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Best. Fried. Chicken. Ever.

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posted on May, 1 2013 @ 08:58 PM
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This is not my claim, but the claim of a friend of mine to whom I gave this recipe - and this girl plans her life around around the best food (we once had to go to a particular out-of-the-way movie theater because they have "the best popcorn." Even though they had crap seating and sound. Really.)

Disclaimer: this recipe is technically called "Judy Hesser's Oven Fried Chicken." I have no idea who Judy Hesser is but man she makes a good fried chicken.

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THIS RECIPE:

1) Soaking the chicken pieces in salted ice water, either overnight or all day, is a must. You cannot skip this step. The brining process flavors the meat and firms up the skin

2) Drying the pieces COMPLETELY before shaking them in flour is a must. Bust out the roll of Bounty. Dry skin prevents the coating from gumming up, resulting in a crisper crust.

3) Choosing the right cuts of chicken is important. I find drumsticks come out best, or drumsticks and thighs. Have never tried with breast meat but imagine it might require different timing and perhaps more butter. And obviously higher quality chicken yields higher quality food.

INGREDIENTS AND EQUIPMENT

8-10 drumsticks or thighs (basically as many as you want and can fit in the pan - adjust brining solution, flour and butter amounts up or down if doing half or double batches)
2 TBSP salt (preferably sea salt)
1/2- 1 cup or so of hot water
Big bowl - enough to cover all the chicken pieces in ice water. One that doesn't react to salt.
Tray of ice cubes
Several cups of cold water
2 TBSP butter (can use unsalted)
1/2 cup flour
An additional 1 TBSP salt (or less to taste)
1 tsp cracked black pepper (or as spicy as you like)
1/8 - 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

PREPARATION
Trim chicken of excess fat.
Dissolve the first 2 TBSP salt in hot water in a big bowl. Stir until dissolved.
Add cold water and the chicken pieces. Add a full tray of ice cubes and enough additional cold water to cover the chicken. Swish to distribute the cubes.
Refrigerate the bowl of chicken all day or overnight (at least 6-8 hours).

COOKING
When ready to cook preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Drain the chicken and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels.
Put 2 TBSP butter in a large baking pan (enough to fit one layer of chicken) and put into the preheated oven until melted.
In the meantime put the flour, salt, cracked black pepper and parmesan cheese into a large ziploc bag. Shake the well-dried chicken two or three pieces at a time. Shake off all excess flour.
Place the floured chicken, skin side down, onto the buttered, preheated pan.
Bake one side 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the pieces. Chicken is ready to flip when the skin facing down is a nice chestnut brown color.
Flip the chicken pieces when ready using a thin spatula and cook the other side the same way an additional 15 - 30 minutes depending on the size of the pieces.

FINISHING
When pieces are chestnut brown on both sides remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle with additional sea salt, pepper and/or other spices as desired.

Be in awe of the chicken awesomeness....

(Note: If you try this recipe please posts your results, whether good or bad)
edit on 1-5-2013 by otherpotato because: Asking for feedback



posted on May, 1 2013 @ 09:04 PM
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reply to post by otherpotato
 


MMMM fried chicken!

This sounds delicious!!

I haven't made fried chicken in years.

I will bookmark this and make it when I am not so pregnant and can move around in the kitchen.

I love fried chicken.....mmmmm.



posted on May, 1 2013 @ 09:12 PM
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Ok, I'm 4 months off 40 and only tried KFC twice in those years. Once when I was young boy second the other week...............yes sad.

I'm gonna try this for sure, there is something I don't like about kids fingering my chicken prior to eating it. Why do they have to employ kids? Anyway.

Thanks for the recipe.



posted on May, 1 2013 @ 09:17 PM
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reply to post by CaptainBeno
 


I strongly suggest to not go to KFC, it's really not that great.

I don't want to be racist to all other races but I have to say, black people usually make the best friend chicken.


PS : I'm white as snow and loooove chicken



posted on May, 1 2013 @ 09:27 PM
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reply to post by theMediator
 


I'm as white as they come too and I am not actually a big fan of fried chicken but I love this recipe. I only make it a few times a year.

My type of cooking was once classified as "peasant food." I embraced the term because I think it summarizes cooking with simple ingredients to achieve extraordinary results.

