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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Crispy Crunchy Fried Chicken

The inspiration for this meal was a bag of collard greens that my husband brought home from work.  His co-worker had been bringing these into work all week and everyone was quite excited to take a giant bag of "greens" home to cook for dinner or even breakfast.  My problem was, I had never even "seen" collard greens up close, let alone cooked them.  (Hey, I grew up in the north! lol)  So that was my challenge, to cook these collard greens in such a way that even our picky eater might just try a bite or two.

 
So tonight we made a very Southern meal of Crispy Crunchy Fried Chicken, Sautéed Collard Greens and Baked Corn Pudding.  You can't get much more Southern than that!  The recipe for the fried chicken was pretty simple and includes a mixture that I find works very well to help the coating stay stuck to the chicken.  A base of half and half (or you could use buttermilk) seasoned with lemon pepper, followed by a three part coating mixture of flour, to help the coating adhere and hold in the juices, cornmeal, for a touch of sweetness and a crispy crust, and panko crumbs for the crunchy factor. All of these combine to create a super crispy and crunchy exterior while the chicken juices stay in to keep the meat moist.

8 - 10  Chicken Drumsticks
1-1/2 cups  Half and Half  (or buttermilk)
2 tsp  Lemon Pepper
1 tsp  Kosher Salt
1 cup  Flour
1 cup  Yellow Cornmeal
1 cup  Panko Breadcrumbs
2 tsp  Kosher Salt
2 tsp  Ground Black Pepper
Oil for Frying

Rinse the drumsticks and pat dry with paper towels.  In a shallow bowl combine the half and half, lemon pepper and 1 teaspoon salt.  Add the drumsticks to the mixture and marinate for 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, panko crumbs, 2 teaspoons salt and pepper, and stir.  Using tongs, remove the drumsticks from the marinade one at a time, allowing the excess liquid to drain off, then dip the drumsticks into the flour mixture, and place the coated drumsticks on a platter.

In a large heavy-based skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot and shimmering, carefully add the drumsticks to the oil and fry for 6 - 8 minutes or until crispy, then turn the drumsticks over and cook for about 8 minutes longer, or until the juices run clear.  (You may need an additional 3 - 5 minutes if the drumsticks are a bit larger.)

Drain the drumsticks on paper towel lined platter, then serve.

2 comments:

  1. Definitely looks like some incredible fried chicken, yummy!

    Happy Blogging!
    Happy Valley Chow

    ReplyDelete
  2. I loved the crispy, crunchy texture of this chicken. I decided to try flour, cornmeal and panko together and I was thrilled with the results. Enjoy and thanks for visiting.

    ReplyDelete

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