Southern Fried Chicken

Toast4532 · 28-09-2012 3:03pm #1

Hi all,

I need your help finding a recipe for southern fried chicken.

I have a family member who is looking for a good recipe for southern fried chicken, similar to what you get in a take away.

I don't eat SFC so I'm at a loss really as to what might go into the rub/batter.

I came across this recipe and was wondering, will it be anything like take-away SFC?

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/532647/southern-fried-chicken

I have seen other recipes, which use the same, or similar ingredients, so I am assuming it can't be too different from take-away's, though I am open to correction on that one.

I would appreciate any help with this, thanks.

syklops · 28-09-2012 3:07pm

This recipe is the real thing, having come from a friend's mother whose best friend was a true Southern Belle!
It is to serve 4 people using a medium sized chicken cut into 11 portions. Personally I took the easy way out and used two trays of thighs and drumsticks with good results.
Ingredients
Half cup of flour
1 desertspoon salt
3desertspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs beaten with a little milk added

Method
Preheat oven to 200c and have your roasting tray in it.
Inthe first bowl have the egg mix and in the second bowl have the seasoned flour
Dip each portion into the egg mix then into the flour mix.

Fry a few portions at a time until they are a light golden colour, then transfer to the oven. You may need to clean the pan and put in fresh oil halfway through if you are doing a lot. ( I reckon this would be a great party dish as you could do several trays at once in advance of guests arriving)
When all the portions have been lightly fried finish them in the oven, this would take about 40 mins depending on portion size. Test one portion to see if the meat is coming off the bone easily.( This is the cooks bonus)!
The American recipe reccommends serving this with mashed potatoes, gravy, peas and sweetcorn.
I found that any leftover portions were lovely cold and made a great Caesar salad the next day.

Toast4532 · 28-09-2012 3:11pm

syklops wrote: »

This recipe is the real thing, having come from a friend's mother whose best friend was a true Southern Belle!
It is to serve 4 people using a medium sized chicken cut into 11 portions. Personally I took the easy way out and used two trays of thighs and drumsticks with good results.
Ingredients
Half cup of flour
1 desertspoon salt
3desertspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs beaten with a little milk added

Method
Preheat oven to 200c and have your roasting tray in it.
Inthe first bowl have the egg mix and in the second bowl have the seasoned flour
Dip each portion into the egg mix then into the flour mix.

Fry a few portions at a time until they are a light golden colour, then transfer to the oven. You may need to clean the pan and put in fresh oil halfway through if you are doing a lot. ( I reckon this would be a great party dish as you could do several trays at once in advance of guests arriving)
When all the portions have been lightly fried finish them in the oven, this would take about 40 mins depending on portion size. Test one portion to see if the meat is coming off the bone easily.( This is the cooks bonus)!
The American recipe reccommends serving this with mashed potatoes, gravy, peas and sweetcorn.
I found that any leftover portions were lovely cold and made a great Caesar salad the next day.

Thanks so much, does it have the 'southern flavour' though?

Also, is olive oil or sunflower oil OK to use? Or is there another oil that should be used?

Big Nasty · 28-09-2012 3:14pm

I do it pretty much the same as above but I season the flour with cracked black pepper and chilli powder.

Curry Addict · 28-09-2012 5:44pm

ive made this a lot recently. this recipe works great

the batter...
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp ground dried herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage)
1 egg
1 cup of flour
whisk in water to get a thin batter consistency

for the seasoned flour:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano

dip the chicken in the batter and then dredge in the seasoned flour.
deep fry for 25mins at 160degrees.

foodaholic · 28-09-2012 5:46pm

Curry Addict that sound fab !
Would anyone have a good recipe for a baked version ( don't have a frier )

huskerdu · 28-09-2012 5:58pm

Have a look at this recent article in the guardian, i haven't tried it yet, but it might give you some ideas

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/sep/06/how-cook-perfect-southern-fried-chicken

Dizzyblonde · 28-09-2012 5:59pm

foodaholic wrote: »

Would anyone have a good recipe for a baked version ( don't have a frier )

I know this isn't the same thing but it looks good, I'm going to try it myself:

http://www.marthastewart.com/899786/buttermilk-baked-chicken

foodaholic · 28-09-2012 6:24pm

Thanks Dizzyblonde - will be giving that ago myself

Curry Addict · 28-09-2012 7:16pm

foodaholic wrote: »

Curry Addict that sound fab !
Would anyone have a good recipe for a baked version ( don't have a frier )

i think you could shallow fry my recipe, like as in browning your meat and then oven it for for 25mins :pac:

foodaholic · 28-09-2012 7:38pm

Its terrible gonna have to try both recipes

MrTsSnickers · 28-09-2012 8:38pm

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/southern-style-deep-fried-chicken-recipe/index.html

I've tried this several times and it's lovely every time. I would recommend leaving the chicken over night. I think it's from Nigella Express.

