7 ways to get over your fear of frying chicken -- or anything else (2024)

With the Fried Chicken Festival coming up on Sunday (Sept. 25) in Lafayette Square, talk around the office turned to the best way to fry chicken. Two colleagues said they've never done it before. I checked with other friends and found they too felt intimidated by the process.

I was surprised. I thought most of us in South Louisiana grew up frying food. Homemade fried chicken was a specialty of both my mother and grandmother. They'd fry mountains of it for our big family.

They - and when I got old enough, I - would skin each piece. Then, it was dipped in flour seasoned with salt and pepper as well as onion and garlic powders; then a wash of beaten egg and evaporated milk, seasoned with a bit of cayenne or hot sauce; and then dredged in the flour again before being dropped directly into the hot oil.

The chicken wasn't skinned for health reasons. My grandmother would drop the skins in the hot oil and fry them until crisp. My theory was that she did this, so we'd snack on the skins and not the chicken as it came from the fryer. (I've been seeing "chicken skin cracklins" a lot around town these days. It always makes me think of her.)

We never ate chicken from a restaurant in those days. It was always fried at home. That crunchy, salty, hot chicken paired with my mother's cool, creamy potato salad was a Sunday supper treat.

When all eight of us were young, at Carnival time, the matriarchs would fry chicken in a huge, double-size Dutch oven. My father would have to pour out the oil once it cooled because the pot was too heavy for my mother.

I remember on Lundi Gras, my mother would stay up very late frying upwards of 50 pieces for our big family and friends to enjoy on Mardi Gras. (One year, to keep my brothers from getting into it, she wrapped the chicken tightly and hid it. They came home late Monday night, smelled that amazing aroma and went crazy looking for it.)

We'd go to Rex, sometimes jumping in the car to catch it second time, watch the trucks for a while and then head to Audubon Park for a family picnic.

Homemade fried chicken is such a happy part of my childhood memories, I'd hate for anyone to miss out, so here are my tips for getting over your fear of frying chicken, or anything else.

The key is to get the oil hot enough so the food fries crisply without absorbing too the oil. For chicken, shoot for a temperature between 360 and 375 degrees. The temperature may drop as cold chicken is added, so clip a candy or fry digital thermometer to the edge of the pot so you can watch and learn. With experience, you'll know when the oil is hot enough.

If you don't have a thermometer, drop a bit of flour in the oil. It should sizzle, but not burn immediately. Or, dip the edge of a piece of food in the oil; it should immediately and vigorously sizzle.

Food should sink a bit, but not drop to the bottom of the pot when added. It should float toward the top when it is about ready.

If the oil is smoking, it is too hot.

Another tip: Remove chicken -- or whatever your are frying -- from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before frying. This prevents the cold chicken from cooling the oil down too much.

A sturdy Dutch oven or a heavy-bottom pot are the best options for retaining heat and for safety. You want a pot that is wide and deep enough to allow space for the food and cut down on spattering. Also, a sturdy pot is difficult to tip over. Some people fry chicken in a cast iron skillet and there's nothing wrong with that, I just find it a bit messier than the deeper Dutch oven.

Add enough oil, so that the food can be covered by oil before it floats to the top. In a Dutch oven, depending on the sizes of the pieces, I put at least 2 to 2-1/2 inches of oil and no more than three or four pieces of chicken -- depending on the cut and size of the poultry -- in at a time. This prevents the temperature of oil from dipping and allows the pieces to cook evenly. It also allows room for turning the chicken, as necessary.

One friend told me her mother used to line the kitchen floor with newspaper when she fried chicken. I've never done that, but I do know firsthand what mess it can make.

An inexpensive frying screen can save you a lot of cleaning-up time because it cuts down on spattering, especially when you first add food to the oil. Drop in the food, place the screen on top and let it sit until the spattering calms down.

(If frying chicken skins, have the screen ready to top pot as soon as the fatty skins are added. They spatter a lot.)

Remove the skin from the chicken and - as much as it pains me to say this - discard it, or save it for frying. (Wash utensils, bowls and sink carefully to avoid cross-contamination.) Choose a healthful oil. Consider canola, peanut or vegetable oil first. If money isn't an issue, you can fry in olive (but NOT extra virgin) or sunflower oils.

Remove food with tongs, if possible. Allow excess oil to drip off. Then, place chicken on a rack lined with paper towels. The paper will soak up much of oil and by having it on a rack any lingering oil will drip away rather than pool under the food. Remove or replace paper towels as they become soaked in oil.

This is a tough one. To me, the batter is essential for great taste. I like to use buttermilk or evaporated milk and two eggs, but you could use 2 percent milk and add a single beaten egg. I use all-purpose white flour, but I have tried whole wheat and it's OK. Cornmeal mixed into the flour seems to help reduce oil absorption. Some folks add a 1 teaspoon of baking powder to the flour, which is supposed help prevent oily chicken.

I've tried the method of putting chicken in a bag with the flour and shaking it to lightly coat it, but I like the coating to be thicker and sometimes even press it into the chicken rather than shake excess off.

Food usually floats to the top of the oil when it is nearly ready. It should be evenly golden brown, if battered. With chicken, I usually time the first piece, take it out and slice it open or stick a thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, just to ease my mind. Chicken should be 165 degrees to be safely consumed. Generally, white meat cooks faster than dark.

I'd recommend frying no more than three batches of chicken in the same oil. If frying multiple batches and chicken starts to get too dark before it is done, change the oil. Bits of flour fall into the bottom of the pot and burn, which can give the oil burned flavor.

And, hey, if you don't feel like being bothered with cooking, you can simply head to Lafayette Square on Sunday between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. and enjoy the live music and many fried chicken dishes at the festival.

You can find almost 20 recipes for fried chicken at NOLA.com/food, including one fromAustin Leslie of Chez Helene, Jacques-Imo's and Pampy's fame. Just type in the words "fried chicken" into the recipe name box in our search tool.

Here is a simple recipe.

Fried Chicken

Makes 4 servings

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 egg, beaten

2 cups evaporated milk

1 teaspoon hot sauce

8 pieces, two each of chicken breast, thigh and four legs skin removed

Vegetable oil

Combine flour, salt, pepper, cayenne, onion and garlic powder in a bowl. Mix well. Combine egg, milk and hot sauce in another bowl. Mix well.

Dip chicken in flour mixture, coating evenly. Shake off excess flour and dip chicken in egg mixture. Then, dredge chicken through flour again to coat well. (If chicken breasts are very large, I sometimes cut them in half before breading and frying.)

Heat about 2 to 3 inches of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven. Oil should be between 360 to 375 degrees throughout frying.

Add battered chicken in batches, being careful not to crowd the pieces.

Fry until golden brown, turning once or twice, about 12-15 minutes.

With tongs or a slotted spoon, remove each piece and drain on paper towel-lined rack. The internal temperature of chicken should be 165 degrees.

Allow to rest 5 to 10 minutes before eating. Chicken should be cool to the touch, but still hot inside.

Note: If you decide to fry the chicken skins, cut the bigger ones in two pieces. Fry them until a deep golden color. They will feel soft while still in hot oil, but will crisp once you put them on paper towel to drain.