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| Beer Batter Dipt Fried Chicken |
Just about the crispiest, juiciest fried chicken you’ll ever eat. Move over KFC!
I’ve never been all that successful with making REAL fried chicken.
Most of the time, the coating has fallen off but mostly, it was never completely cooked. I don’t much care for rare chicken and it’s not safe either. Not to mention that deep frying makes a LOT of mess and I really hate cleaning up after.
However, I have found not only the perfect chicken, but a good solution to the mess as well–I use a deep 5 quart dutch oven. There’s some splattering, but nothing like it is when I use my cast iron frying pan.
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| Can you say–crrrrispy? |
The batter is just about as simple as you can get. Flour, beer and seasonings. Period. But oh boy, is this batter crispy!
You can use whatever seasonings you like. I used seasoned salt and a touch of cayenne because I like a little zip in stuff like this, so suit your personal taste. Leaving out the cayenne makes this something like KFC–only I thought it tasted way better! And like KFC, serve this with some kicked up coleslaw!
I did let my chicken parts sit out for the 30 minutes that the batter was steeping because stone cold chicken will take a lot longer to cook. And not to worry–that oil is so hot, it kills any bacteria that may have started to grow.
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| You’ll get up close and personal with this chicken |
I also made this in my new Ninja–the insert is deep enough that it doesn’t cause a mess, but I will say that if you want to cook this in a multi-function cooker like the Ninja, then cover your work surface with newspapers to catch any splatters. The setting on the Ninja would be STOVETOP/HIGH. However, standard cooking directions are given for those who don’t have a special appliance.
Beer Batter Dipt Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 small frying chicken cut into 8 pieces -OR- pre-cut chicken parts (drums, thighs, breasts)
- Oil for frying
BATTER
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 tbsp seasoned salt*
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper optional
- 1 12 oz beer
Instructions
- *You may substitute 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic or onion powder, 1/4 tsp paprika
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, seasoned salt and cayenne pepper (if using).
- Gradually pour beer into flour mixture while whisking with a wire whisk. Beat until there are no lumps. Let the batter stand for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add oil to a deep heavy frying pan or dutch oven (I used the dutch oven because it kept the stove cleaner). Oil should come at least 1-inch up the side of the pan. This will be around a quart of oil for a 5-cup dutch oven.
- Heat oil to 375 degrees F. I use a deep fry/candy thermometer, but you can do the bread cube test for oil temp--a 1-inch cube of bread will get golden brown in 1 minute. However, I strongly suggest using the thermometer so you can keep the oil at a constant temp.
- Pat chicken parts dry with paper towels. Dip each piece into the batter, and let excess batter drain back in the bowl. Place chicken in fryer--you will have to fry in batches. NEVER overload the pan. In the dutch oven, I was able to fry 4 pieces at once.
- Cook chicken a total of 30 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking.
- Remove and let excess oil drain back in the pan. Place on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Chicken may be kept warm in a 250 degrees F oven while frying the next batch.
- Serves 4.
Nutrition
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| Beer Batter Dipt Fried Chicken |
Copyright © Judith Hannemann aka The Midnight Baker 2014. All Rights Reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced without The Midnight Baker’s express consent.
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KC the Kitchen Chopper says
Hi Judith, I've pinned your link "manually" as the photo your share button chooses is too small. Thanks as always for cohosting #theWeekendSocial.
Judith Hanneman says
You're not the first person to tell me that KC–I'm looking for a new app for that. These take a super LONG time to load too, which is not good.
Monty Leverett says
If I’m doing this for wings/drumettes, is the cook time still 30 minutes? I can only cook 4 at once normally.
Judith Hanneman says
Wings take a surprisingly long time to cook for their size. I’d cook them 20 minutes and test for doneness. If you place them on paper towels on a plate, you can keep them in a 200 degree oven to keep warm. The crispness won’t suffer.