My Perfect Fried Chicken

What makes the most perfect fried chicken? Is it the spices? The flour? The oil? I personally think its all of these things that makes fried chicken the perfectly salty, crunchy, and sometimes spicy fried food we've come to love.

I want to share my recipe as well as experience with making fried chicken because its a food near and dear to me and my southern roots.

As a kid I grew up eating KFC and other fried chicken dominate restaurants or fast food chains, but as I kept growing, my love for food kept growing right along with me.

I would watch chefs like Rachel Ray and Bobby Flay bring food to life and make it fun, they along with many other chefs have inspired me to cook and to bake, and now it's my passion! I may not be classically trained, but as Chef Gusto from Ratatouille once said, "Anyone can cook", and not to toot my own horn, but I'm damn good at it.

I try and make new recipes on a daily basis and test them out with my family before letting anyone else try my food, I know they will be brutally honest with me. And this is one recipe I couldn't pass up on posting, so here it is My Perfect Fried Chicken Recipe!

I like to use a special spice mix with my fried chicken, it starts all with how much you know you and your guests can handle heat wise. And remember to season to your tastes, this is my recipe but its up to you if it tastes good.

Recipe for spices:

3 good shakes of chili powder

3 good shakes of cyane pepper

3 good shakes of paprika

2 cloves of minced garlic -not garlic salt, a few shakes of garlic powder is acceptable-

3 good shakes of black pepper

3 good shakes of your choice of creole seasoning

(I bet you're wondering why I didn't add salt, its because the dredge mix has a lot of salt in it already and an overly salty fried chicken isn't good, trust me.)

Once you spice your chicken, let it sit covered in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Now, I like to use drumsticks or the thighs as my choice of chicken, however you can use any piece. Next, after the 15 minutes in the fridge I add about a half cup of milk, let it sit uncovered at room temp for 5 minutes. Now, on to preparing the oil.

I like to use a raised edge skillet or cast iron and Crisco Vegetable Shortening, I use about 3 lbs of it and let it melt completely before I start frying. I let it get to 350 degrees then begin the dredging process.

My dredge of choice is Kentucky Kernel Seasoned Flour. Now its time to take the dredge and put it in a disposable bowl or those cheap aluminum foil pans, dip the chicken in the seasoned flour on both sides, and carefully drop each piece in the pan or pot of oil.

Now for frying I use a meat thermometer to make sure it's done on the inside, the temp you want to look for is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. It usually takes me about 20 minutes total per batch of chicken, so if you do it in batches of 4 or 5 it should take about 40 minutes total. I like a darker golden color on my chicken, but it is done once golden brown on both sides and the internal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

When its time to take out the chicken, I line a baking sheet with foil and put a wire rack on top and let the chicken drain off any extra oil and do a light sprinkling of salt over each piece. I like to serve it with mashed potatoes, greens, corn, and homemade yeast rolls.

The great thing about recipes is that you can tweak them and make them your own, there is no one right way to cook, you make it your own and you own it with your soul. Share parts of yourself with the way you cook, speak with it, the way a dancer expresses their emotions as they dance across the stage. Say thank you, say I love you, and let your voice be heard on the plate.

If you'd like any more recipes by me, please leave me a tip and I'd be happy to share!