to steer clear, sorry. Lupin flour is lower carb than almond meal and a different texture so it sticks to the chicken (or pork, or eggplant fries, or cauliflower, or…..) really well.
The Seasoning
This is a pretty personal one but I think an absolute must is salt and pepper. Thereafter, whatever floats your boat. As well as the initial salt and pepper, I like to add garlic salt, white pepper, mixed herbs, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. I mix these together and then stir them into the lupin flour.
Some people like to try and cheat their way through the coating piece and put the coating into a bag with the egg or cream coated meat and shake. I strongly advise against this because I have never been able to get it to work. I work my way through the step by step, it is totally worth it.
1) pour beaten egg or cream onto a plate
2) pour seasoned coating onto a second plate
3) dunk the meat or veges into cream or beaten egg
4) press each piece it into the seasoning then gently turn it over and press the other side into the seasoning
5) gently lift the item onto another plate ready for frying
6) repeat how ever many times needed
The Frying
The second critical part in creating the most awesome fried chicken, pork, eggplant, cauliflower etc.
The oil. Nothing special, I just used olive oil. I have been known to use Rice Bran Oil but apparently it really isn’t good for you.
Now to shallow fry or deep fry? (I know some use an air fryer but I don’t have one).
I believe deep frying makes a big difference. With the meat or vegetable floating in the bubbling oil, it doesn’t touch the bottom which means the coating stays on a lot better and when you’re making fried chicken, it’s all about the coating.
So, not only is deep frying my preferred option, it is also super important to not overload the pan, you want to make sure the oil temperature stays super hot, it should be bubbling at all times to ensure maximum crispiness. Due to the temperature it is ok to cook your stuff in batches if you don’t have a big enough pan. In fact, for most people I recommend cooking it in batches.
OK then. I think I’ve covered it all. If you want really crispy delicious fried chicken, you can’t skimp on the effort, but it is seriously worth it. Look at the picture.
Give it a go, you won’t regret it. Let me know if I missed anything out or I wasn’t clear on anything and post a comment on how it went.