Toulouse · 28-09-2012 9:33pm

Saw this done as part of UKTV's Perfect series.

Thought it looked pretty good http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/649967

Seaneh · 28-09-2012 11:41pm

I reckon for proper southern fried chicken you have to go with buttermilk.

throw all your assorted chicken pieces into a ziploc bag, pour over enough buttermilk to coat it all and leave it in the fridge over night.

Next day, make a dredge with plain flour, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and whatever the hell else you want to throw in there and the secret ingredient, a few teaspoons of instant mash potato mix (trust me).

take your chicken, shake off the excess liquid, throw it through the dregde, dip it in more milk and then back in the dredge again and what's really important here is you want to get it into the fryer as quickly as possible as the longer it sits there and the dredge gets wetter and wetter it will be less crispy in the end.

do 5/6 pieces at a time, shake off the excess coating and into a deep fryer at 170c for 12-15 minutes (maybe even 20, depending on size) anc make sure to check the juices run clear (or the internal temp is at least 75c).

you can thank me later.

Now I want some, damnit.

sdp · 29-09-2012 7:02am

this is the one we use, baked or fried

4 chicken legs
4 chicken thighs
225g plain flour
2 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp cajun seasioning
1 tbsp sugar
2 eggs beaten
salt / black pepper
buttermilk
few hours before soak chicken in buttermilk, take out and pat dry
put flour,thyme,sugar/salt/pepper in freezer bag
add chicken, shake well,
take out and dip into beaten egg and then back into flour mix
when all done put into fridge for an hour to firm up
if deep frying heat oil to 170c and fry chicken for 15-20 mins, till cooked
if in oven pre heat to 160c put chicken on roasting try with rack, for 40mins or untill fully cooked,

cream sauce
2 tbsp oil/or butter
2 tbsp of left over flour mix
250ml full fat milk

heat oil or butter
add flour
cook over low heat for 1 min to cook out flour
whisk in milk bit at a time stirring well, untill thickened
add salt/pepper to taste

comes out well everytime

note: if you have no butter milk, just make a brine for chicken and it'll work just as well, soak as above, pat dry before coating

Seaneh · 29-09-2012 11:06pm

P.s.

Dried taragon or Fennel in that recipe i posted later makes it amazeballs.

Reindeer · 30-09-2012 1:07am

foodaholic wrote: »

Curry Addict that sound fab !
Would anyone have a good recipe for a baked version ( don't have a frier )

Southern Fried Chicken is only cooked in a deep fryer in restaurants. Most folks at home use a frying pan with enough oil(usually canola if it's oil) or Crisco(shorteneing) to soak half of it at a time and then flip it. Crisco/shortening is the only way to do it if you want it to truly taste like southern fried chicken. The Mexicans sometimes use beef shortening or a mix of it.

Do not use olive oil unless you happen to love the taste of it as it can be quite strong. And if you do use it, only use a small amount mixed with another oil as olive oil by itself can get a bit smokey if you run it too hot by itself.

As a Texan, we almost always use a touch of cayenne pepper and plenty of paprika, freshly ground black and white pepper, and garlic salt. You would add the seasoning directly to the meat and let it sit a few hours in the fridge to soak it in, and save half of it for the batter and dusting. You will also use an egg in the batter before it's dusted, with some folks adding a touch of buttermilk(You can make this at home with a touch of vinegar and lemon juice added to milk). The only herb I have seen used is Oregano.

If your chicken is fresh and not some cheapo Tescos that has been swelled up with sodium and water, well, you need to do that first. The single biggest mistake one makes in preparing chicken if it's fresh or 'natural' is not putting it in a brine first. You put mebbe 1/4 cup of salt into enough water to soak 4 servings of chicken in. Let it sit overnight, or maybe 8 hours, empty it, pour milk over the chicken and let it sit in the fridge another 3-4 hours. If it's the pre-brined cheap stuff(which I prefer as it saves a day of work), just take it out, put it in milk for a few hours before prepping it with spices and putting her right back in the fridge for as long as ya care(not too long - you don't want to cure it!). I have a Greyhound, so I boil the milk and add it to their food so as not to waste it. I also save the oil afterwards and slowly add it to her food here and there.

I have a friend that instead of adding garlic to the meat or mix, will add fresh chopped garlic to a thin amount of Crisco, fry it up until it's dissipated into the oil, add more oil, then add the prepped chicken. If you like Garlic - it's incredible.

Another friend of mine, whom makes the best smoked BBQ I have ever tried, uses bacon grease leftovers added to the fryer. Another friend adds Tobasco to the batter(which sort of makes it peppery, cayenney,and buttermilkish as Tobasco is very vinegery).

I like to add a slight touch of brown sugar myself in to the batter.

In the South, fried chicken is 99% prep and 1% execution.

