Awesome Pan Fried Chicken From Cooks Illustrated Recipes

AWESOME PAN FRIED CHICKEN FROM COOKS ILLUSTRATED

Steps:

• Wash chicken. Pat dry and season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil over medium high heat. Add chicken skin side down. Cook for 6-8 minutes.
• Carefully flip chicken in pan, using tongs. (I find that a rolling motion, as opposed to a pulling or pushing, helps to get the chicken up without pulling off the skin.) Reduce heat to medium low. Add chicken broth. Cover pan and cook 15 minutes.
• Remove chicken from pan. Pour off broth into a bowl or saucepan for use in gravy. Carefully wipe out pan with paper towels.
• Add remaining tbsp of oil in pan. Place chicken pieces back in pan skin side down. Cook another 5 minutes.

BATTER-FRIED CHICKEN FROM COOK'S ILLUSTRATED

Steps:

• Whisk one qwt. cold water, salt, and sugar in large bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Add chicken and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to one hour.
• Whisk water, flour, cornstarch, pepper, paprika, baking powder, salt, and cayenne in large bowl until smooth. Refrigerate batter while chicken is brining.
• Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Remove chicken from refrigerator, pour off brine, and pat dry with paper towels.
• Rewhisk batter. Transfer half of chicken to batter. One by one, remove chicken from batter (allowing excess to drip back into bowl) and transfer to oil. Fry chicken, adjusting burner as necessary to maintain oil temperature between 300 and 325 degrees, until deep golden brown and white meat registers to 160 degrees, 12-15 minutes.
• Drain chicken on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet. Bring oil back to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken. Serve.
• Can reheat by placing chicken on wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and warming in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

SOUTHERN PAN-FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• The night before serving: Place chicken in a large bowl and set aside. In a large pitcher, combine kosher salt with 6 cups of water and stir until the salt has dissolved. Pour salted water over chicken pieces until they are submerged. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• In the morning, drain chicken pieces and rinse chicken and bowl. Return chicken to bowl and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
• About 1¼ hours before serving, combine the lard, butter and ham in a large heavy skillet. Cook over low heat, skimming as needed, until ham is lightly browned, 30 to 45 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove ham and brown bits from fat. Increase heat to medium high to heat the fat to 335 degrees.
• In a shallow bowl combine flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper; mix well. Dredge chicken pieces thoroughly in flour mixture, then pat well to remove excess flour. Working in batches (do not crowd pan), place chicken pieces skin side down in fat. Cook 8 to 10 minutes on each side, until chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Drain on crumpled paper towels. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold.