The most interesting thing about food to me is the power it has to take you places emotionally. Food connects us with our family, friends, and even total strangers. The act of breaking bread in a communal setting has to go back to the beginning of our existence, or at least when we put down our clubs to picked up our tools. Everyone loves to eat, and for good reason, it keeps us alive! No wonder it makes us happy, who doesn’t like to be alive. Well, some people might not like it so well, but me, I love life and every opportunity a new day has to offer.
I’ve talked in previous posts about some of the dishes from my childhood that still get me excited to this day. This weeks recipe, however, is not one of those dishes, but it’s most definitely one of those emotionally powerful foods. My mother did not cook fried chicken so I had to learn to love it later in life. Which wasn’t much of a learning curve. If there is anyone on the planet who does not like a crispy on the outside juicy on the inside piece of fried chicken I have yet to meet them. There are a hundred ways to make fried chicken in an unhealthy way (KFC has mastered them all). So I take it as a challenge to capture all there is to love about a plate of home-fried chicken without compromising health in the process.
Sidebar: If you are anywhere, be it at someone’s home or a restaurant that is known for making killer fried chicken, dig in (when in Rome right). But, if you want to do this at home follow these strategies and you can have your fried chicken and eat it too.
In general, there are three elements that make most fried chicken a tasty but less than a desirable dish for the health conscious
- Cheap chicken – Restaurants are about profit and the cheaper the ingredients the better
- Bad oil – Again with profit in mind and a lack of knowledge about the molecular structure of fats, most chicken is fried in canola, corn, or soybean oil that is oxidized and rancid
- Wheat flour coating – I’m not saying everyone is sensitive to wheat but many people are
Here is my fix
- Pasture-raised chicken – It might cost more but it’s a real bird that forages for bugs and worms and has a much better nutrient profile than Foster Farms
- Avocado or coconut oil – Both have a high heat tolerance to take the burden of the frying pan without becoming oxidized
- Rice flour – I prefer it over wheat for the obvious gluten-free reason but also because to me it is has a lighter texture. Let’s Ea
Fried Chicken
- 8-10 pasture-raised chicken legs
- 1 1/2 cups white rice flour
- 2 cups avocado or coconut oil – I prefer avocado
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Black pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons celery salt
- Soup pot or large cast-iron skillet
- Wire rack set over a cookie sheet
Method
- Mix salt, paprika, and pepper together then season the chicken with it
- Put the rice flour in a plastic bag or large bowel and mix in the celery salt. Start with 1 teaspoon and add more if necessary. Taste the flour for seasoning. You are looking for a salt level similar to a cracker or crouton
- Heat the oil in the pot or skillet on medium-low heat
- When the oil is hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle its ready
- Drop 2 legs at a time in the flour and toss to coat evenly. Shake the excess flour off. Coat 4-5 legs (half the batch) then place them in the oil
- Your are going to turn the chicken 3 times total using the following guide
- 5 minutes on the first side
- 5 minutes on the second side
- 3 minutes back on the first side
- 3 minutes back on the second side
- You may find that you need to roll the chicken pieces on their edges to get a consistent brown color all around during the process but try to stick to the guide as close as possible
- Set the cooked chicken on the wire rack to crisp up while you cook the second batch
- Serve it up with some greens and your favorite starch
