58limited
Well-known member
Sam,
Tobacco or Tabasco?
Tobacco or Tabasco?
Fried Chicken
- Thread starter mikeklondon
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whirlcool
Well-known member
Yes, Leaf is a brand name of a lard product, rather than a type of lard.
I hate to disagree
Allen, but to my knowledge, leaf lard is lard from the back, and is considered to be high quality.
Brands of lard here in the US include Armour Manteca, and Morrell SnoCap, both of which I find to be inferior. Furthermore, they both have transfats, the absolute worst a person could consume.
I have fried chicken, more than once, but I'd rather go to one or the other of two locally owned restaurants for fried chicken.
Lawrence/Maytagbear
Allen, but to my knowledge, leaf lard is lard from the back, and is considered to be high quality.
Brands of lard here in the US include Armour Manteca, and Morrell SnoCap, both of which I find to be inferior. Furthermore, they both have transfats, the absolute worst a person could consume.
I have fried chicken, more than once, but I'd rather go to one or the other of two locally owned restaurants for fried chicken.
Lawrence/Maytagbear
norgeway
Well-known member
Leaf Lard..
Is the finest lard, mostly what your Grandmother rendered in an iron pot and stored in big buckets! The secret is....Believe it or not, killing the hog in the correct sign according to the Almanac, have you ever bought bacon that fried perfectly, and then bought the same brand and it didnt...same with lard, the old folks would never think of killing a hog unless it was the right time of the moon!, Laugh if you want to, but it works!
Is the finest lard, mostly what your Grandmother rendered in an iron pot and stored in big buckets! The secret is....Believe it or not, killing the hog in the correct sign according to the Almanac, have you ever bought bacon that fried perfectly, and then bought the same brand and it didnt...same with lard, the old folks would never think of killing a hog unless it was the right time of the moon!, Laugh if you want to, but it works!
perc-o-prince
Well-known member
set crust and greasy chicken
IIRC, and with all due respect, the greasyness from the low temp is because the heat of the oil is no longer sufficient to keep the liquid from the chicken pushing out, thereby letting the oil in. No matter how set the crust is, if that temp drops, the oil's gonna permeate.
Chuck (now craving GOOD fried chicken but would settle for chicken fried steak!)
IIRC, and with all due respect, the greasyness from the low temp is because the heat of the oil is no longer sufficient to keep the liquid from the chicken pushing out, thereby letting the oil in. No matter how set the crust is, if that temp drops, the oil's gonna permeate.
Chuck (now craving GOOD fried chicken but would settle for chicken fried steak!)
danemodsandy
Well-known member
Kelly:
"My father didn't allow Chicken in the house"
Something tells me your father had some responsibility on a chicken farm or ranch when young.
My grandfather also didn't want chicken in the house - he'd dealt with helping his father raise chickens every day until he left home, and he was good and dang-blasted if he was going to have anything to do with them after that. My grandmother loved chicken, but pretty much the only time she got it was when she was in a restaurant or someone else's home.
"My father didn't allow Chicken in the house"
Something tells me your father had some responsibility on a chicken farm or ranch when young.
My grandfather also didn't want chicken in the house - he'd dealt with helping his father raise chickens every day until he left home, and he was good and dang-blasted if he was going to have anything to do with them after that. My grandmother loved chicken, but pretty much the only time she got it was when she was in a restaurant or someone else's home.
You can render your own lard from pork trimmings. It's some work but it's worth it if you can't find a good source of lard. Try Latin American markets if there are any in your area; they use fresh lard in a lot of their cooking like tamales and moles.
Some of you might have had parents like mine that saved all their bacon grease in a tin coffee can. Now's the time to use it. Half bacon grease(filtered) and half peanut oil is a good frying medium. The reason you don't want to fry at 400 degrees is that the chicken will be too dark on the outside and undercooked on the inside. And like Minnie in "The Help" you don't want to see no pink. 375 degrees is a good place to start and Laundress is absolutely correct when she says to allow the chicken to come to room temperature.
