South American Fried Chicken Recipes

SOUTH AMERICAN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Wash the chicken and pat dry. Put the pieces into a large nonreactive glass or stainless steel bowl and pour the lime juice over them. Sprinkle with the minced garlic, a large pinch of salt, and several liberal grindings of black pepper. Toss until the seasoning is uniformly distributed and set aside to marinate for at least 1 hour, refrigerated. (Or cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator; remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you are ready to cook the chicken.)
• Place the corn flour in a paper or large plastic ziplock bag. Shake to coat the inside. Fit a wire cooling rack over a cookie sheet and place it in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 150°F (or Warm setting). Fill a deep cast-iron skillet, Dutch oven, or deep-fat fryer with enough lard or oil to come halfway up the sides, at least 2 inches deep. Over medium-high heat, bring the fat to 375°F (hot but not smoking).
• When the fat is hot, lift the chicken pieces a few at a time from their marinade, allowing the excess to flow back into the bowl. Drop them into the bag of corn flour, close the top, and shake until the chicken is well coated. Lift them out of the corn flour, shake off the excess, and slip them into the fat. Repeat until the pan is full without crowding. Fry, maintaining a temperature of 365°F, turning once, until the chicken is a rich golden brown and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Lift the chicken from the fat, drain well, and transfer to the wire rack in the oven while you fry the remaining chicken. Serve hot, with hot sauce and lime wedges passed separately.
• Note: If you like, you can spice up the marinade with a few hot red pepper flakes or with a few shots of hot sauce. Other common additions to the marinade are minced fresh ginger (about 2 quarter-sized slices, minced fine), rum, sugar, and chopped cilantro.

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.

SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, and paprika. Roll in flour.
• Add 1/2 to 3/4 inch oil to a large, heavy skillet. Heat to approximately 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Place chicken pieces in hot oil. Cover, and fry until golden, turning once, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain on paper towels.