Trying to learn out to deep fry: Food is too crispy!

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void.pointer

Assistant Cook
Joined
Mar 27, 2011
Messages
2
Hello,

I just got a new deep fryer (4.1 liter) and I'm trying to learn how to cook properly.

First, I tried french fries. They came out very crunchy but soft on the inside. They were too crunchy, but tasty.

I then tried fried chicken (battered in flour). The chicken came out so hard. It was WAY too crispy. The outside was almost like biting into thick egg shells. It was really gross.

What would be causing this? I cut the pieces of chicken breast up into small pieces (perhaps too small). I deep fried them at 375F for 13 minutes. Any tips to a newcomer? Thanks in advance!
 
French fries are supposed to be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Was it the chicken or the crust that was too hard. You post seems to suggest both.
 
French fries are supposed to be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Was it the chicken or the crust that was too hard. You post seems to suggest both.

Sorry for the lack of info. Let me explain:

The inside of the fried chicken seemed OK. It was the crust. The outside of the chicken (where it was battered) was very very hard (like egg shells). The inside didn't look burned or too dry. I didn't keep the food long enough in my mouth to know for sure though, it was too nasty :(

As for the french fries, they were about 2-3 times more crunchy than you might find in most fast food restaurants. They broke like twigs, but were still edible and somewhat soft on the inside. My point is, I could tell I made them too crunchy. I deep fried the french fries at 375F for about 4 minutes.

I have a feeling that everything I deep fry is getting too crunchy. I'm not sure if I'm cooking things for too long or if I'm using the wrong temps. I use peanut oil for everything.
 
Try cooking the FFs for less time. Cook the chicken at a lower temperature so the outside won't get so hard by the time the interior is cooked.
 
I, too, would fry chicken at a lower temperature for a longer time. But, I think the most basic issue of frying is the batter, or outer coating of starch. They say, for example, that french fries should first be fried to doneness in low temp oil, cooled, and then flash fried in high temp oil for a crisp exterior. Chicken nuggets will fry differently at different temperatures/times if it has a simple dry coat of flour, a thin coat of tempura, or thick cake batter.

Have fun with your new toy!
 
You chicken might have turned out like that simply because the batter was too thick. Are you using watered down egg wash? Did you knock off the excess flour? If it's none of those things then as the others have said, look at lowering your temperature to something like 355F or reduce your cooking time.

As for the fries, you could try a lower temp or periodically lift the fries out of the oil for 30 seconds. This will slow down the outside cooking while letting the residual heat carry on the work inside.

OR... you could blanch the fries in lower temp oil, about 325F or so till they're medium soft, take them out, heat the oil to 375F and fry them till nicely crispy.
 

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