The Southern woman who taught me how to fry chicken used our heavy large enameled cast-iron casserole, filled it a little less than 1/2 full with fat (about 1 1/2 inches deep) and covered the casserole between turnings of the chicken. Mae was clever enough to use the Sensi-Temp burner on our stove; here's where the Sensi-Temp feature was really useful because I don't remember her using a grease thermometer. She set the burner to 375 and trusted it to do its job. She'd wash an dry the chicken then salt and pepper it and dredge the pieces in a mixture of flour and Lawry's seasoned salt. Then she'd let the chicken sit for 30 minutes (I guess she was letting the chicken warm to room temperature). She'd fry each side 2 times. The fat was never reused. Some people marinate the chicken in buttermilk overnight, but I've had chicken that was bought and fried the same day and can't really tell the difference if they're both done competently. It's really hard to beat a fried chicken dinner.
Some of you might have had parents like mine that saved all their bacon grease in a tin coffee can. Now's the time to use it. Half bacon grease(filtered) and half peanut oil is a good frying medium. The reason you don't want to fry at 400 degrees is that the chicken will be too dark on the outside and undercooked on the inside. And like Minnie in "The Help" you don't want to see no pink. 375 degrees is a good place to start and Laundress is absolutely correct when she says to allow the chicken to come to room temperature.
The Southern woman who taught me how to fry chicken used our heavy large enameled cast-iron casserole, filled it a little less than 1/2 full with fat (about 1 1/2 inches deep) and covered the casserole between turnings of the chicken. Mae was clever enough to use the Sensi-Temp burner on our stove; here's where the Sensi-Temp feature was really useful because I don't remember her using a grease thermometer. She set the burner to 375 and trusted it to do its job. She'd wash an dry the chicken then salt and pepper it and dredge the pieces in a mixture of flour and Lawry's seasoned salt. Then she'd let the chicken sit for 30 minutes (I guess she was letting the chicken warm to room temperature). She'd fry each side 2 times. The fat was never reused. Some people marinate the chicken in buttermilk overnight, but I've had chicken that was bought and fried the same day and can't really tell the difference if they're both done competently. It's really hard to beat a fried chicken dinner.
mrb627
Well-known member
Crispy
I believe to get the crunchy skin, add some corn starch to the flour mixture.
Malcolm
I believe to get the crunchy skin, add some corn starch to the flour mixture.
Malcolm
*Ahem* Once Again
Crisco helps....
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Crisco helps....
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Crisco'll do you proud everytime.
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Trans-fat rich Crisco of the 1970's: paving the way for massive heart attacks for decades thereafter...
Interestingly, a substance called lard oil (which I assume is the oil left over after extracting inedible lard) used to be a favored lubricant for machining metals. It has fallen out of favor but I'm wondering if the 40 lb lard box I've had for the past 10 years or so in the pantry has developed a surface layer of oil yet... lol...
: paving the way for massive heart attacks for decades there
Actually that die was cast during the post WWII boom years. There was a good PBS program about diet and other changes after the war and how it affected American's health.
For one thing red meat, and lots of it was eaten in large amounts not just by men but everyone else. Of course this varied by economic level and some other factors, but many Americans were feeling flush after the war and that often translated into what made it on to dinner tables and or what was eaten in restaurants. Just look at all those vintage broilers, rotisseries and so forth for grilling, cooking and otherwise cooking beef.
The other thing of course was cigarette smoking which exploded during and after the war.
Servicemen had access during the war to cigarettes cheaply. The military felt they helped calm nerves and so forth. What also happened during that period is women in large numbers took up smoking, something perviously confined to "fast" women at least in public.
Actually that die was cast during the post WWII boom years. There was a good PBS program about diet and other changes after the war and how it affected American's health.
For one thing red meat, and lots of it was eaten in large amounts not just by men but everyone else. Of course this varied by economic level and some other factors, but many Americans were feeling flush after the war and that often translated into what made it on to dinner tables and or what was eaten in restaurants. Just look at all those vintage broilers, rotisseries and so forth for grilling, cooking and otherwise cooking beef.
The other thing of course was cigarette smoking which exploded during and after the war.
Servicemen had access during the war to cigarettes cheaply. The military felt they helped calm nerves and so forth. What also happened during that period is women in large numbers took up smoking, something perviously confined to "fast" women at least in public.
whirlcool
Well-known member
I hate to disagree
Allen, but to my knowledge, leaf lard is lard from the back, and is considered to be high quality.
You're right! I would never have guessed that. Why don't people attach a brand name to it while talking about it?
I knew a family that wouldn't have chicken in their house. The reason was strange.
The entire family was afraid of chickens! Like some people are afraid of mice. Very strange.
Allen, but to my knowledge, leaf lard is lard from the back, and is considered to be high quality.
