for the spice rub
*warning-this needs to be prepared and used the day before you plan to make the chicken
4 tablespoon Old Bay
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1 lime
1 approx. 6 lb chicken, cut into 8 pieces
for the next day:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
cooking oil
Directions:
The day before you fry the chicken: Combine spices in a small bowl then spread it out over a plate. Dredge the chicken pieces in the spices. Sprinkle the garlic and lime juice over chicken and refrigerate the whole thing in a ziplock bag overnight.
The day of:
Pour oil in to a large pot until it is about 2 inches height. Heat the oil to 450 degrees*. Mix flour and seasoning in a bowl, then spread it out over a plate. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture and fry until each piece is a deep golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side.
*tip: if you don’t have a thermometer, put the oil on a medium high heat and heat for 30 minutes.
My thoughts:
For as long as I have known my husband he has been relentless in his pursuit of the perfect fried chicken. Every time he has tried something has gone wrong: the chicken is raw in the middle, it’s not flavorful, it’s dry, it’s too dark. This weekend however, was a giant success. Flavorful, juicy chicken with a brittle golden crust. Honestly the best fried chicken either of us have ever had, any where.
Hi Rachel–
My grandmother always insisted on soaking the chicken in buttermilk for at least an hour before dipping it in flour and frying it, so I’ve always done it that way. But I love the idea of coating the chicken with spices the day before you fry it, and your spice combination sounds delicious!
I like your coating ingredients and will definitely give them a try; we, too, are always tweaking our fried chicken. Did you use peanut oil, or don’t you think it matters?
Jennifer: we’ve tried the soaking in buttermilk and soaking in milk ways and this just came out better! In our opinion, anyway.
Rebecca:
We just used vegetable oil. I find that peanut oil has a tendency to upset my stomach. Vegetable oil works just as well.
Do you suck all the air out of the ziplock bag teh day before or just leave the air in?
I remove the air