West Fried Chicken

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 kg chicken pieces
• 1 -2 cup buttermilk or 1 -2 cup milk
• tabasco sauce
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• olive oil or sunflower oil, about 2 cm deep in pan

Recipe

• 1 rinse chicken, cut off excess fat, cut any very big pieces in half.
• 2 combine buttermilk, a few squirts of tabasco sauce and eggs in a bowl; whisk to blend well.
• 3 (tip: marinating for a few hours in the buttermilk mixture gives the chicken more flavour).
• 4 in a large container with a lid, combine and sift the flour and dry ingredients.
• 5 (tip: i use a coffee grinder to powder the herbs to help release their flavour!).
• 6 dip the pieces of chicken in the buttermilk mixture; let excess drip off back into the bowl. then put a few chicken pieces in the dry ingredients container, put the lid on and shake to coat thoroughly (a plastic bag would probably work just as well but i like to think i’m getting some use out of shirl’s tupperware). place coated pieces on a rack and repeat with remaining chicken pieces. leave them for about 30 minutes for the coating to get nice and moist.
• 7 heat oil in fry pan to 6 o’clock position on stove top element control. when oil is hot, but not smoking, fry chicken, a few pieces at a time until only light brown on both sides (don’t crowd that pan). after frying each batch, place them on a rack in a 160º(about 320f) oven (don’t forget to put a tray under the rack to catch the drips!). this process is important, as it both drains excess oil from the chicken as well as finishes cooking it in a very effective salute to healthy cooking!
• 8 chicken breasts will take a little less time than boney pieces – thighs take the longest, so cook thighs and legs first. that way they will spend a bit longer in the oven than the breasts. pierce with a fork to see if juices run clear to check for doneness. the end result is simply fantastic.