Fried Chicken: Recipes for the Crispy, Crunchy, Comfort-Food Classic [A Cookbook]

Fried Chicken: Recipes for the Crispy, Crunchy, Comfort-Food Classic [A Cookbook]

by Rebecca Lang
Fried Chicken: Recipes for the Crispy, Crunchy, Comfort-Food Classic [A Cookbook]

Fried Chicken: Recipes for the Crispy, Crunchy, Comfort-Food Classic [A Cookbook]

by Rebecca Lang

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Overview

An irresistible cookbook featuring more than 50 family-friendly fried chicken recipes, including classic Southern, globally influenced, and skillet- and deep-fried variations.

Fried chicken is comfort food at its finest. Served alongside a biscuit, atop waffles, or just on its own, fried chicken is one of the most universally loved foods around. In Fried Chicken, Southern chef Rebecca Lang collects 50 of the most tantalizing, crowd-pleasing variations on the classic. There are perennial favorites like Buttermilk-Soaked, Bacon-Fried Chicken Smothered in Gravy; Tennessee Hot Chicken; kid-friendly Chicken Fingers; and even Gluten-Free Southern Fried Chicken. Also featured are internationally inspired recipes, such as Saigon Street Wings, Chinese Lollipop Wings, Mexican-Lime Fried Chicken Tacos, and Korean Fried Chicken with Gochujang Sauce. All of these recipes are impeccably tested, foolproof, and will have the whole family singing the praises of perfectly fried poultry.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781607747253
Publisher: Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date: 05/26/2015
Sold by: Random House
Format: eBook
Pages: 132
File size: 18 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

REBECCA LANG is a food writer, cooking instructor, television personality, and a ninth-generation Southerner. Born and raised in South Georgia, she is the author of Southern Living's Around the Southern Table, Quick-Fix SouthernMary Mac's Tea Room, and Southern Entertaining for a New Generation. She has appeared on Fox & Friends Weekend, WGN America's Midday News, and numerous regional and local networks. Rebecca and her cooking have been featured in more than 50 nationally televised Southern Living food segments and in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Washington Post, the Houston ChronicleWine Enthusiast, FoxNews.com, The Daily MealGlamour, and Fitness. She serves as a contributing editor for Southern Living and myrecipes.com, teaches cooking classes across America, and has been the spokesperson for Georgia's official vegetable, Vidalia onions.

Read an Excerpt

Ask ten different people to brainstorm on the phrase “fried chicken,” and you’ll get ten different answers. Fried chicken can be comforting or decadent, nostalgic or exhilarating, an everyday staple or special-occasion fare. It can be classic, edgy, spicy, soothing, festive, homespun, extravagant, thrifty—and many things in between. Very few foods are deserving of such wide-ranging and emotional descriptions.

For one thing, nearly everyone has experienced fried chicken at some point in his or her life. Fried chicken is universal—served in almost every country around the globe. Each culture has its own spin on the basic equation—take poultry, fry it in fat until golden and succulent—which means there are countless recipe variations from which to choose.

For me, no food elicits such happy memories as golden, crispy, tender, juicy fried chicken. I grew up in the American South, and in my family, fried chicken was considered a staple, not excess. It wasn’t a Sunday if my grandmother Tom’s perfectly crisped chicken was not already on the table when we got to her house for our midday meal. It was her cast-iron skillet filled with fried chicken that first taught me how comfort and love could be tasted and shared without saying a word.

For anyone who calls the South home—or even those who merely stopped by for a visit—fried chicken is transporting. It immediately delivers a sense of home, no matter where you eat it. That said, Southerners certainly weren’t the first to fry chicken. Name a country and very likely fried chicken is part of its cuisine. I’m convinced I could fry for a lifetime and still discover new ways to prepare fried chicken, one of the world’s favorite foods. It’s a crunchy and comforting journey, no matter where you choose to start.

