Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed
• Oil for frying

Brine

• 4 cups water
• 1/4 Cup Kosher salt
• 1/4 Cup Vodka (Optional, but the guy in the New York Times said it did something to the meat.)

Breading

• 1 cup all-purpose [GF] flour
• 1-3 TBS cornstarch
• 1 TBS salt
• Pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika

Egg Wash

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1-2 TBS milk
• 1/2 tsp. white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Cholula Chili-Lime Hot Sauce (optional)
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

Brine the Chicken

1. Heat frying oil to 300 degrees F.
2. Trim excess skin and fat from thighs.
3. Combine the water, salt, and vodka in a large bowl and stir until the salt dissolves. It will be cloudy at first, then it will clear up as the salt is absorbed.
4. Place the chicken pieces into the brine so that all pieces get covered then refrigerate at least 2 hours. (You could marinate for 2 days if you wanted to, and 15 minutes will help if that's all the time you have.)
5. After your brining time has passed, remove the chicken from the marinade, rinse and shake off excess water.

Bread the Chicken

1. Mix the breading ingredients in a large Zip-Loc bag. More cornstarch will result in a crunchier breading. Less cornstarch will make a softer breading. Your choice!
2. Put one piece of damp chicken into the bag and shake it. Keeping the chicken inside the bag, shake off the excess breading.
3. Place the chicken in the egg wash, being sure to turn it to get all sides and edges wet.
4. Put the piece of chicken back in the breading bag. Shake the bag, then press the breading into the chicken. Remove it from the bag and place it on a plate.
5. Repeat these steps for the other pieces of chicken.
6. If you have the time, put the plate of chicken, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This will help the breading adhere to the chicken when you fry it.

Fry the Chicken

1. Carefully and slowly place each piece of chicken into your 300-degree oil. Don't overcrowd the pan/fryer. Do batches if necessary.
2. Let the chicken fry on the first side for 8 minutes. Turn it over and let it fry for 7 minutes on the other side.
3. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place the chicken on a rack on a cookie sheet (not on paper towels!) until you're ready to serve.

Note:

1. This recipe will work for any chicken pieces. Breasts (bone-in, skin on) will take about 20 minutes to cook (10 minutes per side). Legs, thighs, and wings 15 minutes. You could always use a thermometer to check for doneness, as well. Thoroughly cooked chicken should be 165° F.