Crispy Chicken Feet Recipes

CRISPY CHICKEN FEET

Steps:

• Prepare the chicken feet, washed and without the nails. Place these in a pot with ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and sili. Mix well and add enough water to cover the chicken feet.
• Place this on a stove at medium heat, let this boil and remove any floating scum. Let this simmer for 30 - 40 minutes. Take the chicken feet out and let it cool to room temperature or pat dry.
• For the batter; mix all purpose flour, cornstarch, pepper, salt, garlic powder, baking powder, chicken powder or chicken cube. Then add 2 eggs, add a tablespoon of water at a time till you get a thick pancake like texture. Coat the chicken with the batter.
• In a pan at medium high heat, add enough oil to fill the pan ¼ or 1/3 full. Add the chicken, flipping each side once it turns brown.
• Once all sides have browned, cool these on a rack to remove excess oil. Serve with spicy soy sauce.

CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Take your cut up chicken pieces and skin them if you prefer. Put the flour in a large plastic bag (let the amount of chicken you are cooking dictate the amount of flour you use). Season the flour with paprika, salt and pepper to taste (paprika helps to brown the chicken).
• Dip chicken pieces in buttermilk then, a few at a time, put them in the bag with the flour, seal the bag and shake to coat well. Place the coated chicken on a cookie sheet or tray, and cover with a clean dish towel or waxed paper. LET SIT UNTIL THE FLOUR IS OF A PASTE-LIKE CONSISTENCY. THIS IS CRUCIAL!
• Fill a large skillet (cast iron is best) about 1/3 to 1/2 full with vegetable oil. Heat until VERY hot. Put in as many chicken pieces as the skillet can hold. Brown the chicken in HOT oil on both sides. When browned, reduce heat and cover skillet; let cook for 30 minutes (the chicken will be cooked through but not crispy). Remove cover, raise heat again and continue to fry until crispy.
• Drain the fried chicken on paper towels. Depending on how much chicken you have, you may have to fry in a few shifts. Keep the finished chicken in a slightly warm oven while preparing the rest.

HOMEMADE CHICKEN FEET STOCK

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add chicken feet and boil for 10 minutes. This will soften them enough that you can chop off the claws from each paw. This opening is where the collagen melts out of which gives the stock its richness. Strain feet through a sieve, chop off claws, and set aside.
• Pour a layer of olive oil in the same pot and heat over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute an additional 30 seconds. Add feet back to the pot and fill with water until about 2 inches of water stand above the highest feet in the pot.
• Discard dark green portions of the leeks or set aside for another use. Slice up the light green portions; each stalk should yield 7 to 8 slices. Add to the pot.
• Combine parsley, peppercorns, thyme, marjoram, bay leaves, and rosemary on top of a piece of cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth up with twine into a spice bag, leaving a long string. Tie the end of the string to a pot handle (for easy retrieval later) and drop spice bag into the pot.
• Increase heat to high and bring stock to a rolling boil. Reduce temperature to low and simmer, without stirring, for about 8 hours, adding more water if level becomes too low.
• After 8 hours (or the next morning), drain the stock through a colander into another pot to remove large solids. Clean the first pot. Lay a piece of cheesecloth over a fine mesh strainer. Pour the stock through this setup and into the clean pot to remove any fine particles. Cool to room temperature.
• Cover and move to refrigerator to cool completely, 3 to 4 hours. Remove the layer of fat that will congeal on top of the stock with a slotted spoon. Taste and adjust salt level. Use within a few days or freeze.