Buttermilk "Fried" Chicken

[Wanderlost]

Couldn't find a recipe that worked for us, so we finally adapted several, and created a delicious feast.

Marinade:
3 cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp black pepper
2 tsp cayenne pepper

4 pounds chicken, cut into pieces

1st dredge:
2 cups self-rising flour
1 Tbsp black pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp garlic powder

Binder:
4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp Tabasco sauce

2d Dredge:
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs

In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours or refrigerate for 4 hours.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, then add the buttermilk and pepper sauce.

In a large baggie or paper sack, blend the flour, pepper, salt and garlic powder. In another baggie or paper sack, place the bread crumbs.

Lift the chicken out of the marinade, let drip, then dredge in flour mixture. Remove, shake off excess flour, and coat in buttermilk/egg mix. Remove, let drip, then dredge in bread crumbs. Place on rack and let rest about 10 minutes.

Using a Charbroil Big Easy infrared fryer, stack the chicken pieces in the racks with big bone pieces toward the outer edges, and the breasts up top. Cook until done, about 75 minutes, depending upon weather. http://www.charbroil.com/catalog/product..../cat egory/143/

2d Method: Bake in oven at 350 degrees on a grill pan, so the bottom will crisp, too.

3d Method: Fry in peanut oil.

We used the first method, and it was delicious.

[Go_Dogs]

SWMO wrote:
I fry chicken much like old dog. I soak mine in buttermilk and drain it well before dipping in seasoned flour. I put it on a rack and let the buttermilk absorb the flour and I go through the flour again on the way to the frying pan.
I use a deep cast iron chicken fryer and add enough oil to come half way up the chicken. The biggest problem, and the one that sometimes gets me, is in maintaining the right temperature. I have an electric stove and that's not the best thing to fry chicken on IMO.

I have been using the NuWave induction cooktop-it gets hot enough to do a good job. Works well with cast iron.

[SWMO]

I fry chicken much like old dog. I soak mine in buttermilk and drain it well before dipping in seasoned flour. I put it on a rack and let the buttermilk absorb the flour and I go through the flour again on the way to the frying pan.
I use a deep cast iron chicken fryer and add enough oil to come half way up the chicken. The biggest problem, and the one that sometimes gets me, is in maintaining the right temperature. I have an electric stove and that's not the best thing to fry chicken on IMO.

[Go_Dogs]

Here's how I do it. Never had any complaints.
Now I use thighs, (personal preference). Get the chicken to room temp, pull the skin off. Be very careful with raw chicken!
Dredge in corn starch, dip in seasoned egg whites, dredge in seasoned self-rising flour with corn meal.
Fry in your big CAST IRON skillet with Crisco. Make sure the Crisco is hot before putting the chicken in. About 8 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels, and finish in a 350 oven.
Disclaimer: Fried chicken, (or anything that tastes good) is very bad for you. I never recommended that anyone ever eats this fried chicken!

[Greytruck18]

Makes me want some chicken...

[Ron3rd]

I wish you all the best Leo, you're a great member to have around.

[Leo_Benson]

BajaLinda wrote:
I just came across this again. I hope you are doing well now?

yes, thanks! treatment is done- no more cancer! in fact, I'm going back o school. Starting a doctoral program tomorrow. I'm job searching, too. I was fired two weeks before my last chemo for taking too much sick time to treat my two cancers.
I still have some troublesome after effects of treatment- taxol gave me whopping peripheral neuropathy. My hands ar extremely painful and numb at the same time- hard to hold a pen, type, drive, etc. Wakes me up crying at times, like there's a blow torch on my hands.

[BajaLinda]

I just came across this again. I hope you are doing well now?

[Leo_Benson]

BajaLinda wrote:
Leo, as much cooking as you do and keep the fat and calories down, I think you would love the big easy. I have one, hubby and I used all the time, hubby passed and I don't use it anymore. If you were in my vicinity I would just give it to you...My vicinity is Baja Mx. Ps We cooked roasts and hams and turkeys and other large meat. It all comes out delish!

Sorry for your loss, and thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to look at it more after a while (doing chemo now and feel yucky). Now that the kids are all in college it's just husband and me and while we are still "scratch" cooks, we aren't cooking for a bunch anymore. I still love to check out gadgets though!!

[BajaLinda]

Leo, as much cooking as you do and keep the fat and calories down, I think you would love the big easy. I have one, hubby and I used all the time, hubby passed and I don't use it anymore. If you were in my vicinity I would just give it to you...My vicinity is Baja Mx. Ps We cooked roasts and hams and turkeys and other large meat. It all comes out delish!

[SWMO]

It appears that you have a different basket than I do. I've had mine quite a while. I had to set a spring form ring in the bottom to raise the basket. This was a modification suggested by many to overcome a tendency to under cook the bottom inch or two. Apparently Charbroil has made a change. At any rate that is why I ask.
Thanks for the photos, those inner baskets look like something worth having.

[Wanderlost]

No, the big basket goes in normally. WLToo uses the bottom of it, then inserts the two smaller racks, like in this photo:



This is fuzzy, but shows how it was loaded:


Another with the chicken breasts on top:


And the final product:

[SWMO]

Wanderlust do you have your basket raised? If so does that effect the racks?

[Wanderlost]

I would think the Nuwave would work as well, Wanda. Same general principle.

Leo, in our Big Easy, we've cooked whole turkeys, whole chickens, roasts, kabobs, and chicken pieces so far. We'd like to try a goose, but haven't been able to get one around here.

[raindove]

This recipe definitely has me intrigued. Would using the Nuwave infrared oven do the same thing as the Big Easy? I like the idea of eliminating the grease.