Julia Reeds Fried Chicken Recipes

SOUTHERN LIVING'S BEST FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine 1 tablespoon salt with 3 quarts water in a large bowl or container. Add chicken, cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Drain, rinse with cold water and pat dry.
• Stir together remaining 1 teaspoon salt and the black pepper. Sprinkle half the mixture evenly over chicken.
• In a large sealable plastic bag, combine remaining pepper mixture and flour. Add 2 pieces chicken to bag and shake well to coat. Remove chicken pieces, shaking off extra flour, and set aside. Repeat with remaining chicken.
• Take a large (10- or 12-inch) cast-iron skillet or chicken fryer, for which you have a lid, and fit with a candy or deep-frying thermometer. Add oil and bacon drippings and heat to 360 degrees over medium heat; the oil will ripple and possibly give off a few wisps of smoke.
• Using tongs, immediately add chicken pieces, skin side down (work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding pan). The oil will drop to about 325 degrees, where it should stay; adjust heat so that oil is bubbling gently around the pieces. Cover and cook 6 minutes; uncover and cook 9 minutes. Turn chicken pieces; cover and cook 6 minutes. Uncover and cook another 5 to 9 minutes, depending on size of pieces. If necessary for even browning, turn pieces over a few times toward the end.
• Drain on paper towels or paper bags. Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Thoroughly rinse the chicken pieces, then place them in a bowl and cover with 4 cups of the buttermilk. Soak in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours.
• When you're ready to fry the chicken, remove the bowl from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes, just to take the chill off.
• In the meantime, preheat the oven to 360 degrees F and mix up the breading. Place the flour, seasoned salt, paprika, black pepper, thyme and cayenne (plus extra cayenne if you like heat) in a very large bowl. Stir together well.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk and the milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and gradually mix with a fork until there are little lumps throughout; these will adhere to the chicken and make for a crispier breading. If necessary, add a little more flour or milk to make the breading slightly lumpy.
• Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 365 degrees F. Lower the heat slightly, if necessary, to keep the oil from getting hotter.
• Working in batches, thoroughly coat each chicken piece with breading, pressing extra breading onto the chicken if necessary. Place the breaded pieces on a plate.
• Add the breaded chicken to the oil, 3 or 4 pieces at a time; make sure they don't stick together. Cover the pan and fry for 5 to 7 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the chicken isn't getting too brown. Turn the pieces over, cover again, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more. All the while, monitor the temperature of the oil to make sure the chicken doesn't burn.
• Transfer the fried chicken to a baking sheet and continue frying the rest of the chicken. When all the chicken has been fried, remove the wings and legs to a plate and keep covered. (These should be cooked all the way through by now, but always check if any pink juice or meat is visible. If so, return to the hot oil for another minute or so, until fully cooked.) Leave the thighs and breasts on the baking sheet.
• Bake the thighs and breasts for 15 minutes to finish cooking. (Sometimes I'll cut into the thicker part of one of the larger pieces just to make sure the chicken is cooked through. If any pink juice or meat is visible, the chicken needs to continue cooking in the oven.)

JULIA REED'S FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken in bowl of cold water and soak for a few minutes. Drain chicken and dry well with paper towels. Season chicken with salt and black pepper.
• Mix flour, 2 teaspoons of salt, cayenne and paprika in a brown paper or Ziploc bag. Add a few chicken pieces at a time and shake until well coated. Remove and shake off excess flour mixture.
• Over medium-high heat, melt lard, vegetable shortening or oil to a depth of about 1 1/2 inches in cast-iron skillet. When fat has reached about 350 degrees, slip in chicken pieces, dark meat first, being careful not to crowd them. (To test temperature, use a candy thermometer or dip a corner of a chicken piece into the fat; if vigorous bubbling ensues, the temperature is right.) Turn heat down and cook chicken for 10 minutes. Turn pieces with tongs. Cook until other side is browned, another 10 to 12 minutes. Drain on a wire rack over paper towels.

JULIA'S ROAST CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND HERBS

Steps:

• Preparing the chicken:
• Set the rack on the lower middle level and preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Rinse the chicken thoroughly, inside and out, under hot water, then dry it with paper towels. Remove any lumps of fat from inside the cavity near the tail opening.
• To make carving easier, remove the wishbone. Lift the flap of neck skin and insert a thin, sharp knife into each end of the breast; then slice diagonally along both sides of the wishbone. Use your finger and thumb to loose the bone, pry it out at the top, and pull it down. If it breaks, carefully wiggle out the pieces.
• Trim the small bony protrusions, or "nubbins," from the wing tip joint. Then fold the wings up against the breast, where they will be held in place by the V-rack.
• Salt and pepper the cavity and stuff it with the sage leaves and 3 or 4 thick slices of lemon; give the slices a squeeze as you put them in. Massage the butter over the entire chicken skin, including undersides, then salt generously.
• Tie the ends of the drumsticks together with twine. Arrange the chicken breast-up on the rack in the roasting pan and tuck the flap of neck skin underneath. Squeeze the juice of the remaining lemon pieces over the top.
• Roasting the chicken:
• Set the roasting pan in the oven. After 15 minutes, lower heat to 350°F. When the chicken is beginning to brown rapidly, baste with accumulated pan juices. Roast for an hour, adding the onions and carrots after 30 minutes and basting several times. Very carefully test for doneness, checking for easy movement in the leg joint and clear color in the juices. Return it to the oven if there is any sign of pinkness. (A small chicken will roast in about 1 1/4 hours, a larger one may take 1 1/2 hours or more.) When done, remove the chicken from the rack and set it on a board to rest for 15 minutes before carving. This allows the juices to retreat back into the flesh.
• Final Steps:
• While the chicken is resting, make the deglazing sauce in the roasting pan.

JULIA'S KOREAN-FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Set a rack on a foil-lined baking sheet.
• Pour oil into a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the skillet. Heat over medium-high heat until oil reaches 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, toss chicken, ginger, and salt together in a large bowl until evenly coated. Spread 1/2 cup potato starch in a shallow dish; dredge chicken to coat completely and evenly. Add remaining 1/2 cup potato starch as needed. Shake off excess and transfer to a plate.
• Add chicken to the skillet carefully, working in batches; fry until lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn chicken over and fry until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 175 degrees F (80 degrees C), 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to the rack on the prepared baking sheet. Reheat oil between batches to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Return chicken to the skillet in batches and fry again, about 2 minutes per side.
• Stir gochujang, oyster sauce, mirin, ketchup, fish sauce, and garlic together in a large bowl. Add cooked chicken and toss to coat. Sprinkle with white and black sesame seeds.