The Story of Fried Chicken
Food historians have demonstrated that fried chicken appears in several ancient cuisines from around the world. It seems that as long as chickens have existed, someone was ready to fry them. Though the exact origins of the domesticated chicken are still debated, many historians trace its lineage back thousands and thousands of years. And there are plenty of centuries-old fried chicken traditions, most notably from China, India, the Middle East, Italy, France, and Spain. In other words, fried chicken has been around since long before we started enjoying it in America.
The South undoubtedly has the strongest fried chicken tradition in the United States. Raising chickens was inexpensive and there was no shortage of rendered fat, so fried chicken was naturally found on Southern tables, even in the toughest of times. It was during the nineteenth century that fried chicken was established as a staple on tables across the South.

But even as a staple, the preparation of chicken evolved. Younger birds were used, deep frying became a popular cooking method, and slaves who cooked in Southern kitchens added wonderful spices like curry, which had not been common in the South before the slaves’ arrival.
Today, fried chicken still holds its own, seemingly impervious to new cooking fads and food trends. Sure, there are plenty of upscale restaurants doing dressed-up versions of the dish—but there are just as many down-home establishments cooking fried chicken the classic and simple way like I remember it from Tom’s table. I love that there are families like mine where fried chicken is a weekly occurrence.

I am a firm believer that fried chicken is here to stay. It is timeless, and a favorite in kitchens around the world. Living, breathing, and eating all things fried chicken to create the recipes in these pages would not only make my grandmother Tom proud, but the process has also opened my eyes and my table to a new realm of the world’s favorite food. My hope is that you’ll also discover new and exciting flavor combinations, techniques, and serving ideas that will become regulars at your family table for years to come.

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Sweet and Tangy Fried Chicken

4 cups apple juice
1⁄3 cup kosher salt
2 red chile peppers, sliced
1 white onion, sliced
2 cups ice
1 chicken (about
2 pounds, 12 ounces),
cut into 10 pieces
(see page 7)
Lard, for frying
2 cups Southern self-rising flour, homemade (page 17) or store-bought (such as White Lily brand)
2⁄3 cup sorghum flour
11⁄4 teaspoons ground chipotle chile powder
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup milk
1 egg



Every now and then I land on a dish with a seemingly magical combination of spice, sugar, and zing—a dish where every bite ignites a spark of pure eating pleasure. I maintain that this is one of those dishes. When I want to bring a tangy, sour note to the flavor party, I like to serve the chicken with spicy pickled okra or pickled cherry peppers on the side. Look for sorghum flour in specialty grocery stores or gluten-free sections of larger markets.  Serves 6
To make the brine, in a small saucepan, combine the apple juice
and kosher salt, bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the salt is completely dissolved. Add the chile peppers and onion. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the ice. Let the brine sit until cooled and the ice has melted,
about 10 minutes.

Combine the brine and the chicken in a large bowl, submerging the meat. Cover and chill for 12 hours.Remove the chicken from the brine and place on a paper towel–lined plate, discarding the brine. In a deep fryer or large, deep stockpot, heat the lard over medium-high heat to 365°F. It should be 3 inches deep when melted. Set a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.
In a bowl, whisk together the self-rising flour, sorghum flour, 1 teaspoon of the chile powder, the salt, and pepper and in a second bowl, the milk, egg, and remaining 1⁄4 teaspoon of chile powder.
Dredge each chicken piece in the flour, dip in the milk mixture, and dredge in the flour again. Once all of the pieces are coated, carefully place them in the hot oil. Depending on the size of your fryer, you may need to fry in two batches. Fry for 13 to 15 minutes, or until dark brown and juices run clear. Maintain a frying temperature of 325°F to 340°F. Drain the chicken on the wire rack.

Table of Contents

Introduction 
Fried Chicken 101 

Chapter 1 Skillet Fried 
Chapter 2 Deep Fried 
Chapter 3 Combination Fried 

Acknowledgments 
About the Author 
Index
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