The Secret to Gluten-Free Fried Chicken

With Independence Day coming up on Tuesday many of us in the U.S. are thinking about food, planning what we are going to serve.  Summer always makes me think of picnics and when I think of picnics I think of fried chicken.  Not just any fried chicken, my mom’s fried chicken.  She made the best.  I have many of her recipes including fried chicken.  This is one of those recipes I thought was out-of-bounds for me when I started living gluten-free for health reasons.  When I realized how simple the answer was I was embarrassed that I couldn’t see it sooner.

You see, there really is no secret to making gluten-free fried chicken.  Unless there are other problem ingredients, you can still use you favorite recipe, with one small change.  You use gluten-free flour.  Now you will get different results with different flours, so you will want to experiment a bit.  The first time I tried this I made two batches of chicken nuggets, one with brown rice flour and one with sorghum flour.  You can also use a blend if you wish.  You do not need xanthan gum for this.  I have since fried actual pieces of chicken and it works great as well.

 

If you don’t have a favorite fried chicken recipe you are welcome to try mine.  My mom’s recipes were just lists of ingredients, often without measurements so I usually just guess at how much I need of each ingredient.  Feel free to adjust my measurements below for how much chicken you have.  This recipe may also be used with basically anything you want to bread and fry.

Mom’s Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into tenders or nuggets (You may also use bone-in chicken pieces or a cut up whole chicken).

1 t. Mrs. Dash

1 t. paprika (this helps with browning)

1/4 c. milk

1 eggs beaten or 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute

Vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. Combine milk and egg in a small bowl or flat baking dish.
2. Combine flour and spices in another bowl or baking dish.  Mix well.
3. Dip chicken pieces in milk/egg mixture, then in flour.  Repeat.
4. Pour oil about 1″ deep in a skillet.  Heat oil till a small drop of water dropped in pan sizzles.
5. Carefully add chicken pieces to hot oil.  You do not want to splatter hot oil or your skill or for it to run over the edges of the skillet.
6. Cook on medium heat until lightly browned on both sides.
7. Reduce heat and cover skillet with lid.
8. Continue to cook, turning a couple of times till the thickest pieces are done.
9. Take cover off and cook for about 5 minutes more to crisp things up.

Genie’s Note:

• For fried chicken, I think brown rice flour makes a very nice thick, crispy crust.  Bob thinks sorghum flour has more flavor.  Experiment with your favorite gluten-free  flours until you find the one you like best.
• You may adjust the seasoning in your flour to meet your family’s taste.  If you prefer spice, add cumin or chili powder, for Italian flavor add rosemary, oregano and basil.  You may also add garlic powder if you wish.  Experiment to find what you like best.
• If you run out of flour or egg wash, just mix a bit more up.  You don’t want to have a lot of leftover flour or egg wash.  Do not reuse you flour of milk/egg about it has had raw chicken in it — just throw it out.

• Fried foods are not something we eat regularly now.  I might make fried chicken once a year for Bob’s birthday.  But my mom’s fried chicken still holds a special place in my memory and I wanted to use this as an example of how easy it can sometimes be to make those old favorites gluten free.

Approach those old favorite recipes with an open mind and there’s no telling where they might take you.

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This recipe has been shared at the Sugar, Spice and Family Life Link Party.