Who Knew?The term "southern fried" did not come into being until it appeared in print around 1925. However, contrary to popular belief, Southerners were not the first people in the world to fry chickens. Fried chicken can be found as far back as Ancient Rome, and can be found in places throughout Europe and South East Asia. Viet Nam has a version called Ga Xao. Still, the fried chicken that is popular is "Southern Fried".
Food researcher, Lynne Olver, of foodtimeline.com wrote, "the Scottish, who enjoyed frying their chickens rather than boiling or baking them as the English did, may have brought the method with them when they settled the South. The efficient and simple cooking process was very well adapted to the plantation life of the southern African-American slaves, who were often allowed to raise their own chickens. The idea of making a sauce to go with fried chicken must have occurred early on, at least in Maryland, where such a match came to be known as "Maryland fried chicken." By 1878 a dish by this name was listed on the menu of the Grand Union hotel in Saratoga, New York..."
---The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 305-6)
Gluten Free Fried Chicken Compared to Traditional
There’s not much difference between gluten-free or the traditional wheat battered fried chicken taste-wise. However, gluten free batter does ten to crack and fall off the chicken.
Because wheat flour is not used in gluten free fried chicken, dark meat is best. However, if you prefer white meat, it works fine with this recipe too. You will need to bake large chicken breasts for an extra five to 10 minutes. As with all of my recipes, this can be used for gluten and non-gluten cooking.
Ingredients
3 lb. chicken thighs or drumsticks, bone-in
½ cup kosher salt or ¼ cup crushed sea salt
¼ cup black pepper
1 cup flour (for gluten free add 7 cups rice or millet flour)
¼ cup Old Bay Season Mix
3 large eggs (beaten)
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp Xanthan gum (for elasticity of batter if you are going non gluten)
Vegetable oil for frying
Preparation
Brine the chicken by placing the meat in a large bowl. Pour in 2 1/2 quarts of water. Add and 1/2 cup kosher salt or ¼ cup sea salt. Place mixture in the refrigerator for 3 1/2 hours. After which drain and pat each chicken piece dry.
Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a baking dish large enough to hold all the chicken in one layer with butter or oil. Use two baking dishes if one can not hold all the meat.
Place three large shallow bowls onto the dredging area. Add 1 cup of flour and to bowl on the left and mix thoroughly. Add eggs to the middle bowl. In a large freezer bag, add the remaining flour, Xanthan gum, and spices (salt and pepper, paprika, garlic power, onion powder and cayenne pepper). Close the bag and shake vigorously to combine the spices with the flour. Pour spice mix into the bowl on the right.
Individually dip each piece of chicken the bowl on the left, coating on all sides. Remove excess flour by shaking gently. Dip flour-covered chicken into the egg until it is covered on all sides then allow excess liquid to drip off. Place two pieces at a time inside the freezer back and shake until chicken is fully covered with seasoning. Place chicken in cling wrap and let sit for one hour.
Place the prepared baking dish next to the dredging area.
After one hour remove the chicken from the cling wrap, repeat the process of dipping in egg and shaking in the seasoned flour.
Shake off excess seasoning and place chicken into the prepared baking dish(s).
Bake chicken for 20 minutes, or until the coating turns light brown then remove from oven.
In a large skillet, heat enough oil to submerge chicken halfway over medium-high heat. Fry all pieces, turning once until thoroughly cooked, about 7 minutes per side.
Note: If using an instant-read thermometer, the temperature should read 175 F at the thickest point of dark meat, and 165 F at the thickest point of white meat).
