Frying | The Misadventures of Mrs. B

One day, many moons ago, I was experimenting in the kitchen.

I admit, sometimes this doesn’t go well. Like the time I tried to make cream of potato soup by boiling the potatoes in the milk. Shudder. I didn’t always know a whole lot about cooking.

Anyway, I was experimenting. I think I was going to be throwing a party and wanted to make something easy and delicious, something people would flock to but which wouldn’t take me a whole lot of time to make and could be prepared in advance.

It was also around that time that I started frying things. As in dunking them in hot oil and seeing what happened. I’m a wild and crazy girl, aren’t I?

After much experimentation, I came up with…this:

Popcorn chicken. You know you want it.

Be sure to cut the chicken up into pieces of approximately the same size – you want them to cook evenly so you know when one is finished cooking, the rest are as well.

It’s important to make sure the oil is ready for frying. How do you know? When you drop a small piece of bread in the oil and it sizzles, then floats to the surface right away, it’s time to fry. If the oil isn’t hot enough it will just make the breading soggy.

But keep an eye that it doesn’t get too hot or else you’ll have some burned chicken, or a lovely golden coating with raw chicken inside. Which is no good for anyone.

That’s what you want. It may take a little experimenting at first to get the hang of it. But it’s well worth the experimentation, believe me.

How does it taste? Well, let’s just say that I was frying batches for a New Years Eve party a couple of years ago and one batch was gone before I turned back to replenish the plate. And we didn’t have that many people in attendance. And there were approximately a million other things to eat.

Plus, Rob’s addicted. So that’s saying something.

The next time you feel like a little KFC is in order (or Church’s or Popeye’s or whatever), and you have a little time and patience, give this a shot. You can play with the flavor in the coating after frying a piece or two and seeing how you like it- personally I like it on the milder side, but that’s only because I like to do…THIS to it:

Oh yeah. Buffalo sauce. I went there. I went there, sat down, ate a heap of it and wiped my mouth after. And it was good.

Incidentally, this could also be called boneless buffalo wings. Which is the only kind I’ll eat. I’m not a fan of, like…bones and stuff. Just give me the meat.

And then, if you’re really bad (like me) you could dunk it in some dressing…

Gulp.

Excuse me. I have to wipe the drool off my keyboard. And fry up some more of this.

You should fry some up, too. Only don’t blame me if you find yourself dreaming about it and buying oil by the vat in order to keep up with your chicken frying habit. Your addiction is your own, as they say.

Popcorn Chicken

3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut into pieces

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Dash of hot sauce

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons black pepper

Oil for frying

In a deep pot, heat around 4-6 inches of oil over medium high heat (or use a fryer if you’re lucky enough to have one). Oil is ready when a piece of bread sizzles and quickly floats to surface.

In a shallow bowl, beat eggs and hot sauce. In a separate bowl or plate, combine dry ingredients. When oil is ready, dip chicken pieces in egg, then coat lightly with flour mixture. Fry in batches for approximately 8-10 minutes, until coating is light brown and chicken is cooked through. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in a low oven, if necessary, until ready to serve.

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Fried pickles.

It sounds sorta silly, doesn’t it? I mean, who fries pickles? Aren’t pickles delicious enough on their own?

Well, they are indeed very delicious. I can’t argue with you there. However, if you don’t understand why pickles should be fried…it’s probably because you’ve never eaten a fried pickle. I too used to be a naysayer.

Then I ate one. Then I ate an entire jar’s worth. And the world will never be the same.

And really, when you think about it…chicken is good, but popcorn chicken is excellent. And fried dough rolled in powdered sugar, aka beignets? Pretty much so-good-you-could-die amazing. So really, is it so unthinkable that pickles would be totally delicious when fried?

These pickles are reminiscent of the ones I’ve eaten at Buffalo Wild Wings. There’s cornmeal in the coating, to give it a little extra crunch and texture, just like at the restaurant. The dipping sauce is my own creation, though – I can’t resist a little dill and horseradish action.

Two things to remember: One, drain and dry the pickles thoroughly before coating. Two, make sure whenever you’re frying anything that the oil is hot enough – otherwise the oil will soak into what you’re frying and instead of crispiness you’ll end up with oiliness.

And no one likes an oily pickle.

Fried Pickles

2 eggs

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup vegetable oil for deep frying (Or more – I made sure I had 2 -3 inches of oil in the pan)

Pour oil in pan or fryer. Heat to 365 degrees F, or until a crust of bread floats to the top when dropped into the oil.

While oil is heating, pour pickles into a strainer and drain liquid, then lay in single layer on paper towels and pat dry.

Beat eggs together in a bowl. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl or shallow dish.

When oil is ready, dip pickles into eggs and dredge through cornmeal mixture, coating thoroughly. Carefully drop pickles into oil and fry until golden brown, turning if necessary.

Remove fried pickles with slotted spoon or tongs and drain on paper towels. Serve with dipping sauce, if desired.

Horseradish Dill Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tsp dried dill

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp prepared horseradish

1 tsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients and allow to sit, refrigerated, for 30 minutes prior to serving.

Have you ever eaten fried pickles? What did you think?

Sharing with House of Hepworths, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Designs by Gollum, Simply Sweet Home, 504 Main, A Southern Fairytale & Balancing Beauty and Bedlam – stop on by to see what everyone else has come up with this week!