Cast Iron Fried Chicken

What goes with cast iron as well as cornbread? Fried chicken, of course! Nothing will give you a batch of fried chicken better than a cast iron pan, and you can fry chicken in just about any large cast iron pan regardless of its shape.
Preparing fried chicken requires several items: a lot of oil for frying, the chicken itself, and a large cast iron pan. It is absolutely necessary to fry chicken in cast iron! Anything else will not give the same results, and this is why cast iron and fried chicken go together like cast iron and cornbread.
Pans needed: Large cast iron skillet, dutch oven, chicken fryer or other deep pan. A cast iron skillet should be 12 inches across, so there will be plenty of room for frying the chicken. Even better is a large chicken fryer or deep skillet, or a dutch oven. The good thing about using a deep fryer is the high walls cut down on the grease splatter. A dutch oven is also great for frying chicken, for the same reason. You will also need a wire rack for resting the prepared chicken, both before and after frying.

Fried Chicken Breading

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) corn starch (or tapioca starch)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon basil
  • 1/3 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried mustard
  • 4 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons white pepper
Homemade fried chicken coating is very easy to prepare, and you can prepare your own chicken coating, rather than the one listed above. This recipe may be an "imitation KFC" recipe, but this was influenced by Crown Fried Chicken (or Kennedy Fried Chicken), which is my favorite fried chicken establishment and makes their chicken better, and cheaper, than KFC (in my opinion). There are a thousand different tricks and tips for getting a good crunchy crust on your fried chicken, and one trick I like is to mix in a little corn starch with the flour. But don't use too much or else your crust may turn out as hard as a rock. The spices we're using here are based on a so-called "secret KFC recipe" that spread across the Internet in 2016. The recipe claims to be the so called secret KFC recipe, but I seriously doubt this because KFC is a big corporation, and you can be sure their recipe would have added preservatives and other yummy chemicals. But this is still a good fried chicken recipe, and I don't have any problems using it, especially after tweaking it a little.

Ingredients

  • At least 6 pieces of chicken (2 1/2 pounds), up to 12 pieces (5 pounds)
  • 1 quart buttermilk
  • (Alternatately, mix 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) vinegar into 1 quart whole milk. Let sit for ten minutes. This gives a curdled milk brine with the consistency of buttermilk.)
  • At least 1 quart high-temperature cooking oil, such as peanut oil or corn oil
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken breading (see recipe above)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
Place chicken pieces into a bowl or container. Cover with buttermilk. Place the container into the refrigerator, and soak the chicken for at least two to three hours; overnight if possible.
When it's time to begin preparing, add about 1 and 1/2 inches of corn oil to a large cast iron pan, enough so the chicken is practically covered when it fries. Heat the oil over medium heat until the temperature reaches 375 degrees Fahrenheit. As the oil is heating, prepare the chicken.
Add 2 1/2 cups of chicken breading mix to a covered container or large bag. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk. Do not rinse off the chicken, leave the buttermilk coating on the chicken. Place chicken pieces into the breading mix, close the container, and shake it until the chicken is completely coated. Remove the chicken onto a rack, and let it rest while preparing the second coating.
Beat three eggs, and add a little water to loosen the eggs. Add some cayenne pepper, paprika and hot sauce, and mix it together. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg wash, then place them back into the breading container. Shake it a second time to give the chicken a second coating.
When the temperature of the oil reaches 375 degrees Fahrenheit, add the chicken pieces to the oil. Fry for twelve minutes. After twelve minutes, turn the chicken over, and fry the chicken for another ten minutes. Check the chicken with a thermometer and make sure internal temperature is at least 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
Here's the unique part of this process: it's okay to burn the pasta! Yes, that's what I said. Keep stirring the pasta. The pasta will begin to caramelize as the liquid evaporates, turning a dark color with parts that look burned. When it reaches this point, scoop in more tomato broth, and repeat the process over and over. Stir the pasta in the broth and keep cooking it, so the pasta develops an amazing, intense flavor. The caramelized parts of the pasta should be especially coated in the broth as you stir it around.
Remove the chicken onto the rack. Let the chicken rest and drip off excess oil for five minutes. Serve.

Crown (Kennedy) Fried Chicken At Home

One of the strangest moments of my life took place the night of October 10, 2010. Actually, several of the strangest moments of my life happened that weekend, because it was 10/10/10...and that was the night of the legendary SubGenius New York City "Go F--k Yourself" Devival!" The memories of that weekend will remain with me forever. But of all the strange things that happened that weekend, I'm more than happy to share this one:
I attended the Devival with two of my closest companions at the time, Jessica Darling and Rev. Panik EVlynn Bedlam. The Devival finished a few minutes after midnight, and we took a cab back to our hotel. We were riding in a cab back to the hotel, and I saw something out of the corner of my eye: "Kennedy Fried Chicken," which I'd never seen before. I commented, "Look, 'Kennedy Fried Chicken.' They're not trying to imitate Kentucky Fried Chicken, are they?" And when she heard that, Jessica immediately exclaimed, "Ghetto chicken! Oh, we're eating there tonight!" "What, there?" "Yeah!!" "Umm, okay..." And a little while later we were walking the streets of New York City that Saturday night at 1:00 AM, dressed in Renne Faire garb, to buy a box of chicken and fries. Jessica later commented, "I remember you asking, 'Are they open at night?' and Panik answered, 'They're ONLY open at night.'"
(Regarding the "ghetto" comment: Kennedy Fried Chicken...also known as Crown Fried Chicken and New York Fried Chicken in many areas...only seems to be located in the more "urban" areas of many major cities in the country. Open until late hours, usually midnight or later, the neighborhood is often the kind that requires this chicken spot to serve its customers behind bulletproof glass.)
And how was it? The rolls that came in the box were stale and tasteless. The fries were soggy but not too bad tasting. And the chicken itself was...pretty damn good! I instantly found a taste for Kennedy Fried Chicken that night, and in the years since I've gone out of my way to try it at many other locations, in Massachusetts and New York. With a few exceptions, the fried chicken has been quite good, and I definitely prefer it over Kentucky Fried Chicken. While I do enjoy KFC, and I certainly grew up eating it, I find myself getting tired of the taste of KFC chicken after a little while. After that, I can't eat KFC chicken for at least a month. On the other hand, I have to stop myself from eating Crown Fried Chicken on a regular basis and stopping in for some chicken every time I see one of those chicken spots.
Anyway...I was so hooked on Crown Fried Chicken that I looked everywhere online for a recipe for making the chicken breading at home. I couldn't find it. There were about a thousand "leaked" KFC chicken recipes online (all of which were not the real thing), but I simply couldn't find something approximating Crown Fried Chicken. And then, I discovered the "real" chicken breading used by these chicken spots! At that time it was available on Amazon at about $10 a bag. I decided to take a chance and purchased a big 5-pound bag of the stuff. I've since learned that yes, this IS the genuine item!
It's interesting how the ingredient label simply lists "SPices," along with MSG, paprika, garlic powder, and tumeric. The instructions for making this are simply as follows:
  • Dip chicken parts in Texas Breading and shake off excess flour.
  • Fry chicken parts in oil at 360 deg for 11-14 minutes.
The instructions include a second set of instructions for a more elaborate crust on the chicken:
  • Mix 1 part Texas Breading to 2 parts ice cold water to make a batter.
  • Dip Chicken parts in batter allow excess batter to drip off chicken.
  • Dip chicken parts in Texas Breading and shake off excess flour.
  • Fry chicken parts in oil at 360 deg for 11-15 minutes.
You may want to consider using milk or buttermilk rather than water.

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