Mustard, chili oil, and vodka — these are just some of the
spectacular ingredients that will give your fried chicken a real kick!
Fried chicken experts know it's not southern fried if there's no buttermilk
in the batter. Buttermilk gives any recipe a little bite and is a rich alternative to
milk. It's used to drench the chicken before coating it in whatever breading you're using.
Unless you use buttermilk regularly, you might not have it stocked in the
refrigerator on fried chicken night. No worries. There are some substitutes
you can use for buttermilk that you're more likely to already have.
Two of the most common options are vinegar and milk or lemon juice and milk. Either one
helps to "sour" the milk and make it taste like buttermilk. You can also try yogurt or sour cream.
Just thin them out a little with water and you'll have a concoction similar to
the real thing. If you're usually in a hurry to make dinner — as many of us are — consider
keeping powdered buttermilk in your pantry for such emergencies. It's super handy,
and you'll be more likely to try your hand at some new recipes when it's always available.
"You're up Mr. Buttermilk."
If you like an extra crunchy piece of fried chicken, then you'll enjoy adding a secret
ingredient to the recipe. With the simple addition of cornstarch mixed into your flour,
not only will your chicken don a beautiful brown color when fried,
but you'll also enjoy an unapologetic crunch that you can't get with only flour.
Use a 50-50 ratio of flour and cornstarch, then add your other ingredients as usual.
Don't confuse cornstarch with corn flour and accidentally add the wrong thing. There are many
types of flours out there to keep track of. Corn flour is simply ground corn, and the result is a
yellow, flavorful flour. Cornstarch, on the other hand, is ground corn with the proteins removed,
leaving the starchy part of the corn to be finely ground into a white, flavorless powder. The lack
of flavor allows the chicken to shine without interruption. Corn flour works just fine for your
chicken, but it will alter the taste and prevent you from getting the crunchy result of cornstarch.
No cornstarch on hand? No problem. You can substitute cornstarch with arrowroot, rice flour,
and even tapioca. However, you may not get the brownness that you would with actual cornstarch.
The corn gives the chicken an extra bit of color that other flours and starches can't provide.
Chicken is usually fried in oil because it works well. However, oil doesn't taste all that great.
Invite some butter to the skillet and watch the flavor explode. Butter brings salty goodness to
everything it touches and is simply irreplaceable. Feel free to use a fancy butter brand if you're
feeling adventurous, or just grab your regular old butter when using it to fry chicken.
Now that you're on board with using butter,
let's discuss how to go about doing so when frying chicken. One of the biggest
mistakes people make when using butter is forgetting that it has a low smoke point,
meaning it burns when overheated. That's why combining butter with oil works perfectly.
The oil doesn't burn as easily and protects the butter from burning. Still, keep the heat
low and always keep butter moving around in the skillet to help prevent a smoky mess. Butter will
not only add flavor, but it will also give your fried chicken a beautiful golden-brown coating.
You don't need anything fancy here. When it's time to buy parmesan for frying chicken,
grab the grated stuff in a green can that you would use to shake on top of
your spaghetti. Fresh parmesan will melt and won't give you the crispy skin you're looking
for when frying chicken. Instead, you'll have a gooey mess. Tasty, sure, but gooey.
Using parmesan to create a crunchy coating isn't anything new. You've probably enjoyed
parmesan-crusted tilapia or salmon before. Parmesan does the same thing to chicken,
providing a crunchy coating with a slightly sharp flavor. Toss some
parmesan into your flour mixture along with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Use the mixture to coat the chicken after you've dipped it in the milk, buttermilk,
or whatever you're using to drench it. You can also sprinkle some parmesan on
the chicken immediately after frying so it sticks nicely and adds an even stronger parmesan flavor.
You're frying anyway, so why not throw in some onion rings? Even if you don't want to eat them,
adding sliced onions to the oil while it's frying only gives the chicken more flavor. With so many
kinds to choose from, make sure you use the right type of onion when cooking your fried chicken.
Some varieties are sweeter, milder, or more pungent than others,
and you'll want something that can complement the chicken without
overwhelming it. A good Vidalia or yellow onion should do the trick.
Slice your onion into rings and fry them up alongside the chicken. Be sure to add
them closer to the end of fry time if you like a little snap to your onions,
as prolonged cooking will make them soft.
Oil helps caramelize the onions so they'll turn out absolutely delicious. This requires
very little effort aside from moving them around in the pan so they don't burn. Serve your onions
on top of the chicken, on the side, or simply enjoy the flavor they've given to the meat.
"Onion god, thank you for these onions."
Vodka has a secret: It knows how to make crispy,
crunchy fried chicken. Due to the alcohol in vodka, it evaporates quickly — unlike
other moisture used to marinade or dredge the chicken before it fries.
The quick evaporation results in fried chicken that isn't soggy. The vodka batter
loses moisture at a faster rate than water and you're left with a bubbly,
crunchy, browned piece of fried chicken. Yum.
