You’ve heard me say it before: I love fried chicken (in moderation, of course). But the chicken recipe’s got to be worth it. To me, the perfect fried chicken is nice and batter-y, is organic, has its skin on, and is good and crispy. If I have to eat fried chicken out, KFC original recipe is just the thing. So it makes sense that in the search for perfect homemade fried chicken, I started with that recipe—which I found in the cookbook that my husband brought into our marriage (and is the item of most value, also): Top Secret Recipes: Creating Kitchen Clones of America’s Favorite Brand-Name Foods, by Todd Wilbur.
The secret to KFC’s mystery spices? MSG (monosodium glutamate). Sorry, you won’t find that here. Buttermilk? Forget about it. I’ve tried cooking chicken with and without, and I don’t think buttermilk makes enough of a difference to be worth searching it out. And it’s hard to find organic buttermilk anyway. Brining? No way. Who’s got the time and patience for that? So not only is this recipe delicious, but it’s easy and quick, too.
Maria’s Fried Country Chicken
Ingredients:
1 egg
2 cups milk
4 cups flour
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
3 cups olive oil
1 whole organic chicken, with skin, cut into pieces (you can cut the breasts in half, too, if you want)
Directions:
1: Put the egg into a bowl and whisk it. Add the milk and whisk until smooth.
2: Put the flour, salt, and pepper into another bowl and stir them together.
3: Put the olive oil into a giant cast-iron skillet on the stovetop, and turn the heat on high.
4: Dip each chicken piece in the milk-and-egg mixture, then roll gently in the flour mixture—trying to get as much batter on it as possible.
5: Gently put the pieces in the hot oil and cook for about 10 minutes; turn them over and cook the other side for 10 minutes. You can cover the skillet or leave it uncovered. Part of the KFC secret is deep frying in a pressure cooker to retain moisture. That’s too much work for me.
6: Use tongs to gently remove the chicken pieces from the skillet and let them rest on a paper towel–coated platter (to absorb the excess oil).
7: Enjoy!
You can make this recipe without the skin, but you lose some of that chicken-y good flavor. I have yet to be brave enough to fry it up using lard, but you can bet it’s on the list!
Also, if you want extra crispy batter-y coating, you can double-dip (that’s the good kind of double-dip, not the economic depression kind). Instead of just one round of milk, egg, and flour, do it twice. But make sure to use less salt if that’s the case; otherwise it gets too salty. It’s always better to have less salt than too much, because you can always add it at the end.
I am so digging this video thing, Maria! It’s great having you take us through this simple recipe. Even I, a cooking impaired individual, can do this. Yes!
It’s morning and you are making me hungry. What do you do with the oil after your done? Could you make some fried green tomatoes in the same pan?
Thank you Maria! I enjoyed your video.
I don’t like to fry anything,but love fried chicken. We use lemon juice and salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and paprika,and grated ginger, marinate chicken for one hour, dip chicken in egg mix, then roll in seasoned flour( add same spices above except for the lemon and ginger) and fry. My background is Pacific Islander/Italian/Portuguese….
I do like the American version though!
Your idea to include video is perfect! Thanks a bunch! Love the web site.
Love this! Love getting to eat the DELICIOUS fried chicken even more 🙂
Great Video!
No MSG
No Corn
Just Goodness
Organic Fried Chicken !
Hello there, You’ve done an incredible job. I’ll certainly digg it and individually suggest to my friends. I’m confident they’ll be benefited from this site.
If you are trying to get the KFC fried chicken of yesteryear, it’s not happening because the Colonel took that secret to the grave. The KFC fried chicken of today doesn’t taste, smell or look like the one of old. I don’t like today’s KFC chicken. Tasteless, but crisp!
Try frying in Peanut Oil like we do in Southwest Louisiana