Fried chicken is the favorite dish among kids. My girls, for example, can eat schnitzel on a daily basis, which is basically fried chicken breast.
KFC's fried chicken, on the other hand, is not so popular in my country as in the US, so I decided to try it out.
Cooking schnitzel is not that difficult, and it takes only two minutes in the deep fryer, but chicken thighs (and drumsticks, which are considered as dark meat) need a much longer cooking time which can result in an overcooked or undercooked disaster. That is why I decided to simplify things and cook the chicken first in sous vide and only then deep fry it for a short period of time, for a crispy result.
Ingredients
6 chicken thighs , 6 drumsticks
1/2 liter buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp ginger powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp mustard powder
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1 liter oil for deep frying
Cooking before frying
Sous vide cooking will simplify and shorten the deep-frying process, by cooking the chicken pieces in advance.
Put the chicken in a vacuum bag, season it lightly with salt and pepper and seal it.
Submerge the vacuum bag into the preheated water at 70°C/ 158°F and cook it for 3 hours.
After 3 hours of cooking, remove the bag from the water bath and drop into a large bowl of ice water for up to 20 minutes - this will prevent the deep-frying process from overcooking the chicken.
Seasoning the flour
In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix together the flour with all herbs and spices.
Coating the chicken
Pour the buttermilk into a large bowl.
Dip chicken pieces into the flour mixture until fully covered.
Dip the coated chicken pieces in the buttermilk and again in the flour mixture.
Let the chicken pieces rest for 5 minutes for the crust to dry out a bit.
Deep frying
Heat oil in a large saucepan or in a deep fryer to 200°C/392°F.
Fry the chicken until the skin turns golden brown - it should take no longer than 1-2 minutes.
Remove the chicken, drain excess oil on a metal rack or with paper towels.
Final result - super tender inside and golden crispy outside
