On a whim I decided to fry up three boneless skinless thighs I had in the fridge. I used a flour with just some black pepper, paprika, and onion powder. I’ve never done breaded fried anything before.

Dried the chicken, lightly dusted with the flour mixture, dunked in half and half, then dredged. Safflower oil at 350ish on a 6” cast iron skillet, about 4 minutes per side.

The texture was pretty good but the seasoning was weak. Any suggestions?

In addition to what you mentioned, I like to add garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, some dry mustard powder. I like to add some cornstarch to the flour, this makes it a bit more crispy.

FWIW you can google "Kentucky Fried Chicken secret recipe ingredient list".

Kent Rollins has some good videos on cooking fried chicken.

(You can ease into wallymart and buy a fried chicken scented fireplace log if you want the house to smell like, well, fried chicken. LINK )
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Add some ginger powder.

I keep it simple. Fresh ground black pepper and a couple pinches of cayenne pepper mixed in with the flour.

Also, soak the chicken pieces overnight in buttermilk before breading and cooking.

All purpose flour, corn meal 75/25%, salt, pepper, cyanne powder, paprika, garlic, onion powder, ginger, mustard powder, Italian seasoning.

I put the chicken in pickle juice (dill).

A little corn starch.

Egg, beaten with a splash of hot sauce.

Put chicken in corn starch, shake off excess.
Dip in egg.
Put in flour mixture.

If you want, let rest and repeat egg and flour mixture.

Fry, enjoy!


ARman

One more crucial thing for fried anything...... Immediately salt it after removing from the frying oil, like within seconds.

I brine most of my pork and chicken dishes the night before cooking.

Corn starch helps with the crispiness. Learned about that little trick making with the popularity of Korean Fried Chicken. 18millions views...pretty solid recipe

Since no one has mentioned it yet, lemon pepper.

A packet of dry ranch dressing mix added to the flour and beat an egg into some buttermilk for the wash. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken before dredging.

Why is buttermilk the preferred liquid?

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
Why is buttermilk the preferred liquid?

The acid in buttermilk tenderize the chicken, and also gives it flavor.


ARman

Y'all keep overlooking the generous dollop of Texas Pete.....that's what transforms common yardbird into a glorious delicacy!

This is a copy-cat recipe for Chik-Fil-A spicy chicken. I've only made it with breasts and it's very good. Don't know why you couldn't use it for other parts as well.

1 cup flour
1 Tbs powdered sugar
1 Tbs cayenne
1 Tbs black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 1/2tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp Slap-Yo-Mamma
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp Aleppo
1/4 tsp each of basil, poultry seasoning, thyme, celery seed, and turmeric.

Marinate chicken in 1/3 cup water and 1 Tbs lemon juice.

Mix 2 eggs and 1 tsp Tabasco. Dredge chicken in flour/spice. Coat in egg/Tabasco then dredge again in flour/spice.

Fry for around 15 minutes, flipping every 5.

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Or, you could try this one. Its very tasty as well, and simpler.

Here's another one to give a try:

The spice pack:
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon onion salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon basil leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon marjoram leaves, crushed finely

Combine that, and set aside. (store the remainder in an airtight container.)
Mix together 2 tablespoons spice pack, 1 cup flour, 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar and 1 teaspoon salt.

Dredge chicken in corn starch, shake off excess.
Dip in buttermilk.
Dredge in flour/spice mixture.

Fried in oil until crispy/golden brown - approx 15 minutes. Turn once at the 8 minute mark.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:

The texture was pretty good but the seasoning was weak. Any suggestions?

Try some Slap Ya Mama, it is a blend of Cajun seasonings & spices. Works good on chicken

I season the chicken, rather than the flour.

tagged for later use......

Yup, some good stuff here.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
In addition to what you mentioned, I like to add garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, some dry mustard powder. I like to add some cornstarch to the flour, this makes it a bit more crispy.
<snip>

I second the cumin suggestion. I love this spice. The best that I’ve found:

McCormick Gourmet Organic Roasted Ground Cumin

I buy it at my grocery, but also available on Amazon:

www.amazon.com/dp/B007R0QYGK/r..._encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I use to help my dad and other town fathers fry chicken in the park on the 4th of July.I seem to remember flour and corn meal?