Yield:Yields about 1-3/4 cups gravy.
Servings:four to five.
Not only is it cheaper to buy a whole chicken than one sold in parts, but you can also use the neck, giblets, and back to make a gravy for the fried chicken.
Read the Test Kitchen post for guidance oncutting a whole chicken into pieces.
When you’re ready to fry the chicken, put the flour, paprika, 2 tsp. sea salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a large doubled brown paper bag, and shake to combine. Working in 2 batches, drop the chicken pieces into the flour mixture, fold the top of the bag closed, and shake to coat completely. Arrange the coated chicken on a large wire rack set over a large rimmed baking sheet. Discard the remaining flour mixture.
Pour enough oil into a deep heavy-duty 12-inch skillet (preferably cast iron) to reach a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until a deep fat/candy thermometer clipped to the side of the skillet without touching the bottom registers 350°F.
Carefully arrange the chicken skin side down in the hot oil—it’s fine if the pan is very crowded. The temperature will drop to about 300°F. Partially cover the skillet with a lid or a baking sheet, leaving the thermometer visible, and fry until golden-brown, about 5 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain 300°F to 325°F. If necessary, move the pieces around for even browning. Turn the chicken over and fry, uncovered, until browned all over and an instant-read thermometer registers 165°F when inserted into the thickest part of each piece, 5 to 7 minutes more.
Meanwhile, wash and dry the wire rack and baking sheet and set the rack over the sheet near the skillet. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to the rack to drain briefly. Serve warm or at room temperature.
I would highly recommend this recipe. The chicken is moist, flavorful and you feel the crunch in every bite. It's become part of Sunday's lunch repertoire.
Very easy to do for this first time fryer, I started by cutting my chickens (we had a larger crowd) up as instructed in the magazine. My husband used the backs and necks in making the gravy. The fried chicken looked just the picture that accompanied the recipe. Along with the fried chicken we had mashed potatoes with gravy, coleslaw, sauteed garlic spinach and a pear upside-down cake to round out the menu.
This was excellent and not hard at all to make-- a big hit with the whole family too. I had never fried chicken before and it worked great.
Excellent, easy and fries at a low enough temperature that it doesn't make a mess of my kitchen.
Do you really want to delete the list,?
This won't delete the recipes and articles you've saved, just the list.
This feature has been temporarily disabled during the beta site preview.
Add/Edit a private note for this recipe
This note is only visible to you.Double Check
Are you sure you want to delete your notes for this recipe?Get the print magazine, 25 years of back issues online, over 7,000 recipes, and more.
Write a Review