We all know that fried chicken is a classic comfort food. And while all the non-kosher folks make delicious looking chicken that they soak in buttermilk, we can’t really do that. I’ve tried using rice milk or almond milk with a little vinegar in place of the buttermilk, but it’s not the same. This is the real way to do it: coconut milk! Now we kosher folk can have (almost) the same comforting and crispy friend chicken in our own homes.
Since the only fried chicken I have ever made was pieces of chicken cutlets, or Shabbat chicken, I had to look to Alton Brown to see what his chicken technique was. He adds spices to his chicken. I copied him, but know it’s just as great without these spices. My cast iron skillet rusted so I made this in my trusty Le Creuset. You can use your favorite pot if you need to.
This fried chicken is THE ultimate comfort food. Forget mac and cheese or gallons of ice cream. It’s warm, crispy, and exactly what you need after a bad day (just ask Zeke, since he ate it after one of those days). Everyone in the family liked it, even the 2(and almost 1/2)-year-old, though he didn’t like the crispy crust and just ate the juicy meat.
Of course, I only used dark meat for this. Some people like white meat better, but not in my family. If I were having company I’d buy a whole chicken and cut it into eighths – there are usually people who like white meat better. And it’s actually very juicy fried, though take longer (closer to 12 minutes on each side) than the dark meat pieces, which take about 9 minutes on one side and 7 on the other). Use whatever pieces you prefer.
Crispy Fried Chicken, adapted loosely from Alton Brown:
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken cut into 8 pieces, or about 2 pounds chicken pieces
- 1 can coconut milk
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Flour, for dredging
- Oil for frying
Directions:
1. Place chicken in a container and cover with coconut milk. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours (the longer the better).
2. Drain chicken.
3. Pour oil into a cast iron skillet or pot until it is about an inch up the side. Heat to 325 degrees (if you don’t have a thermometer you can test this by dropping some flour into the pot and seeing if it sizzles. If it burns too quickly your oil is too hot, and if it doesn’t do anything, it’s not hot enough).
4. Sprinkle chicken liberally with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
5. Dredge in flour and shake off the excess (do not do this in advance. Dredge then place immediately in oil).
6. Place chicken, skin side down, in the pan, frying half at a time as to not overcrowd the pan.
7. Fry for 7-12 minutes on each side, depending on the size of the pieces, until the skin is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through.
8. Remove from oil and drain on a cookie sheet, paper towel, or paper bag.
9. Eat immediately. YUM!
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