Oh and KFC isn't fried chicken - it's fast food! That's like calling a Big Mac a "burger."



posted on May, 1 2013 @ 09:30 PM
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reply to post by mblahnikluver
 


Someone needs to make you this chicken. You're pregnant - you deserve it!



posted on May, 1 2013 @ 09:31 PM
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Yummers. Sounds great, but oh so many steps. My grandma used to make the greatest fried chicken. Then I learned it was actually frog legs. It disturbed me greatly. I can't look at a fried chicken the same way again. I still eat chicken though.



posted on May, 1 2013 @ 09:47 PM
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I have no idea who Judy Hesser is but man she makes a good fried chicken.


This made me smile


I have chicken waiting for a recipe... gonna try it. Thanks.



posted on May, 2 2013 @ 12:10 AM
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Challenge accepted.

From the looks of the lack of frying oil, I find the title misleading.

A real fried chicken recipe will surely trump this shake and bake faux fried chicken. But since you are doing it via the oven...only a similarly cooked chicken would be fair.

Prep:
Soak the chicken in buttermilk overnight instead of the water. You can use sour milk if you don't want to buy buttermilk. Google making sour milk if you don't know how too. Should just be a measure of milk and a spoon of vinegar.

Cooking:
Preheat the same. Dry the chicken the same.
In 3 dishes... The first dish is seasoned flour. The second is a beaten egg. The third is the bread crumbs. Place chicken into each dish. (Drench chicken to coat in flour, dust off excess, then roll in the egg, shake off extra egg goo, then press to coat the crumbs) do this again if you want extra crunch (egg then crumbs).
Your cooking pan needs to have a layer of cooking oil (less than a 1/4 inch in depth).
Put coated chicken into pan. Bake and flip as the OP recipe calls for. Ensure the chicken is cooked all the way through.
If you like your chicken a bit salty, add kosher salt to the oil.

This works great on pork chops too.

...but I'll give the posted recipe a try. Making gravy from the drippings will be a huge plus IMO.

Only use dark meat. White meat, especially boneless, is too dry to maximize flavor.

edit on 2-5-2013 by ChuckNasty because: hwhite meat chicken warning


Edit-old tub of yogurt might work too.
edit on 2-5-2013 by ChuckNasty because: yogurt



posted on May, 2 2013 @ 12:23 AM
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reply to post by otherpotato
 


Sounds good, but your disclaimer is correct and title incorrect. There is no frying involved, it's baking.

Also on the brining step, 2 TBSP is very vague. It should be something like 30g salt to 1kg meat or something. And brines usually contain sugar but they don't have to. (it does make fried chicken taste better with the sugar in the brine, I've made fried chicken (that has been fried) using that sugar/salt brine. 2 parts salt, 1 part sugar.

Other than a lot of details not provided, I'm sure it is good... and more healthy than real fried chicken



posted on May, 2 2013 @ 03:04 AM
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I am going to challenge this based on just real facts. For all the work and time invested here, you have to do the most excellent job to get it to taste better than good old KFC regular (not that crispy crap) chicken, done the way it has been for many a year.
It may not be good for you, but we are talking about taste here, and there has never been (in my experience, anyway) a fried chicken that tastes that good, know matter what you can do at home.

So I will try your recipe just for the experience of always trying something new, but it is up against big competitive scrutiny, not to mention time, which many of us do not have. For total cost, considering your time is worth something, it is a break even, so it just has to be better. I doubt it, but will post my results.



posted on May, 2 2013 @ 05:14 AM
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posted on May, 2 2013 @ 06:25 AM
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Hi my absolute fav dish is fried chicken and sadly we try not to have it
that often because fried is fried .......
as incredibley finger licking good yummy it is
and always requested in my household it is only made at big occasions now. I will try this recipe
this weekend and post results here.
I have never made chicken in the oven except for shake and bake back in the day when I didn't have time to cook so this should be interesting.
I have never put grated cheese on fried/baked chicken either except for parm ..interesting.
I can recomend brining or marinating in buttermilk and a few dashes of hot sauce and seasoning over night
it really gets in there and makes it tender and flavorful.
Heres my last batch of fried chicken ... it was excellent not a piece left in the house (is drooling at 7:30 in the morning a bad thing)
I look forward to sharing my results thanks OP for the recipe!





posted on May, 2 2013 @ 11:43 AM
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Originally posted by theMediator
reply to post by CaptainBeno
 


I strongly suggest to not go to KFC, it's really not that great.

