Loretta Lynn's Crispy Fried Chicken Recipe | CDKitchen.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to getting crispy chicken? ›

The chicken is then air-dried for 10 to 12 hours before being flash-fried, then oil-poached. The skin gets its signature crispiness from 10 to 12 minutes of basting with scalding hot oil right before serving.

Interestingly, cornstarch contains 25 to 28 percent amylose, which is higher than the amount in wheat or potato starch (which are 20 to 22 percent amylose), and this is why cornstarch works the best for making crispy coatings on fried foods.

That trick is a sprinkling of baking powder, and it'll get you the crispiest, crackliest bites of fatty, salty skin imaginable, whether you're cooking just one thigh, a plate of wings, or an entire bird. Baking powder, it turns out, is good for quite a lot more than baking.

Cornstarch will make your fried chicken better. A 50-50 split of all-purpose flour and cornstarch in your batter will leave you with an audibly crunchy, beautiful browned exterior. The corn adds a bit of golden color that all-purpose flour can't quite get to.

The best way to keep fried foods crispy? Just place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. If you're frying multiple batches, throw the whole setup into a low oven to keep everything warm as you keep frying and adding to the rack.

Coating the chicken in baking powder and salt before cooking produced an intensely crispy skin—at first.

When paired with all-purpose flour, cornstarch helps prevent gluten development, which makes the flour coating crispier, and absorb moisture (from the frying and the chicken), which also means a crispier coating. If you already have a favorite fried chicken recipe, try replacing a quarter of the flour with cornstarch.

Velvet chicken is a Chinese cooking technique where boneless, skinless chicken pieces are coated in a mixture of baking soda, cornstarch, wine, and seasoning, then briefly cooked resulting in tender, velvety chicken that easily absorbs sauces. In some methods, egg white is also included.

Think vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil. Don't use olive oil or butter—they both have lower smoke points. The ideal temperature for frying chicken is 350˚ to 365˚, and you'll want to make sure that you bring the oil back to temperature between batches.

What is the best oil to make things crispy? ›

But the baking powder is key, because it acts like a salt. It helps draw moisture to the surface, where it can evaporate. Since they have similar reactions, we typically combine baking powder and table salt to amplify this effect, resulting in extra-crispiness.

Try adding some corn starch to lighten the flour as well. The combination of corn starch and baking powder will help to make your fried chicken lighter and crispier than plain flour alone.

Remember – flour first, then egg, then crumbs…

The flour creates a dry surface on the wet or moist food and it's this dry surface that the egg will hold on to in the next step. If you didn't coat a chicken breast in flour, for instance, the egg would just slide right off the slippery chicken.

All-purpose flour gives the buttermilk and seasonings something to stick to, while ensuring a wonderfully crispy crust. This crispy fried chicken recipe calls for paprika (which helps with browning), salt, and pepper. You can add more spices and seasonings to taste.

The secret to succulent fried chicken starts with a marinade or brine, which keeps the chicken at its peak juiciness. Fried chicken traditionalists generally choose a buttermilk marinade while others swear by a brine, which is a mixture of sugar, salt and sometimes spices dissolved into water.

Pat the chicken dry: Before cooking, make sure to pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels. Moisture on the surface of the chicken can hinder the crisping process. Use high heat: Whether you're baking or pan-frying, using high heat helps to crisp up the chicken skin quickly.

If your oil temp is too high, your fried chicken will be scorched on the outside with meat that is undercooked. If the oil is too cool, your chicken will be greasy and will lack the golden-brown crispy exterior you want.