Breaded Chicken, Fried Chicken

[CaryAnne]

I have yet to find a great recipe that I LOOOOOOVE for breading chicken and baking and/or frying. Any that come highly recommended?

[Jock]

I think this isn't so much a recipe as a technique.

When I do Chicken Parmesan for example, I use chix thighs pounded flat, seasoned, lightly dusted with flour then dipped in an egg wash and finally in bread crumbs.

The bread crumbs are "Panko" style, that is to say they are coarsely ground, not too fine. I will add a little seasoning, maybe some parmesan cheese and sometimes chopped fresh herbs.

Once dipped in breadcrumbs you should rest the chicken on a rack for 15 to 20 minutes. That will ensure that the crust sticks to the chicken when it cooks. I hate it when the lovely crispy crust stays in the pan as you remove the chicken.

The oil has to be good and hot too otherwise the bread will just absorb it and you will end up with greasy chicken. There needs to be a lot of oil too. If you just film the pan the bread will suck it up and you end up cooking in a dry pan and with burn spots on the breadcrumbs.

I don't think there is a recipe in there - it's all technique.

Jock

[yich]

I have used crushed cornflakes to bread my chicken tenders and they turned out quite tasty.

[oldschool1982]

Marinate your chicken for a couple hours or overnight in buttermilk. Make you dredge with the following ingredients

2 cups All purpose flour
1 cup medium groung cornmeal
1/2 cup potato flour
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 Tbsp paprika

Drain the buttermilk from the chicken and place in dredge. Toss or roll to coat well. Let sit in dredge covered well for 10-15 minutes. Fry in the oil of your choice. This will not bake well at all.

[Cheri]

I make two versions of fried chicken But my mother always, cleaned the chicken patted dry and dredged in a paper bag seasoned flour, fry as usual. My mom was from Alabama, mine still doesn't taste like hers. I think I'm timid with the salt.

[Suzanne]

It helps to start with really flavorful chicken. Then anything else is just gilding the lily (literally! ).

I grew up on the baked version of dip in egg, coat in cornflake crumbs, drizzle with a little melted margarine (my mother couldn't use butter). I loved it.

I add a lot of lemon juice and hot sauce when I brine the parts first, then coat pretty heavily with flour seasoned with just salt and pepper (a lot of each) and shallow-fry. That's good, too.

Some folks add some bacon fat to the cooking pan. What's to be bad?