I don't want to be racist to all other races but I have to say, black people usually make the best friend chicken.


PS : I'm white as snow and loooove chicken


I love me some fried chicken too. KFC isn't great at all, the prices are outrageous for what you get. Popeye's is where it's at! I used to be afraid to go to Popeye's because I would be the only white dude there, but you know what -- no one cares! Good food brings people together regardless of race or ethnicity.

In the workplace I use food/cooking a subject of conversation all the time. Food is one of those subjects that isn't vulgar or inappropriate, and everyone can relate and discuss it.

I've always used Lawry's seasoned salt (in the red shaker) in my fried chicken recipes.

A couple tips for those using a deep fryer or a big pot with oil:

- Don't crowd the chicken in the oil. Every time you drop a piece in, it lowers the temperature of the oil. This is called "rebounding" because it takes a few seconds for the oil to get back to temperature.

- Halfway through deep-frying the chicken, use a two prong BBQ fork to prick each piece. This allows the oil to get under the skin and create a "Peeking Duck" effect. The skin will get very crispy

- Remember that everything deep fried will turn a few shades darker once it comes out of the oil.

- Word of warning: don't fill up your deep fryer or pot with sesame oil. Sesame oils is NOT ok to deep fry in, unless you want your home to smell like a Thai restaurant for weeks. (don't ask...)



posted on May, 2 2013 @ 11:47 AM
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reply to post by Philippines
 


You're obviously not American! I can tell because you are used to seeing recipes with weights instead of volume measurements.

When I bake or cook French recipes I have to use a kitchen scale because European recipes don't use terms like "tablespoon" or "teaspoon". It's always 25 grams or what have you.

Everyone should invest in a kitchen scale! The rest of the world cooks this way, and it creates a much more consistent result each time!



posted on May, 2 2013 @ 12:08 PM
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This looking amazing my friend!! I love fried chicken, but I seriously can't remember when I had it last? maybe last fall..I try and have it a few times a year, it's just so fatty.. But I like this how it's baked in the oven.. I will have to try next week for dinner..But FML does it ever look good, who ever posted the pic



posted on May, 2 2013 @ 01:21 PM
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Originally posted by MystikMushroom
reply to post by Philippines
 


You're obviously not American! I can tell because you are used to seeing recipes with weights instead of volume measurements.

When I bake or cook French recipes I have to use a kitchen scale because European recipes don't use terms like "tablespoon" or "teaspoon". It's always 25 grams or what have you.

Everyone should invest in a kitchen scale! The rest of the world cooks this way, and it creates a much more consistent result each time!


Lol! Great points! I am from USA, but have a good friend who is a european chef and teaches me a lot =)

It's funny when I get recipes from the US like "1 8oz can of whatever" and "1 packet of THIS BRAND seasoning". To me in the middle of nowhere I have to know how to do this from scratch and I have to figure out substitutes for a lot of things, or just experiment. It's good to know the basics

Thanks for the reply, I've learned a lot about living these last few years



posted on May, 2 2013 @ 01:29 PM
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reply to post by MystikMushroom
 


And thanks for the points on the frying, I will definitely try the peeking duck stabbing technique, the next rare time I deep fry here =D

To add, there have been many good comments in this thread about deep frying, something I really avoid doing because I don't like doing it.



posted on May, 2 2013 @ 01:33 PM
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reply to post by Philippines
 


Another tip I forgot...

If you are deep frying in a pot, invest in a splatter/grease shield. They look like a round screen that you place over the top of the pot. This prevents the grease from splattering all over. It keeps everything soooo much cleaner! I even use it over my frying pans when I'm searing stuff



posted on May, 2 2013 @ 01:39 PM
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Originally posted by MystikMushroom
reply to post by Philippines
 


Another tip I forgot...

If you are deep frying in a pot, invest in a splatter/grease shield. They look like a round screen that you place over the top of the pot. This prevents the grease from splattering all over. It keeps everything soooo much cleaner! I even use it over my frying pans when I'm searing stuff


Thanks for the tip, I'll ask my friend how to make one because I don't think that is sold here. I don't like to deep fry much, but it is done it a pot. Most people here just cook with wood and boil their food haha




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