You're right! I would never have guessed that. Why don't people attach a brand name to it while talking about it?
I knew a family that wouldn't have chicken in their house. The reason was strange.
The entire family was afraid of chickens! Like some people are afraid of mice. Very strange.
I need your help Paula Deen!
Yeh, my breading falls off in the frying pan! I need a LOT o' oil, then I gotta have more chicken, when I do add more oil & then get stuck w/ unused bread crumbs, flour & egg!
Practice makes perfect, and sooner or later I'll master the technique of the stove-top frying so that the chicken is still not raw or under-cooked (that got solved by placing in the oven & baking it the rest of the way so the coating doesn't get (more) burned or charred) after it's fried...
Thank you for the helpful tips...!
-- Dave
Yeh, my breading falls off in the frying pan! I need a LOT o' oil, then I gotta have more chicken, when I do add more oil & then get stuck w/ unused bread crumbs, flour & egg!
Practice makes perfect, and sooner or later I'll master the technique of the stove-top frying so that the chicken is still not raw or under-cooked (that got solved by placing in the oven & baking it the rest of the way so the coating doesn't get (more) burned or charred) after it's fried...
Thank you for the helpful tips...!
-- Dave
franksdad
Well-known member
I have two methods of frying chicken...
The method my Mama taught me and Paula Deen's method. For both methods I use Mama's well seasoned 70+ y/o cast iron skillet or Mama's 1970's Sunbeam electric skillet - depends upon how much chicken I'm frying. And like Whirlcool, I use peanut oil. For either method:
The night before salt your chicken generously, place in an airtight bowl, and refrigerate.
When ready to fry pour enough peanut oil (as michaelman2 said to cover approximately 2/3 of your chicken). Heat oil to 375 degrees.
For my Mama's method I pour self-rising flour in a ziploc bag along with plenty of fresh ground black pepper. Place chicken in bag and shake until coated. Place in oil and fry until, as my Mama told me, the frying begins to slow down. Check your chicken and if it is beautifully golden brown flip it over until it's done.
My version of Paula Deen's version is combine 1 egg, 1 cup buttermilk, and 1 Tbsp. Texas Pete hot sauce. Dip chicken in egg, buttermilk, and Texas Pete mixture. Roll in flour and fry.
I mostly use my Mama's method but occasionally I will fry chicken tenders or breast cutlets in Paula Deen's method.
Sounds like a fried chicken and gravy biscuit Sunday to me!
The method my Mama taught me and Paula Deen's method. For both methods I use Mama's well seasoned 70+ y/o cast iron skillet or Mama's 1970's Sunbeam electric skillet - depends upon how much chicken I'm frying. And like Whirlcool, I use peanut oil. For either method:
The night before salt your chicken generously, place in an airtight bowl, and refrigerate.
When ready to fry pour enough peanut oil (as michaelman2 said to cover approximately 2/3 of your chicken). Heat oil to 375 degrees.
For my Mama's method I pour self-rising flour in a ziploc bag along with plenty of fresh ground black pepper. Place chicken in bag and shake until coated. Place in oil and fry until, as my Mama told me, the frying begins to slow down. Check your chicken and if it is beautifully golden brown flip it over until it's done.
My version of Paula Deen's version is combine 1 egg, 1 cup buttermilk, and 1 Tbsp. Texas Pete hot sauce. Dip chicken in egg, buttermilk, and Texas Pete mixture. Roll in flour and fry.
I mostly use my Mama's method but occasionally I will fry chicken tenders or breast cutlets in Paula Deen's method.
Sounds like a fried chicken and gravy biscuit Sunday to me!
Other Way For Crispy "Fried" Chicken
Is to make batter and breaded chicken pieces in a convection oven. Do this most of the time now since fried foods are on so many person's hit lists.
Is to make batter and breaded chicken pieces in a convection oven. Do this most of the time now since fried foods are on so many person's hit lists.
> I knew a family that wouldn't have chicken in their house. The reason was strange.
The entire family was afraid of chickens! Like some people are afraid of mice. Very strange. <
I'm afraid of chicken too but for a very different reason.
Did anyone explain to this family they don't need to actually hunt down and kill chickens to eat them?
The entire family was afraid of chickens! Like some people are afraid of mice. Very strange. <
I'm afraid of chicken too but for a very different reason.
Did anyone explain to this family they don't need to actually hunt down and kill chickens to eat them?
