I made Fried Chicken - breading fell off - any tips?

[Caine]

I just looked it up and the price is $34.95 (look under "breading trays"). I suppose that could be lower, but they quickly became one of my favorite kitchen items, so I think it was well worth it. As I said, they nest (and they're small), so they store really well. And they hook together, side by side. I have an apartment kitchen, so three pie tins side by side would be a lot of counter space for me.

Well, I paid $7.95 apiece for my Marie Callender pie tins, and each one came with a delicious pie in it!


BTW, Marie Callender's is currently having their semi-annual $5.95 pie sale. I heard the commercial on the car radio, hit the nearest freeway exit, and picked up an apple pie last night on the way home from work. I need to call them to see just how long this sale is going to continue. I just might buy my Thanksgiving pies ahead of time and freeze them. NAH! I'll pay the extra money and get them fresh on the day before Thanksgiving.

 

[Andy M.]

...You should always parboil chicken or ribs before putting them on the barbecue. So yes, I'm sure this does work.

Why do you do this?

I have always been opposed to this. You're taking flavor out of the meat and leaving it behind in the water.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

It doesn't sound odd at all, it sounds like barbecuing. You should always parboil chicken or ribs before putting them on the barbecue. So yes, I'm sure this does work.

No. I disagree completely. Parboiling removes way too much flavor. Cooking to the proper meat temperature, over the proper kind of fire arrangement will yeild perfect results every time, that is, juicy, tender, and done all the way through. I never par-boil any kind of meat before grilling/barbecuing.

And for fried chicken, there are a couple of techniques that will work well for you. First, instead of dredging in flour, egg-wash, sesoned flour, you can make a simple batter of seasoned flour, egg, and water. Completely dry the chicken pieces with a paper towel, and then dredge in the batter. You will have a wonderfully crispy coating that adheres perfectly. And for cooking, it is much easier to prehet the oven to 375' F., and fry the chicken until lightly browned. Then arrange the partially cooked chicken on a jelly-roll pan, and bake for 20 minutes. The chicken will come out so juicy that it will squirt you when you bite it, and be cooked all the way through.

Some alterations to the flour, egg-wash, seasoned-flour technique is to dry the chicken peices, brush with butter or oil, dredge in flour, then egg-wash, and then in either sesoned panko bread crumbs, seasoned bread crumbs, a combination of flour and cornmeal, or seasoned breadcrumbs mixed with flaked coconut. Then fry and bake as per the above instructions. All will allow you to get the best flavor and texture from your chicken.

Another interesting thing you can do is to make a cavity between the major breast muscle and the tenderloin (this is on bone-in chicken breasts), then stuff the cavity with a bread or rice stuffing, or with cheese, onion & herbs, or whatever you want. Then dredge in flour/egg-wash/breadcrumbs. Fry and bake as above. You can really get creative using this technique. Ham and swiss cheese are classic stuffing ingredients, as are garlic butter with herbs.

Hope this helps.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[ducdebrabant]

Wow, people do get touchy here. I recommended parboiling because a man I know who does wonderful barbecue recommends it. I never barbecue, myself, and I'm sure all of you are experts at it. I utterly defer. As for the pie tins, I don't have the counter room to bread in three pie tins. Those who have more to spread out, you can bread in three dutch ovens for all I care. I still like my breading trays, even if they're not as cheap as something one essentially gets free.

 

[Katie H]

When it comes to frying chicken, I have several methods but, regardless of the method I use, I refrigerate the breaded chicken pieces for up to 30 minutes before I fry them. The breading never falls off.

I use this same method for other foods that are breaded and fried, especially green tomatoes.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Wow, people do get touchy here...

I'm sorry that I came accross as touchy. That was not my intent. People around here will tell you that I'm probably one of the least touchy persons on this site. Rather, I am a lover of strong, full flavors, and have found through personal experimentation that you can get more-flavorful results without par-boiling. But I do admit that it is a bit trickier to do. You have to watch the meat more closely, and if at all possible, use a meat thermometer.

But please, if a method works for you, and you love it, then keep on using it. Just keep an open mind to other ideas as well.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[catloverr2003]

I always used to put the chicken pieces in the egg first and then the breading. The crispy layer always fell off of the finished product.

Then someone on Food TV was breading chicken and did the "flour/egg/breading" thing, so I tried it and it works so that is what I do now.