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Delaware Fried Chicken

Source of Recipe

From "See You on Sunday" by Sam Sifton


Recipe Introduction

"This is fried chicken crusted in seasoned flour and fried in a bath of peanut oil scented with bacon. I think of it as a taste of beachside living along the Delaware shore, because that's where I learned to cook it, and it's how I cook it still. (The recipe works just as well in an apartment in the middle of the city as in a prairie farmhouse far from town. Maybe it'll be Racine Fried Chicken for you, or Chicken Coeur d'Alene.) Covering the frying pan for a time while the chicken is cooking may be controversial in your set. But I'm telling you: It concentrates the crunch of the skin and makes for a recipe to recall endless summer, wherever you eat it and when. The chicken is as good cold or at room temperature the following day, perhaps even better. Finally, please, don't worry about all the oil left when you're done. Let it cool in the pot, then drain it into an old milk container and discard."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into 8 to 10 pieces
â—¦ 1 cup all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
â—¦ 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning, or to taste
â—¦ 2 to 3 cups peanut, canola, or grapeseed oil
â—¦ ¼ cup bacon drippings or 2 slices bacon


Recipe

Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels.

In a large sealable plastic bag or paper supermarket sack, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and Old Bay seasoning, and shake to mix. Add two pieces of the chicken to the bag and shake to coat. Remove them, shaking to remove excess flour, and set aside on a baking sheet or wire rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

Place a large cast-iron skillet for which you have a lid on the stove and add to it the oil and bacon drippings, if you have them. Heat over medium heat for 5 minutes and, if you don't have bacon drippings, add the bacon slices. Continue to heat the pan until a candy thermometer carefully inserted into the oil reads 360° to 365° F. Remove the bacon when it's crisp and set aside.

Using kitchen tongs, add the chicken pieces, skin side down, to the pan. Work in batches so as not to crowd them. The temperature of the oil will dip, to between 320° and 325° F. Adjust the heat so that the oil bubbles gently around the chicken. Cover the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, then uncover the pan and cook for an additional 10 minutes. There will be some spatter, but nothing you can't swipe away with a kitchen towel. Turn the chicken pieces and cover the pan again, then cook for 5 minutes. Uncover the pan and cook for an additional 5 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until the chicken is golden brown and cooked all the way through.

Drain on a wire rack, paper bags, or paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.
Serve with Red Pepper Honey.



Red Pepper Honey:

I like a drizzle of hot honey on my fried chicken, as I do sometimes on corn bread as well. It's fine served at room temperature, but you can also heat it through in a small pot on the stovetop to get it extra runny and to allow the fire of the red pepper flakes to bloom.

â—¦ ¼ cup honey
â—¦ Red pepper flakes

Pour the honey into a small bowl and whisk in red pepper flakes to taste. Drizzle on fried chicken or corn bread. (Try it with cheese and crackers too.)