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frying question

18 years ago

Tonight I fried food for the first time since I can remember! I can't eat like this all the time, but it was great! I decided to try some tips that I got from this forum on fried chicken.

The tips that I used were to start with very cold and dry chicken. Dredge in flour. Dip in egg and milk mixture and then roll in bread crumbs. Cook in enough oil to cover half of the chicken and turn as little as possible. I usually bake chicken, so this was my first time really frying it. Let me just say that it went a LOT better than the time I tried to fry ice cream!

The only problem is that I didn't know how hot to get the vegetable oil. What temperature should it be? I have a digital thermometer that I DROPPED in the oil trying to see what temp it was. Obviously, I never found out. Surprisingly, the chicken does not taste like melted plastic! The breading got brown very fast, but the inside of the chicken was only at 110 degrees. I took the drumsticks out of the oil and finished them in the oven.

While I was making a mess with hot oil, I decided to fry some potato wedges as well. I drained the oil off and rolled them in a little seasoned salt. Very good!

So, what temp do you have the oil when frying chicken? Thanks!

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Comments (4)

lindac
18 years ago
375.....but that's hard to maintain without an automatic temperature control fryer.
Linda C
acorn
18 years ago
I do it the old fashion way drop a cube of bread in the oil and when it fries the oil is ready. The hard part, like Linda c said is keeping the oil at temp. I have a cast iron chicken fryer and it keeps the heat far better than stainless steel.
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obxgina
18 years ago
I drop a droplet of water, when it sizzles,it's ready. I use Crisco shortening instead of oil. It's a rare treat in our family, but oh so worth it! I also have my chicken cold and dry. dredge in flour, egg wash with a little hot pepper sauce and then flour again. I place the prepared Chicken in the fridge while the shortening heats and I clean my mess! You could also try an electric wok, this works very well. Paula Dean soaks her chicken pieces in egg, milk and lots of hot sauce overnight before coating. Never tried it that long, but I may try it this weekend! Gina
Lars
18 years ago
I have a thermometer that has a clip on it so that it will stay in place, but it's not digital - it's a candy thermometer. Still, it works great for frying, and I fry at between 350Â° and 380Â°. I never let the oil get below 325Â°, or else the food will get greasy, and so it's important not to put too much food in at once. The more oil (or deeper), the less it will be affected by the introduction of food.

For chicken, I always soak it in buttermilk first.

I fry quite a few things, and I generally use a wok for most of them, but then I usually make either tempura or empanadas I save the leftover oil for making popcorn, which I also make in the wok.

Lars

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