The Unique Method You Should Try For Tasty Fried Chicken
Fried chicken is known for its crackling, crispy skin, tender meat, and flecks of seasonings that you can taste in every bite, as well as the messy pool of grease that enhances the whole experience. And when it comes to making such fried pieces of goodness, various restaurants and seasoned home cooks pride themselves on their own unique techniques. Some swear by their seasoning mix or method of frying, like deep-frying, pan-frying, or oven-frying, per The Manual. Others are inspired by global cuisines, making the likes of fried tandoori chicken, chicken Milanese, or Kurdish fried chicken, per Food & Wine.
To make fried chicken damn near perfect, Taste of Home suggests using lard or peanut oil for frying, as well as a buttermilk soak for the chicken. And if you don't have a deep fryer, don't sweat it; just use a dutch oven since this vessel is a pro at trapping heat.
But next time you make fried chicken, try this popular method from a separate Food & Wine source, which is a fancier way of brining the chicken before frying.
The magic of sous vide
For those who don't know what sous vide is, it's a way of vacuum-sealing various ingredients, such as eggs, vegetables, pork, and lamb, and then cooking them at specific temperatures, which tend to be very exact and methodical, via Science Direct and Sous Vide Tools. The method also involves placing the vacuum-sealed foods inside a water bath, which can be done with or without a pricey sous vide precision cooker, per Martha Stewart.
But how does this method enhance fried chicken? Well, for starters, Home Kitchen Talk explains that chicken will end up more tender and evenly cooked, as the chances of overcooking such foods are pretty slim. Even better, when you add salt and any other seasonings inside the sous vide pouch (per Sip Bite Go), the chicken absorbs these like a sponge, which is kind of like a fancier version of a brine, as Food & Wine notes.
After the chicken grows tired of swimming in its water bath, the latter source suggests coating the chicken pieces with flour and buttermilk and then frying them for three minutes (though this time frame may vary depending on which recipe you follow). And always remember that the internal temperature of cooked chicken should be at least 165 Fahrenheit, via the USDA. With the sous vide method, you'll end up with more tender, juicy, and flavorful meat while staying true to the essence of fried chicken.