Katie wrote:And a p.s. concerning brining: a while ago a copy of Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking (?) fell into my hands. I read it through and passed it on to someone else. I vaguely recall a discussion in that book about brining--specifically, whether or not it was worthwhile to add sugar and other items to a salt-water brine, given the sizes of the particles of those other items, i.e., whether they'd be able to penetrate the chicken flesh or not. If anyone's got that book handy and could comment on HmG's advice on what's worth adding to a brine and what's not, I'd appreciate it.

I always thought adding extra ingredients to a brine was hogwash, until until I tried the Thomas Keller Ad Hoc fried chicken recipe (which is basically what my previous post was describing). I don't know if the flavors of thyme, bay leaf and lemon actually penetrate the meat or just cling to the surface, but you do taste them strongly in the final product.

Hi,

Modernist Cuisine had a topic today on pressure cooking. In the comment section I inquired if pressure cookers with silicone seals could be used for pressure frying aka broasted chicken. They came back to explain pressure fryers have an extra seal on them to avoid any super heated oil from spraying the kitchen. They noted the dangers of using a conventional pressure cooker to pressure fry.

My curiosity is now satisfied. If ever, ever do pressure fried chicken, it will be with the correct equipment.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:They came back to explain pressure fryers have an extra seal on them to avoid any super heated oil from spraying the kitchen.

It appears that it is the bracket secured across the lid that makes the difference. Seen here in home and commercial devices, this mechanism really clamps the top down. There may well be additional seals, too.

Do pressure fryers develop significantly different temperatures and pressures from pressure cookers?

That's a good question. Pressure in a constant volume is a function of temperature (from absolute zero) and number of molecules, so you have at least a hundred degrees higher (degrees Kelvin are the same as Celsius), but since you're starting from a couple hundred degrees lower, it's only about 20% more pressure for 225C instead of 125C.

The other half though is number of molecules. Oil isn't evaporating during frying - steam at the normal boiling point takes up 1700 times as much space as the water it boiled out from. I'd have to look up the actual equations, but I think boiling water is still going to be the bigger factor.

Pressure frying at home is NOT a safe issue unless you get a very expensive unit dedicated for it.
I have done it, but after hearing a few horror stories from friends, I will not do it again. However, outside of a frying pan the delonghi roto-fryer seems to be the best for my coated chicken.

Some day I will have a commercial pressure fryer like I used as "head fry cook" at my first job at Chicken Unlimited, now Brown's but not as tasty.

Last time I made fried chicken it was the cold-smoked, then fried chicken concept from the Ideas in Food book. I had some pecan hulls gifted to me from msmre, which were perfect for the task.

Last night, I test fried a batch of Korean chicken wings for the first time (with plans to make them for our office lunch today). Whereas I've had problems getting larger cuts to cook all the way through before the crust overcooks, wings are dead-easy.

Wings, salted and then dredged in corn starch/AP flour/a bit of baking powder, in the hot grease:


Resting on a wire rack


Tossed in gochujang, mixed with a bit of water, sesame oil, fresh ginger, and honey


(the brown one in the back was tossed in diluted honey cooked down with fresh ginger and birds eye chilis)

-Dan

Another batch of wings today - this time marinated for a few hours in fish sauce, birds eye chilis, lemongrass, garlic and ginger.



The ones on the right got a dredge in corn starch & AP flour before frying - I ended up preferring the naked ones.

-Dan

No matter how you brine, buttermilk soak, flour, coat or whatever, the simple fact is that any home device that is electrically operated cannot supply enough heat to fry more than one or two medium pieces and hold temperature. Idon't know of any home device sold to 'broast'.
After many years, I finally purchased a Lodge 'deep fryer' with cast iron lid. It is about 4' deep. has enough mass to hold heat and allows a good depth of oil. Our Viking with 15K BTu/Hr burners actually must be set about 50% after heating to the proper temperature. It's the only way I have made acceptable fried chicken at home.-Dick

We received a 48 pc. fryer. Joy.

Christopher Gordon wrote:We received a 48 pc. fryer. Joy.

And now you are leaving, isn't that the way it works?

Regards,

budrichard wrote:No matter how you brine, buttermilk soak, flour, coat or whatever, the simple fact is that any home device that is electrically operated cannot supply enough heat to fry more than one or two medium pieces and hold temperature. Idon't know of any home device sold to 'broast'.
After many years, I finally purchased a Lodge 'deep fryer' with cast iron lid. It is about 4' deep. has enough mass to hold heat and allows a good depth of oil. Our Viking with 15K BTu/Hr burners actually must be set about 50% after heating to the proper temperature. It's the only way I have made acceptable fried chicken at home.-Dick

That Lodge must weigh several hundred pounds with a 4 foot capacity

Hi,

I impulsively bought several pounds of chicken wings. I found this recipe for Serious Eats: Korean Fried Chicken. I made it to the recipe as well as the dipping sauce. I prepared 2.5 pounds chicken wings and probably could have made three pounds from this recipe.

It cooked them in three batches until they were browned, which was longer than eight minutes. I made a mistake with my first batch by frying them initially in cooking oil heated too low. This method was very forgiving of my mistake, which I remedied by turning up the heat. Usually fried foods cooked too low soak up the grease, this didn't.

I kept batches warmed in a 200 degree oven with the chicken on a rack over a cookie sheet.

I thought foolishly there would be leftovers, so I did not toss the wings with sauce. I wanted them to stay crisp. These wings were very, very crisp and the meat inside tender.

I don't have pictures, because I was busy eating.

Regards,

I have done 'Korean Fried Chicken' with my 4", not 4' Lodge, it's heavy anyway you look at it!
This is basically a cornstarch/flour coating twice fried before the addition of sauce. Results were great!
For a basic, buttermilk soak, flour, baking powder, deep fry, results are better than anything else I have tried but still not comparable to true 'Broasted' chicken.
One thing I have learned, soaking in buttermilk with Crystal added or other spices/herbs is basically a waste of effort.
We now remove from buttermilk, coat with seasoning, then flour and let air dry before frying.
I'm at the end of my experimentation with fried chicken at home.-Dick