Fried chicken is a summer time favorite and it is easy to make.

It’s all in The Pan

When making fried chicken I like to use my 12-inch cast iron pan. Cast iron holds heat better than other types of metal and so the oil will maintain its frying temperature better. This is important because when you add the chicken to the oil the temperature of the oil will drop. Cast iron helps get that oil back up to temperature fast and that will help your chicken look and taste better.

If you fry a lot of chicken and are interested in deep-frying it there are specially made cast iron pans called chicken fryers that are deeper than the usual cast iron fry pan. The sides on a standard fry pan are usually 2 inches deep but on a Chicken fryer the sides are 3-1/4 inch deep. That would give you a deep-frying effect. I like the standard pan because I prefer to pan fry my fried chicken.

Fried Chicken

There are those who like to soak their chicken overnight in buttermilk. I don’t do this but if you want to you can. The reason they soak their chicken is the enzymes in the buttermilk break down the chicken helping to make it tender and the buttermilk adds to the flavor of the chicken. The reason I don’t do this is because I usually forget to pick up the buttermilk when I’m at the store. If you are so inclined you can take your chicken, wash it well, and then put it in a bowl and cover it with buttermilk. Let it soak overnight or for at least 12 hours. If you want you can skip this step and go right on to cooking your chicken.

To make 6 servings of fried chicken you will need:

2 frying chickens cut into pieces

2 eggs

2 cups of milk

6 cups of flour

1 tablespoon of paprika

A dash of cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of pepper

Vegetable oil

1 Wash and then dry your chicken.

2 If you have soaked it in buttermilk just let it drip off a bit.

3 Mix the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper together and then separate into two bowls or plates.

4 Mix the eggs and milk.

5 Place the flour and the milk mixture on your counter in this order: Raw chicken, plate of flour, bowl of egg/milk mix, plate of flour and then a plate on which to  place the coated chicken.

6 Coat the chicken in the flour then in the egg mixture and then again in flour and then place it on the plate to rest. The chicken should move in one direction only.

7 Pour enough vegetable oil into the pan to come up about a quarter of an inch. A little more is ok but not less.

8 Heat the oil over a medium flame to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t have a thermometer handy you can take a little of the flour and moisten it with some egg. Drop the dough into the oil. If it sizzles and starts to fry your good to go.

9 Place the chicken into the oil making sure you give the pieces plenty of space. #Cook skin side down first. Cook about 12 minutes per side. You’re looking for an internal temperature of 180 degrees.

10 Let the chicken cool and drain on a rack before serving.