Toast4532 · 30-09-2012 12:28pm

Thanks everyone, lots of great recipes to try out.

EZ24GET · 02-10-2012 10:21pm

My mother made very good fried chicken and all she did was flour it and fry it. Of course she seasoned it with salt and pepper, and used a big old cast iron skillet. She probably also used lard to fry it in. Back when the Colonel first started frying his chicken everyone used lard. She too was from Kentucky and lived not far from Corbin where he first started his chicken carryout. She would pour off most of the grease from the skillet, stir in a little flour to make a roux and after stirring the roux for a while till it "looked right" She'd pour in some milk, stirring so there weren't any lumps. Then she'd turn the heat down and let it cook until the flour no longer tasted raw. Served with big old biscuits and butter, mashed potatoes. and green beans we all felt treated to a meal fit for a king. The only thing to top it off was her old fashioned southern banana pudding. Layers of vanilla wafers topped with sliced bananas covered with hot vanilla pudding and topped with a sweet high peaked meringue browned just right.
I've tried many times to recreate this meal but never quite like or quite as good as hers.

VictorRomeo · 02-10-2012 10:26pm

I have Thomas Keller's 'Ad Hoc' Cookbook and within contains the recipie for the best fried chicken I've ever had.

The recipie is in the link below. It's very time consuming, but it's unreal!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32543431/ns/today-food/t/thomas-kellers-juicy-buttermilk-fried-chicken/

Reindeer · 08-10-2012 12:49am

Made a little vid of it today just showing it cooking. This time, instead of adding any hot sauce, I decided to try to spice it up with McCormicks Taco Seasoning. I recently got a bottle of the stuff and sort of use it as the Mexican version of boullion. http://www.amazon.com/McCormick-Taco-MSG-Seasoning-Mix/dp/B003OJ0MU2

Here's that vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGoSyJQQk24

rubadub · 08-10-2012 10:06am

Reindeer wrote: »

Southern Fried Chicken is only cooked in a deep fryer in restaurants.

The Italian style chippers here usually use pressure friers (and the OP is looking for takeaway style ones, which some might not like, but its what he wants). These pressure friers result in a chicken that absorbs less oil than they would in a normal deep frier. To mimic this they might be best using a combination of deep frying first, and then finishing in the oven. Maybe even wrapping in tinfoil before going in the oven to keep moisture in.

People go on about, or presume that takeaways are all greasy, but I get very large SFC breasts in my local takeaway and they are like roast chicken on the inside, not oily at all -and it is not that its overcooked or dried out. Some chippers will have it sitting about all day but the guy in this chipper seems to take pride in his food and I often have to wait 10mins to wait for fresh batches of chicken to cook.

Musgraves sell the SFC coatings in big sacks. I expect a chipper might sell you a bag if you asked nicely. I got a bag from a friend who worked in the deli section in a supermarket before.

This company sells coating to chippers
http://www.southernfriedchicken.com/brochures/ourfood/files/inc/18466953.pdf

The unique Southern Fried Flavour comes from our simple four step process. Fresh chicken is pre-marinated to ensure each bite is delicious right to the bone. Then, after a quick dunk in our but-mil dip we cover it in our premier breading. This is a blend of herbs and spices combined with the highest quality flour, and completed with our lemon pepper seasoning. This is ground pepper corns infused with lemon essence which makes our fried chicken taste that little bit better. It is then pressure fried to perfection and served up hot, fresh & delicious, everytime....

Because it’s pressure fried, Southern Fried Chicken is more tender, juicier, and tastes better than open fried chicken – and even better than other pressure fried chicken for that matter! Pressure frying seals in more of the natural flavours of the food and seals out more of the oil. Plus, pressure fried foods cook significantly faster, so you can produce more volume in less time.

They are then pressure fried to perfection.
Pressure frying ensures as little oil as possible is absorbed into
the product giving a delicious grease free product.

EZ24GET · 08-10-2012 6:21pm

Yeah it was pressure fryers Colonel Saunders first sold. Went around making "his recipe" for little restaurants to try. Truly though real southern fried chicken if cooked at home is fried in a big ole skillet not deep fried . I think one of the things you need to do these days is the brine. Chicken isn't treated well these days, They get a bruise and that leaves the blood close to the bone, need to be brined, In "the old days" you sent a child out to kill a chicken, There was a chopping block and the chickens were hung to drain. Sometimes they just wrenched their necks. The chicken was still bled, singed, plucked, cleaned. Young chickens were fried old were stewed with dumplings. Never frozen - thawed- refozen- was truly fresh. Nothing seems to taste the way it did as when I was a kid. People will tell you it's your taste has changed but that's not true. Had some beef that was from a field raised calf and it was just the same. Too bad most people here don't have a field and butcher shop handy to actually raise and slaughter a beef. It only leaves to the imagination what the future food supply may be for our children.

Southern Fried Chicken

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