I have lived a sheltered life...

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 2:44 pm

Odd turn of events yesterday. Flipping through the channels I saw the Legend of Bagger Vance on TNT yesterday morning. Now I know I'm in the minority, by liking this movie, but that's besides the point. Hearing all those fake southern accents made me want have a southern dinner. When it comes to southern food only one thing quickly comes to mind: Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, and Biscuits.

Fried chicken I've done and done well. Mashed potatoes I've done and done well. Biscuits, OTOH, have always been something that come from a tube. My parents never made homemade biscuits, so I always followed suit and just made them out of a tube, they taste pretty good that way, so I went with it.

Yesterday, for whatever reason, I decided I would make homemade fresh biscuits. Holy crap, have I lived a sheltered life. Those things were so fluffy and delicious, I could've skipped the chicken & potatoes, and just sat down with some honey and ate biscuits all night. I cannot believe that I've gone the first 27+ years of my life having never had fresh homemade biscuits. I highly suggest that everyone give them a try sometime in lieu of the canned version. It seriously takes less than 15 minutes work + baking time, and oh so worth it!

The Niz · Post by **The Niz** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 3:46 pm

TG posted one a while back, but could you provide a good batter recipe for frying chicken parts.

BTW, Bagger Vance is a great movie. I can't remember if Will Smith ever made a bad one.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:12 pm

Place cut up chicken parts in a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Let the chicken soak this way for at least a few hours. Overnight would be fine. Personally I don't like chicken skin, so I take the skin off the pieces before putting it in the buttermilk.

Mix spice mixture:

2 parts kosher salt
2 parts garlic powder
1 part paprika
Cayenne pepper to your desired heat level.
Black pepper to your taste.

Drain chicken in a colander.
Coat chicken liberally with the spice mixture.
Dredge chicken in flour.

Melt vegetable shortening in a large frypan/cast iron skillet. Should be enough for about 1/8-1/4 inch in the bottom of the pan. Bring the temp of the oil to 325*. Add the chicken and fry until done, keeping the oil as close to 325* as possible.

Put on a wire rack to drain when done.

It's not a batter, really, but it's the right way to make fried chicken, IMO. Spice mixture can vary, but that's what I used last night. I might cut back on the salt a touch next time, but otherwise turned out phenomenal.

TG1996 · Post by **TG1996** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:20 pm

I think you're in the minority more for not liking chicken skin than you are for liking The Legend Of Bagger Vance...

And yeah, my batter was more for non-chicken-related deep frying (mushrooms and such)

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:41 pm

TG1996 wrote:I think you're in the minority more for not liking chicken skin than you are for liking The Legend Of Bagger Vance...

And yeah, my batter was more for non-chicken-related deep frying (mushrooms and such)

You're probably right. Not sure what it is, but I just don't care for the skin. I do eat it on chicken wings, no way I'm taking the time to skin those little things. When dealing with larger pieces of chicken though it doesn't take much time to pull the skin off, so I do.

Bleeding Orange · Post by **Bleeding Orange** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 6:12 pm

What? No pictures?

One of these days I'm going to spend a week trying out all of the recipies that you have posted here. Good stuff.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 6:53 pm

Bleeding Orange wrote:What? No pictures?

One of these days I'm going to spend a week trying out all of the recipies that you have posted here. Good stuff.

I SOO badly wanted to take pictures just because the biscuits came out of the oven looking exactly like how you would picture them in your head. Unfortunately, I don't have any batteries. My rechargeable set stopped taking a charge, so I had to junk them, and I don't have any regular AA batteries at home right now.

I'll have to get some, in order to put more food porn up for your viewing pleasure

The Niz · Post by **The Niz** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:52 pm

I'll probably be using a turkey fryer out by the ice arena on saturday after-noon to do this. Just gonna grab a bunch of drum sticks and thighs at meijer, spice them up, them drop them in. Our fryer came with a handy little backet for this. This recipe safe for that?

I saw a guy put rotisserie seasoning on a turkey instead of a rub once and it ruined everything; the oil, the pan, and the bird. It was all burnt to hell. The pan had a thick layer of burnt spices on the bottom.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:04 pm

The Niz wrote:I'll probably be using a turkey fryer out by the ice arena on saturday after-noon to do this. Just gonna grab a bunch of drum sticks and thighs at meijer, spice them up, them drop them in. Our fryer came with a handy little backet for this. This recipe safe for that?

I saw a guy put rotisserie seasoning on a turkey instead of a rub once and it ruined everything; the oil, the pan, and the bird. It was all burnt to hell. The pan had a thick layer of burnt spices on the bottom.

I've never deep fried whole chicken parts, but I see no reason why this wouldn't work. At the restaurant I worked at where we made fried chicken we fried it in a pressure fryer, at home I've always done it in a pan. It certainly should work, just make sure to keep your oil temps at the right area. If they get too high it'll burn before it's done. If they get too low it'll taste greasy. If you have a cast iron skillet I've had pretty good success cooking with them on my deep fry burner, that would certainly work well. The deep fryer should work as well though, I've just never done it that way.

The Niz · Post by **The Niz** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:18 pm

I'm usually real good about keeping the temp between 325 and 350. Despite my best efforts to seal the basin, some bugs found their way in. guess I'm gonna have to do some cleaning/filtering before Saturday.

I really wanna try the recipe you posted. I'd also like to find one that is more of a breading style. I'm gonna do half and half I think.

BGDrew · Post by **BGDrew** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:07 am

At my other job we actually don't even do breading for the wings. Just deep fry them at 350 for 10 minutes then spin them in whatever sauce you want.

TG1996 · Post by **TG1996** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:22 am

BGDrew wrote:At my other job we actually don't even do breading for the wings. Just deep fry them at 350 for 10 minutes then spin them in whatever sauce you want.

Thanks for the tip.

I've been making wings (or at least drumettes) a bunch lately, but I've been baking them (425* for about 45-50 min...or when my wonderful investment in a digital meat thermometer tells me it's at 180+)

Might have to give some wings a shot in the deep fryer for a change next time. Though I wonder if raw chicken has any affect on the oil/fryer? I'm guessing it heats everything enough to kill it, but I'd hate to find out the hard way.

BGDrew · Post by **BGDrew** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:33 am

We serve them that way at a restaurant, so I think you should be good. For thawed wings it's 10 minutes at 350. If they're frozen you're probably looking at closer to 15 minutes. The skin will turn to a nice golden crisp. I do recommend weighing the wings down because they'll float too soon and may not cook as thorough that way.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:29 pm

No breading on chicken wings. Drew has the correct answer: put raw chicken wings directly in hot oil. The oven is not acceptable TG!

When the chicken is done just pull the wings out and coat them with your favorite sauce. Like he says they get golden brown & crispy on the outside.

I love the flavor of wings that are cooked over charcoal, so one thing I'm considering is cooking them that way then deep frying for a minute or two to crisp the skin. Try to get the best of both worlds that way

Still, wings that aren't deep fried at all? No thanks.

The raw chicken will not make your oil poisonous to other foods or anything like that. It will make your oil really dirty though. After cooking a few batches of them, it will start to turn pretty brown. All the fat in the chicken will join your oil as it cooks. Generally if I'm making a lot of wings I usually toss the oil afterwards.

We've done wings this way at tailgates for years. Has been awhile since we've done them though...

1987alum · Post by **1987alum** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:05 pm

hammb wrote:We've done wings this way at tailgates for years. Has been awhile since we've done them though...

You, my friend, can rectify that this fall!