Fried chicken

[sfllaw]

It's really difficult to resist well-fried food. Where there's this crispy, delicious batter surrounding something tender and wonderful in the centre. No hint of grease, no unseemly fat; just crunchy flavourful goodness.

Whether you are dreaming of cod, tempura, tofu, or a candy bar; frying is the best. I think fried chicken is second-to-none for picnic food. It's self-contained, portable, and works well hot or cold. There's something about gnawing on a chicken bone that's so very satisfying.

This recipe comes from several sources. It came first from Jim's cookbook from when he and I lived in Village 3. Then, it was modified with some inspiration from Nigella Lawson. It was Nigella that introduced me to the poaching step, which I find makes the chicken incredibly tender and thoroughly cooked.

Don't be afraid of the hot oil in this recipe. The worst that can happen is that you will knock the hot oil off the stove, splashing yourself in the face (disfiguring it permanently), blinding yourself, and having it catch on fire, whereby you turn into a human torch. But most of the time, you'll just get delicious food.
Fried chicken
Ingredients
Poaching

• 6 chicken legs
• 5mL salt
• 10 dried cloves
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• milk

Frying

• 250mL all-purpose white flour
• 2 large eggs
• 250mL breadcrumbs
• 15mL cayenne pepper
• 15mL paprika
• 10mL salt
• 15mL black pepper
• 30mL dried basil
• vegetable oil
• small onion

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, arrange your chicken pieces so they all fit. I like to use chicken legs, because there are drumsticks to hold on to.
2. Add the salt, cloves, and minced garlic, and then cover the chicken with milk.
3. Poach the chicken gently for about 10 minutes. The milk will curdle a bit, and the mixture might look a bit weird, but this is normal.
4. While this happening, you'll want to set up your breading station. Get three wide tins or bowls. In the first, dump in the flour. In the second, beat the eggs. In the third, put in the breadcrumbs.
5. In each of the tins, put in a third of each seasoning: cayenne, paprika, salt, pepper, and basil. The goal of this is to have all parts of the breading seasoned.
6. I like to shallow fry, so this is what I do. I get my big cast-iron skillet and fill it with three to four centimetres of fresh vegetable oil. Then I chunk up a small onion, and toss that in. I cover the pan with a lid and heat on medium-high, until the onion starts to sizzle.
7. Here's the messy (and arguably fun) part. Take a chicken leg out of the milk and shake off the excess liquid. Put it in the flour mixture, coat it lightly, and shake off the excess. Put it in the egg, roll it around, and shake off the excess. Put it in the breadcrumbs, get it coated well, and (you got it) shake off the excess.
8. Place the end of the leg into the oil, and let it fall away from you. That way, if it splashes, you won't get your shirt dirty. The oil should come a little over halfway up the side of the chicken.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 for each leg of chicken.
10. Once you've done that, the first piece is probably browned already. Take a pair of tongs and peek underneath it. If it's a nice golden colour, flip it over. It should take another minute or two, before the other side is browned.
11. Get a plate ready, and line it with two or three sheets of paper towel. When the chicken is done, remove it to this plate, and sprinkle lightly with salt. Just before serving the chicken, remove the paper towel, which will likely be quite greasy.
12. Let the oil cool and then discard it in a tin can that you can seal up. Pouring it down the sink may cause nasty clogs.

Serves 6 picnickers.