How to cook Southern- style fried chicken

“Kissing don’t last: Cookery do.” —George Meredith

The growing number of restaurants emerging in Serendra amazes and thrills me as I see the fast deve-lopment of the food industry. I was walking in the area with my Philippine Champion Gourmet bulldog Flirt when a woman who was with her family approached me and said she collects my articles and requested if my next how-to col-umn could be about more ways of cooking chicken.

There are many methods of cooking chicken. One way I like to use is frying, then baking it in the oven. Frying is fast cooking, making the exterior part crispy and using hot oil to seal the outside part. Whether deep-frying or pan-frying, it is very important that the oil is hot and at the right temperature,  around 375°F. To achieve that, put the heat on high for a few minutes, then check with a deep fryer thermometer. If unavailable, use the centuries-old Chinese method of placing a chopstick at the center of the pan. If many bubbles form around the chop-stick, then the oil is hot. Another way of checking if the oil is hot is by getting a small piece of white bread and adding it to the oil. If the color changes from white to brown in one minute, then the temperature is 375°F.

Frying with cold oil will make your food absorb all the oil, making it soggy with oil. It will also affect the coating, making it fall off the food. After frying, place the chicken in a strainer with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Oil can be reused for a maximum of three times for best results. Every time oil is used in cooking, the smoking temper-ature decreases, causing the oil to have a smoky smell and a weird taste.

To reduce this effect, place five pieces of parboiled chicken feet (with-out the nails and scales, of course) or a piece of unpeeled potato in five cups of oil and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. Cool the oil, get a paper towel-lined strainer, place on a bowl, and pour the oil over strainer. This will remove the used oil-flavor and can be reused three more times.

Baking after frying is a great method of ensuring that the chicken is cooked thoroughly inside. It will still be moist because frying has sealed the outside section of the chicken. Use a meat thermometer and check if the inside temperature is 180°F; if so, then it is perfect. If a meat thermometer is unavailable, prick the drumstick and check the color of the blood. If it is red, the chicken is not ready; if the blood is black, it is done. If the juice oozing out of the chicken is pink, it is not ready; but if it is clear, then the chicken is ready to be eaten.

Using the oil from where you cooked the chicken and adding it to the gravy is an excellent source of flavor and was a chef’s secret for generations.

Southern-Style Fried then Baked Chicken

(Fried first, so it stays crisp on the outside, and juicy inside)

1-1/2 kilos whole chicken

For dipping:

1 teaspoon rock salt

1-1/2 teaspoons pepper

1/2 cup yogurt or all-purpose cream.

For dredging:

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon McCormick fried chicken seasoning

1 teaspoon paprika

2 cups oil for frying

For the gravy:

1/4 cup oil used in frying the chicken,

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups fresh milk

1 teaspoon liquid seasoning

Equipment:

paper towels for draining

13-inch x 9-inch x 2-inch baking pan

If using a whole chicken, remove the top ass, wing tips, and fat inside the cavity; cut into eight pieces. Wash and pat dry.

You can also use your favorite chicken parts. Just be sure to use 1-1/2 kilos of chicken.

Mix well the ingredients for the dip. Dip chicken in the dipping ingredients, then coat well with the dredging ingredients, which have been mixed well. Fry the chicken immediately for best results.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch frying pan, and brown the chicken parts in hot oil for 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Transfer the chicken parts to a prepared pan and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F/ 200°C oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken parts. Bake for 10 minutes more.

For the gravy:

Put the oil and flour in a saucepan over fire and mix with wire whisk. Add milk and liquid seasoning. Stir until creamy.

Note for restaurant operators:

Heat two cups oil in a commercial pressure cooker-fryer. When hot, add the chicken parts. Cover and seal. Cook over very low heat for eight minutes. Release pressure. Drain. When ready to serve, bake on a low 300°F/150°C for five minutes.

Southern-Style Oven-Fried Chicken

1-1/2 kilos chicken

For dipping:

1/4 cup fresh milk

1 whole egg

1 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

For coating:

1-1/4 cups breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon McCormick fried chicken seasoning

For the drizzle:

1/2 cup melted butter

For the gravy:

pan drippings

1 290-gram can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup fresh milk

Preheat the oven at 375°F/185°C.

Prepare a 13-inch x 9-inch x 2-inch pan.

Dip the chicken well in the dipping ingredients, which have been mixed well. Then coat the chicken parts with the coating ingredients, which have been mixed well.

Put in a pan. Drizzle with butter. Bake uncovered for one hour. Check drumsticks with a fork for doneness. Blood that flows out should be dark, not pinkish.

For the gravy:

Mix the pan drippings, soup, and milk in a saucepan. Stir with a wire whisk over medium fire until bubbly.

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Erratum:

In my previous column on “Express Cuisine,” the salt in the beef tips with vegetable rice should be two teaspoons, not two tablespoons.