Fried Chicken Legs, No Batter
my current situation!!!!
No flour. No buttermilk. No batter. Look at the picture again — that is chicken skin, and nothing else, blistered and puffed and gone the colour of straw.
This is how fried chicken is done in half the world and almost nowhere in America, and it is better than battered chicken for the simple reason that the crust is the bird. Skin is fat and collagen; drop it in hot oil and the water boils out of it and it blows up into something crisp and hollow.
The whole technique is dry skin and two temperatures. Dry it overnight in the fridge, fry it low to cook it through, then fry it hot for ninety seconds to blister it.
- Feeds
- 6
- Hands-on
- 30 minutes
- Dry
- Overnight, uncovered
- Fry
- Twice — 325°F then 375°F
What you need
The chicken
- 4 lb chicken drumsticks and wings
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
- 1 tbsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp baking powder — not soda
The fry
- 3 quarts neutral oil — peanut, or beef tallow if you have it
- A deep heavy pot
- A thermometer, and this one is not optional
How it goes
1 — Salt it and dry it overnight, uncovered
Salt, pepper, garlic and the baking powder all over, then spread on a rack over a tray in the fridge, uncovered, overnight. The skin goes papery and faintly translucent. That is exactly what you want and it is the whole recipe.
2 — Baking powder, not soda, and only a little
It raises the surface pH so the skin browns and blisters at a lower temperature. A teaspoon across four pounds is enough; more and you can taste it.
pro tip — Soda instead of powder will make it taste like soap and there is no fixing it afterwards.
3 — Fill the pot no more than halfway
Bare chicken puts water into hot oil and it will climb. Half full, deep sides, and keep a lid within reach.
4 — First fry at 325°F, ten to twelve minutes
In batches of five or six so the oil does not crash. This is the cooking fry — the chicken comes out pale blond and cooked through, and it will not look impressive. Onto a rack.
5 — Rest ten minutes between fries
Steam escapes and the surface dries again. Straight back in and the second fry just reheats it.
6 — Second fry at 375°F, ninety seconds
Oil back up, chicken in, and watch it blister. The skin bubbles up, goes gold, and gets those scorched patches at the joints that the picture shows. Ninety seconds to two minutes, no more.
7 — Salt it again the moment it comes out
Onto the rack, salted immediately while the surface is still hot and slightly oily. Salt applied thirty seconds later just falls off.
8 — Stack it on the rack, not on paper
Paper towel steams the underside soft. The rack over a tray in the picture is correct and it is why the bottom pieces are still crisp.
My current situation. Two trays and no regrets. LFG.