Fried Chicken

Being on a gluten free diet definitely poses its challenges sometimes when it comes to some of the foods I used to enjoy....the latest being fried chicken. I was never a huge fried chicken eater, but having it from time to time was always a nice treat. So my mission this week was to finally master the art of not only frying chicken but making it gluten free as well! One word...SUCCESS! I combined several different recipes and techniques that I found from others and was able to achieve a tender juicy piece of meat with a crispy flavorful skin. Not only that, but I was able to get rave reviews from my lovely friend Shannon! Here's the recipe:

The first step that you'll need to complete is called brining. This will draw the moisture and flavor into the meat so your chicken will turn out nice and juicy! Take a large metal pot and fill it approximately 3/4 full of luke warm water (not to warm otherwise you'll start to cook your chicken!). Add 1/4 cup of salt to the water and stir until the salt has dissolved. Then place your chicken pieces (~4 lbs) into the solution. Place the pot in the refrigerator.You can leave the chicken in the brine for as long as you wish but for a minimum of 2 hours. Once your chicken has finished brining, remove each piece and place it on a cooling rack with a towel placed underneath it. Salt and pepper each piece well on all sides. In a medium sized bowl pour 2-3 cups of buttermilk and add 6-7 splashes of hot sauce (you can add as much as you like!). In a separate medium sized bowl, mix together 2 cups of flour (I used King Arthur: Gluten Free All Purpose Flour!), 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of black pepper, 2 tbsp of paprika, and 1 tsp of garlic powder. Next comes the fun part! Take a piece of chicken and dunk it into the buttermilk, then dredge it in the flour mixture so that it's entirely coated. Place the piece of chicken back on the rack and follow this procedure with every piece of chicken. Once all of the pieces have been covered in the flour mixture, take each piece and coat it again in just the flour mixture then place them back on the rack for 5 minutes. This wait period is key for a good crust that won't instantly fall off in the hot oil! Heat your deep skillet (filled less than half way with canola oil) to approximately 375 degrees F. Make sure your oil is HOT before you begin cooking the chicken otherwise you won't get the nice crust you're looking for! Place each piece of chicken into the frying pan. Brown both sides of the chicken and then cover the skillet with a lid and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Cook the chicken for about 30 minutes (you really don't have to flip the chicken mid-way through but you can if you wish!), then remove the lid and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes (this will crisp up the outside of the chicken!). Remove each piece of the chicken and place it on a cooling rack (allowing for all sides to stay crispy and any excess oil to drip off!). Serve and

ENJOY!