# Fried Chicken Failure



## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

I tried "our" (mostly *StevenRocks *recipe*)* Fried Chicken recipe last night with a failure!

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/showthread.php?t=71207 
Some of the coating didn't stay on the chicken! Any suggestions?

The recipe is also on the Men Cooking page:

But the chicken was perfect. I think the brine and then the soaking in buttermilk makes a big difference. Now if I could keep the crust on the chicken..!


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## TheGuyIsBack (Nov 6, 2008)

Andy you could try to make the coating stick more to the chicken by dipping the chicken first into a mixture of raw eggs and a little water. You could also season this mixture with your favourite spices, such as black pepper. That would do the trick.


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## Piscator (Dec 4, 2008)

I second the raw egg suggestion...my method is similar:

1. dredge the chicken in flour
2. dip floured chicken part into mixture of egg (1 large), baking powder (1 tsp), baking soda (1/2 tsp), and buttermilk (1 cup). This will cause the coating to puff a bit and be super crispy after frying.
3. dredge one more time in flour.

Tom


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

I've only tried this on pan-fried boneless breasts, not deep frying, but it's my favorite method for getting a coating to stick to anything: Dip it it milk or an egg wash, dredge it in flour and re-dip it in the liquid again. The flour turns into a kind of paste that will hold other things like bread crumbs or spices.


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## Spence (Feb 28, 2006)

Piscator said:


> I second the raw egg suggestion...my method is similar:
> 
> 1. dredge the chicken in flour
> 2. dip floured chicken part into mixture of egg (1 large), baking powder (1 tsp), baking soda (1/2 tsp), and buttermilk (1 cup). This will cause the coating to puff a bit and be super crispy after frying.
> ...


I'd go with a similar method to this. Most fried chicken recipes I've seen call for a seasoned flour then buttermilk then seasoned flour approach.

Also make sure you have a good pan and enough oil at the right temp!

-spence


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## Piscator (Dec 4, 2008)

JerseyJohn said:


> I've only tried this on pan-fried boneless breasts, not deep frying, but it's my favorite method for getting a coating to stick to anything: Dip it it milk or an egg wash, dredge it in flour and re-dip it in the liquid again. The flour turns into a kind of paste that will hold other things like bread crumbs or spices.


Yep...its great for chicken fried steak or fried pork cutlets, too...

Tom


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## StevenRocks (May 24, 2005)

Andy said:


> I tried "our" (mostly *StevenRocks *recipe*)* Fried Chicken recipe last night with a failure!
> 
> Some of the coating didn't stay on the chicken! Any suggestions?
> 
> ...


Some crust separation is natural with the buttermilk method, but it shouldn't loose large portions of the crust if everything's in order. There could be several reasons for the crust coming off the chicken.


 After you flour it, it needs to dry down some so that it bonds to the skin. It may not have dried enough for the coating to stick.
if the oil temperature is lower than 350, it produces a slower cooked, slightly more tender chicken, but it also weakens the crust. The temperature can't drop to less than 325 without some side effects.
Fried chicken needs breathing room. Even if everything else is perfect, chicken pieces rubbing up against each other can cause the crust to separate.
Those are the most likely causes, but keep me updated, because it could be something else I haven't thought of.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Piscator said:


> I second the raw egg suggestion...my method is similar:
> 
> 1. dredge the chicken in flour
> 2. dip floured chicken part into mixture of egg (1 large), baking powder (1 tsp), baking soda (1/2 tsp), and buttermilk (1 cup). This will cause the coating to puff a bit and be super crispy after frying.
> 3. dredge one more time in flour.


I also agree with the egg, but with a slight difference. Marinate the chicken in buttermilk in the refrigerator for several hours first. Then dredge through the flour, followed by a dunking in a mixture of egg and water, and then dredged again through the flour.

Cruiser


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## jpeirpont (Mar 16, 2004)

Egg? No that just seems wrong. Fried Chicken should be pan fried, if you deep fried it that is where you went wrong in regards to the crust.


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

I think StevenRocks hit on a couple of the reasons.

I did use a spiceful flour mixture including baking powder and after soaking the chicken in buttermilk, dipped it into the flour, then back in the buttermilk and again into the flour (double dipped!).

Maybe it was too heavy of a crust.


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## TheGuyIsBack (Nov 6, 2008)

Not neccesarily. It's just that buttermilk is very watery and doesn't stick. The egg will solve that problem. You could use only the egg whites for that purpose.


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

TheGuyIsBack said:


> Not neccesarily. It's just that buttermilk is very watery and doesn't stick. The egg will solve that problem. You could use the only the egg whites for that purpose.


Maybe a little Elmer's glue might be the answer!! :icon_smile_big:


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## TheGuyIsBack (Nov 6, 2008)

I use flour on my fried chicken which obviously sticks when it gets wet.


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## TheGuyIsBack (Nov 6, 2008)

The original KFC recipe:

https://www.scribd.com/doc/12874797/Original-Kentucky-Fried-Chicken-Coating-Secret-Ingredients


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Andy said:


> I did use a spiceful flour mixture including baking powder and after soaking the chicken in buttermilk, dipped it into the flour, then back in the buttermilk and again into the flour (double dipped!).


Instead of the second dip in buttermilk, make that a dip into the egg mixture instead. The first trip into the buttermilk should be for several hours, or even a full day, in the regrigerator.

Cruiser


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## StevenRocks (May 24, 2005)

Andy said:


> I think StevenRocks hit on a couple of the reasons.
> 
> I did use a spiceful flour mixture including baking powder and after soaking the chicken in buttermilk, dipped it into the flour, then back in the buttermilk and again into the flour (double dipped!).
> 
> Maybe it was too heavy of a crust.


Probably. The second dip into the buttermilk was a bridge too far. If you wanted a double crust, dipping it in egg before you put more flour on would have been preferable to the buttermilk, or you could have mixed buttermilk and flour into a batter, gently shook off the excess, and then fried the chicken almost immediately rather than the resting that you do with the flour.

I have tried the batter before, but it works better with smaller pieces of chicken (tempura shrimp sized) than larger.


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