Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Recipe: Mom's Fantastic Fried Chicken



I love fried chicken, especially my mom's fantastic chicken! But, it is rare that I eat anything fried. I've been on a mission to eat healthy and fried food items don't fit in that category. However, I do make exceptions for my mom's chicken. It's one of my favorite foods that she prepares. And, I rarely eat it because I live on the west coast and my parents live on the east coast. When I come home to visit (which is once or twice a year), she always prepares fried chicken for me. Yum! This is the recipe she uses. It is quite simple--take some chicken, season it, add flour, and throw it in the oil. You can eat it for dinner, lunch, or as a dish for a picnic. (Oh, my mom wanted me to add that she rarely fries chicken these days--she bakes them instead.)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
*12 chicken wings cut in half
*black pepper
*salt
*garlic salt
*Vegetable oil (or your choice of oil)
*1.5 - 2 cups of flour
*1 gallon size Ziploc storage bag
*Optional: Favorite Hot Sauce such as Frank's or Pete's Red Hot

Preparation:
1.) Wash and pat dry the chicken wings.
2.) Cut each wing in half and place on wax paper.
3.) Sprinkle with black pepper, salt, and garlic salt. Mom says,"use more garlic salt than salt. You want a more garlicy taste rather than a salty taste."
4.) Flip the wings over and repeat step 3.
5.) In a large cooking pan, add oil to fill pan 1/4 - 1/2 inch (enough to fry the chicken but not submerge). Turn the heat to high until oil is "good and hot".
6.) In a gallon size Ziploc bag, add 1.5 cups (or more) of flour.
7.) Add a few pieces of chicken to the bag, close, and toss to coat the chicken.
8.) Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium because "You don't want the chicken cooking fast."
9.) Add the chicken to the oil, cook 20 minutes one the first side, flip over and cook an additional 10 minutes (or cook until golden brown on each side).

Mom says, "The chicken is done when you can put a fork through them."

10.) Put a paper towel on a plate, add the chicken. And, serve.
11.) Optional: Make hot wings by tossing the chicken in your favorite hot sauce!
12.) Enjoy!

1 comment:

Darrell said...

Hmm, now that looks good. I've never tried to make Fried chicken and don't really like the way my shake & bake turns out.

What would you do differently to make similar chicken in the oven?