I am craving fried chicken so badly right now! I have to say my favorite place for fried chicken is a place actually known for it's barbeque - Country's Barbeque in Columbus, GA. Their fried chicken dinner comes with two huge fried chicken breasts and your choice of a thigh or drumstick. The batter they use makes a nice thick coating over the skin, and the chicken is the juiciest I've ever had. I have finished the dinner once, eating all of the pieces, and had trouble standing up after that. And to make it even better it's under 10 dollars. You can't go wrong.

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I read that post and I now have a serious craving for fried chicken. I don't have chicken in the house. This may be a good thing.

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I grew up eating fried everything, but don't think I've cooked it myself in 20 years. I can't remember the last time I ordered any.

But I think I read somewhere that fried chicken isn't as bad for you as once thought? Maybe I'm wrong, but you ought to try some and now I'd love some for breakfast! LOL

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Thanks for the nice post about our fried chicken!

Karen -- that's a really interesting comment about the health aspects. I have to say, fried chicken obviously isn't something you'd want to eat every day, but I really don't think it's that bad for you. I mean, there's salt and pepper, a little bit of flour, and a minimal amount of oil.

It's like, yes, it takes a lot of oil to fry chicken, but at the end of the day, there's still just about the same amount of oil in the pan as when you started. That is, it's not in the chicken.

I don't know -- I'm no dietician! But I think that, as indulgences go, simple home-fried chicken isn't really that bad for you.

Am I wrong?

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Haha, I'm the same as "ya'll", I don't eat the stuff but darn if that doesn't look 'mazin' right now :)

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I actually made my first batch of fried chicken a couple nights ago. As scared as I was, I was surprised with just how easy it was and how amazing it tasted.

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I have to say, I really hate the fact that I really love fried chicken! It's an every once in a while indulgence for me. Really good homemade fried chicken is just amazing.

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Zach is correct, there isn't that much oil absorbed per piece in frying at the proper temperature. There was an old Crisco or Wesson oil TV commercial where they demonstrated that the oil loss was only a teaspoon after making a batch of fried chicken. A way to reduce this even further is to use a pressure fryer and have the chicken fully submerged. The combination keeps the moisture inside and allows none to escape, keeping the chicken moist. It also reduces the amount of oil entering the breading and chicken. It's a must if you get serious about frying your chicken. Under pressure or not, submerging in oil is almost always superior for preventing hot spots, burning, and keeping the chicken as moist inside as possible.

I grew up around Louisville, KY, and fried chicken was a basic staple - more often than burgers, even. Another trick I love is while the first batch is waiting in a warm oven, drizzle honey on the pieces. The contrast of the sweet honey and a little spice like paprika, etc. in the breading is a great variation once in a while.

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