There are plenty of other culinary uses for vodka as well,
such as flaky pie crusts and creamy pasta sauces. For chicken, though,
just add some vodka to the mixture that you're using to drench the meat,
or you can use it as the liquid in your marinade. Coat with the breading as usual and fry it up.
During the cooking and evaporation process, the flavor of the vodka mellows dramatically so you
aren't left with a piece of chicken that tastes like vodka. Keep a bottle in your refrigerator
or freezer so it's cold and ready to go in any recipes that require flakiness or crunch.
Fresh herbs add a little color, beautiful aromas, and fantastic flavors to your fried
chicken. Mix them in with the batter before frying or sprinkle them on at the end. Some
great options for fried chicken are thyme, rosemary, oregano, and basil.
Be sure to refrigerate your herbs for maximum flavor when not using them. Herbs look lovely
on the counter but it's frustrating if you're in the middle of cooking and grab a handful of
wilted greens. You can also substitute fresh herbs with dried ones, which are far easier to store and
keep for much longer. You may just need to add a little extra since the flavor isn't as strong.
For a subtle hint of herbs, sprinkle your favorites into the flour mixture so they
coat the chicken. For a stronger taste, near the end of frying, sprinkle each piece with
your herbs after the chicken is nice and greasy so you really taste them when you bite into it.
Paprika not only adds beautiful color to everything it touches,
but it's hard to get such a flavor from anything else. It can be sweet or hot
depending on which type you choose, and it always has the perfect amount of subtle,
smoky flavor. It also looks pretty, but there's so much more to know about paprika.
For example, did you know paprika is good for you? According to WebMD, it's rich in calcium,
potassium, and phosphorous, along with other vitamins and minerals. Sure, paprika
won't turn fried chicken into the next health craze, but it certainly won't hurt it either.
It's important to remember that paprika's flavor intensifies when it's heated in oil,
making it the perfect companion when frying. As with most spices used for fried chicken,
you can sprinkle it in the skillet with the oil or add paprika to your flour mixture to
coat the chicken pieces. Enjoy richly colored, flavorful fried chicken with this gorgeous spice.
Lemon juice tenderizes meat and adds a wonderful lemony flavor to any dish. Your
fried chicken will thank you when you let it soak in some lemon juice and seasoning
before frying. Of course, it's best to use fresh lemon for the ultimate lemon flavor.
Whatever form your lemon juice takes, if you're using it for a marinade, soak your chicken pieces
for a couple of hours before coating them in flour and frying them. According to Livestrong,
any longer than two hours will ruin the chicken's texture. The lemon's acid tenderizes the meat,
but it can break it down too much if it's soaked too long.
You can also zest a lemon into your flour mixture for crunchy, lemony fried chicken.
Or sprinkle some zest onto the chicken when it's hot and greasy out of the fryer.
"Mmm. That is good. Is that lemon zest?"
Mustard tends to play second fiddle to ketchup, getting lost in the condiment
mix. But it's time for ketchup to step aside. Sure, it's great on a hot dog,
but it can't do to chicken what the powerful little mustard seed can.
Once you add mustard to your fried chicken recipe, you'll never go without it. It adds
an extra layer for the flour to cling to, as well as that tangy flavor that
only mustard can provide. And it's a simple additional step to the process.
Spicy brown mustard and yellow mustard are good choices for this, though just
about any mustard will work. You can even add a dash of garlic powder. Mustard not only adds
a wonderful tang to the chicken, but it also serves as a helpful aid in getting more of the
flour added to the chicken. More flour means more crunch, and that's always a good thing.
Kentucky Fried Chicken fans stand back. Karaage fried chicken is the chicken to try when you
want a superior crunch and intense flavor. You can experience this unique fried chicken
at home with a few ingredients, which create a yummy, Asian marinade and a starch for coating.
It's the potato or corn starch that makes Karaage fried chicken so unique. You can't
get the same impeccable crunch when using only flour. The reason is that
starch slows the development of gluten, which in turn makes a crispier coating,
per Rouxbe. Plus, because of its Japanese influence, Karaage chicken is drenched in
fabulous ingredients like ginger, soy sauce, and sake. Sometimes egg yolk is even included.
You may be used to American fast-food fried chicken and consider it your go-to,
but once you taste Karaage, you'll want it again and again.
Are you the spicy type? If so, you need to head to Nashville for some Nashville-style
hot chicken. Or, better yet, make your own hot chicken right at home. Line dancing
and cowboy boots are optional, but two things aren't — pickles and chili oil.
The chili oil is for drizzling and dipping when the chicken is done,
and the pickles are a tasty addition that get placed on top of each piece of deep-fried
goodness. You only need six ingredients to make chili oil at home: garlic, dried chiles,
habanero pepper, canola oil, Spanish paprika, and sea salt. The result is a deep red, spicy oil.
"Hot hot hot hot hot hot…"
In a saucepan or deep skillet you'll throw in all the ingredients, and on high heat,
the oil will shimmer. When this happens, lower the heat and let simmer for roughly 10 minutes.
Remove the spicy oil and allow it to cool for 30 minutes, then pour the mixture — minus the
solids — into an airtight glass container. You can keep this in the fridge for two weeks.