BREADED CHICKEN

      Title: BREADED CHICKEN
  Categories: Chicken, Ceideburg 2
       Yield: 8 Servings
  
       2    2 1/4 to 2 1/2 -lb. fryers,
            -cut into serving pieces
       2 c  Milk
       2 c  Flour
       3 tb Chef's Salt (see below)
       4    Whole eggs
     1/2 c  Milk
     1/2 c  Water
       4    To 6 cups bread crumbs
            Shortening for frying
 
 MMMMM------------------------CHEF'S SALT-----------------------------
       1 c  Salt
       1    Tb Spanish paprika
       1 ts Ground black pepper
     1/4 ts Ground white pepper
     1/4 ts Celery salt
     1/4 ts Garlic salt
  
   Crisp fried chicken is one of the things that I always find
   contradictory instructions for.  "ALWAYS cover the frying chicken."
   "NEVER cover the frying chicken." This is from "The Chef's Secret
   Cook Book" and directly addresses the question.  It works too.  I
   tried this out last night (used a bunch of chicken wings rather than
   whole cut up chickens) and came up with a crispy, nice batch of fried
   chicken.  The trick is explained in the "Chef's Secret" section
   below. BTW, I used plain ol' commercial seasoned salt instead of the
   "Chef's Salt" called for and it turned out just fine.
   
   1.  When cutting the chicken into serving pieces, separate the thighs
   from the drumsticks, cut each breast in half, leaving a part of the
   breast meat on each wing, and, if you wish, cut two separate back
   pieces.
   
   2.  Take out all the small bones like the rib cage, backbone,
   collarbone, etc.,leaving only the main bones in the pieces.
   
   3.  Mix the flour with the Chef's Salt.  Beat the eggs with the 1/2
   cup milk and the water, then strain through a sieve.
   
   4.  Dip each chicken piece in the 2 cups milk, let the milk drip off,
   then dip it in the flour-spice mixture. Be sure to completely cover
   with the flour mixture. Shake off excess flour and then dip in the
   egg wash. Turn the piece to be sure no dry spots remain, then place
   the piece on the top of the piled up bread crumbs, Sprinkle more
   bread crumbs over the chicken until completely covered, then gently
   but firmly press down so that the crumbs really adhere to the
   chicken. Shake off excess crumbs and lay the chicken parts on a paper
   covered tray, skin side up. Continue until all chicken is breaded.
   
   5.  In a large frying pan which has a lid, beat half of the
   shortening to approximately 360F and carefully, one by one, put in
   the chicken pieces, skin side up. Add the chicken slowly so that the
   fat remains hot. Cover the pan, adjust the beat to medium, and cook
   for about 10 to 12 minutes.
   
   6.  Remove cover, turn pieces, and fry, uncovered, for another 10
   minutes or so.  Remove the pieces to a warm place on absorbent paper
   and keep warm until served.
   
   CHEF'S SECRET:  By straining the egg-milk-water mixture, called egg
   wash, you avoid having big parts of the egg white adhere to some
   pieces so that there is not enough of the egg wash for other pieces.
   Also, the straining makes the coating even.
   
   If you want to avoid lumps of flour and bread crumbs on your fingers,
   designate one hand as "wet" and the other as "dry." With the wet hand,
   handle the uncoated chicken, dip it into and remove it from the,
   milk, and place it on the flour.  Sprinkle flour over it with the dry
   hand, and coat it and lift it out with the dry hand. Place it in the
   egg wash with the dry hand, lift it out with the wet hand, and then
   finish with the, dry hand. It sounds complicated, but if you learn
   the trick you can prepare large amounts of chicken without ever
   getting lumps on your fin fingers.
   
   It is important to cover the pan while the bottom of the chicken is
   frying as this keeps it tender.  Frying the pieces without a cover
   after turning makes the skin crisp.
   
   CHEF'S SALT:
   
   Mix well and use instead of salt:
   
   Be careful to use garlic salt, not garlic powder, If you use garlic
   powder a small pinch is enough.
   
   Makes 8 servings.
   
   From "The Chef's Secret Cookbook", Louis Szathmary, Quadrangle Books,
   Chicago.  1972.
   
   Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; March 16 1993.
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