Creole Fried Chicken

From

June/July 2008

Creole Fried Chicken

Creole fried chicken recipes should turn out meat that is deeply seasoned with the complex, lively heat of black, white, and cayenne pepper. Soaking the chicken in a brine of salt, sugar, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce seasoned the chicken down to the bone. We built depth of flavor in our Creole Fried Chicken with a three-step approach: After brining, a sprinkling of our Creole seasoning on raw chicken added flavor without the dusty saltiness of packaged spice blends; the seasoning also lent a potent punch to the chicken’s flour coating; and for a peppery finish, we sprinkled the hot chicken with more seasoning when it came out of the oil. Before frying, we rolled the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour not once, but twice—the extra coating produced a crisp, substantial, craggy crust. Using a clip-on candy/deep-fry thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil before we started and while the chicken was cooking ensured the oil was always at the correct temperature.

Serves 4 to 6

To ensure even cooking, breasts should be halved crosswise and leg quarters separated into thighs and drumsticks. We prefer the brash flavor of Louisiana’s own Tabasco sauce in this recipe, but any hot sauce will work. In step 1, do not soak the chicken longer than 8 hours, or it will be too salty.

Ingredients

The recipe you requested is for
Members Only.

Start Your 14-Day Free Trial Membership

Every Recipe. Every Rating. Every Video from
Every Magazine & Every Episode!
  • 8 years of Cook’s Country Foolproof Recipes
  • Complete Cook’s Country TV Video Library
  • 2,900+ Equipment Ratings and Ingredient Taste Tests
  • Step-by-Step Technique Photos
  • Save Favorites, Create Menus, Print Shopping Lists
How we use your e-mail address
Christopher Kimball, Founder and Publisher

Dear Home Cook,

If I were new to CooksCountry.com, I might think, "It's easy to get free recipes on the Internet. What makes your recipes different?" Well, unlike recipes from blogs, message boards, and other recipe sites, our recipes are exhaustively tested by our team of full-time test cooks until they offer consistently great results. That means fried chicken with a crunchy coating and moist meat, a low-fat recipe makeover for macaroni and cheese that’s as creamy and cheesy as the full-fat version, and fork-tender slow cooker pot roast.

We're obsessive in our quest to find and foolproof the best of American home cooking, from fuss-free weeknight dinners, to updated, simplified versions of regional specialties, to slow cooker and make ahead meals. CooksCountry.com is the only place you can find every foolproof recipe published in Cook’s Country magazine since 2005, plus objective ratings and test results from both Cook’s Country and Cook’s Illustrated for cookware and supermarket ingredients.

Let me make a simple, no-nonsense offer. Try out our website FREE for a 14-Day, No-Hassle Trial Offer. I’m pretty confident that CooksCountry.com will quickly become an invaluable resource for everything from a quick Tuesday supper to your next get-together with family and friends.

Thanks for your consideration,

Christopher Kimball

Christopher Kimball
Founder and Publisher

How we use your e-mail address