| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 55 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 (4 1/2 to 5-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces
- Water
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 quarts vegetable shortening, for frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together cider and salt until salt dissolves. Add chicken pieces and enough water to coat and soak 1 hour in the refrigerator. Chicken should be completely submerged in brine.
- In a large pot, heat vegetable shortening until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 325 degrees F. Line a sheet tray with a wire rack.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cayenne and black pepper. In a paper bag, shake together flour and cornstarch. Drain chicken from brine and dip in batches first in egg mixture then in flour mixture to coat. Set on wire rack to let coating sit for 10 minutes. In 2 batches, fry chicken until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the piece. Remove from oil to drain on paper towel-lined plate.
Reviews
This is the most incredible fried chicken recipe I have ever made. It never disappoints. So full of flavor and crunch. I have always used legs, but next time I’m going to use wings because I think this would make delicious chicken wings. Thanks Sunny. By the way, I rewatched all of your “Cooking For Real” episodes in the last month, and I must say you are the best, most interesting and dynamic host on Food Network. It also doesn’t hurt that you are an excellent, excellent chef. You shouldn’t have to share a show with anyone.
I halved this recipe (only had 3 large drumsticks to make). It was so delicious! Nice and crunchy (fried in a cast iron skillet). Never made fried chicken with a brine or with cornstarch before. So glad I did this time. Thanks Sunny!!
I used this recipe a few years ago to cook for a group and everyone raves about it still. I didnt use as much salt, I used about 1/4c salt and 2 cups acv for the brine, let it sit for a couple hours while cleaning the house, then added some onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne, and dried basil to the flour/cornstarch mix and fried the chicken in a deep fryer. This chicken came out perfectly golden brown and was juicy and flavorful all the way through. Best fried chicken ever!
This is mostly for my own notes. 1) salt ratio in brine is off IMHO…as well as checking several other high rated brine recipes. Use 1 T. KOSHER SALT to 1 QUART LIQUID. .Then use just enough to cover. Cider is a good idea though. Add herbs to breading mixture( see Tyler Florence recipe)) Keep oil at 340 to 350 MAX. Like Ins’ s method of quicker fry and finish in over…..(OR indirect heat on grill….Lid closed. Temp no more than 350 max.
I am just beginning to cook and saw the episode with this chicken so I scrambled to gather up all the supplies I needed to cook it. I didn’t add any of my favorite seasonings like the montreal or creole.husband thought it was great but I just didn’t. it was so hot I could hardly stand to eat it&meat wasn’t flavorful. QUITE BLAND. tender.I even added like 7 handfuls of salt and brined in cider in fridge for almost 2 hours. I may keep this but tweak it. I may add what I usually use for my fried chicken breading….crushed up corn flakes , into the mix. and cut the heat in half then add my creole and some sugar and that might just fix it! I am spoiled to my great grandmother and my grandmothers down south home cooking….everything is fried in peanut oil and it sweet sweet sweet! ;
i made this chicken today for my family and it was good! i’m not good with making fried chicken but i got this right my husband told me, he liked the taste and all the different flavors he got from it, my three year old tored it up.. a little tip: you can season the flour with some of your powder season’s you have at home not alot for the chicken to taste too salt.
I was skeptical at first because most other fried chicken recipes say to soak the chicken in buttermilk BUT I tried this recipe and it was the BEST fried chicken I have ever made. For the first time my chicken did not looked burned on the outside and undercooked inside. It was PERFECT! And the taste was AWESOME. I used 1/4 cup of salt and half the cayenne it called for because I did not want it to be too hot. It was just right for our household. LOVED IT! Thank you Sunny.
I Love This Recipe!!! Made it for my family for the first time a year ago, and they still rave about “the first time Mom got it perfectly fried” since I would tease that I have been trying to perfect my fried chicken recipe for the past 15 years. Now its just a given that fried chicken will be perfect! I actually never used cider for the brine, think its available in southern Ca. for about a week! But cider vinegar works great. Thanks Sunny!!!
i love this recipe my family loves it to i was scared to make fried chicken seance i have never made it be for but it turned out great, this recipe is a keeper!
By far the best fried chicken I ever made. Thanks Sonny for another family favorite!