Kettle Fried question

[AJ328]

I've noticed in a few threads that people have been forgoing that traditional dredge (flour, egg, bread crumbs) method and placing the chicken directly into bread crumbs. Has anyone run into trouble using this method?

Last week I soaked some legs in buttermilk over night and put them straight into seasoned bread crumbs and let them sit for about 15 minutes before grilling. The flavor and juiciness was amazing, but I had a problem with the breading being very fragile and flaking off. Anyone have any suggestions about how to remedy this?

Has anyone else tried buttermilk?

[AJ328]

Nothing?

[Tim in PA]

I've never been successful with the traditional method.

[iCARRY]

Did ok with it recently. Just used water and shake and bake. It cracked while cooking, but stayed on the chicken. Let them dry for 30 minutes on a wire rack, got the grill really hot and let it go for about 40 minutes, turning once and finishing over the coals

[Craig]

I'm doing KFC again tonight.

[AJ328]

Craig, what's your method?

Do you apply bread crumbs directly to the chicken or is there anything else you put on it?

[Idahawk]

I use the Louisiana chicken fry batter I believe it's 1/4 of the package mixed up wet and the rest dry , dip in the wet batter , dredge in the dry , it's been perfect every time. Fast and easy .

[Metal Mike]

1-2 whisked egg-wash prior to batter

[AJ328]

thanks for the advice, I'll give it a whirl tomorrow.

[rich]

Recently, I added corn starch to the crumb mix. It turned out pretty firm and settled.
I'm pretty sure I have pics, I'll post some soon.
Good luck!

[toddmog]

I bought a package of legs with the intent to do some KFC this Friday. I also picked up Louisiana Crispy batter mix. Does anyone brine their KFC? I usually brine everytime I do chicken, just not sure if it's necessary this go around. Thoughts?

[1buckie]

You could combine the methods, Todd.....wouldn't hurt anything.......the brine is maybe more for the internal juiciness.....the batter is mostly for the outside crispy, but I think, also the flaking off problem MIGHT be from moving too fast thru the setup & not having the outside moistened enough for the coating to kind of "weld" to the skin..............


Here's one of the better ones I've seen.....in addition to a bunch of the fix-ups people have done right here @ WKC:

And just for the heck of it......not dry aged, but here's her Fried Chicken on the Weber:

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49956&highlight=dry+aged+waygu

This woman's cookups are amazing, but her blog is shut down, so hence the Smoke Ring link......

She did chicken broth & buttermilk both, but said something about it wasn't really necessary for both.....

[Craig]

Craig, what's your method?

Do you apply bread crumbs directly to the chicken or is there anything else you put on it?

Sorry for the late reply. I usually soak the pieces in milk and egg then I double dredge them in the mix. I'll be doing another round this week at the lake so we'll see how it comes out.

[heart of coal]

i've done it a lot of ways.  there is no better method than DIXIE FRY..  you have to do something special with the coal bed.

[heart of coal]

you need to use a big pile of coals.  i fill my chimney starter to the top.  get it red hot..dump it and split it evenly in two.  get the two coal beds built up on either side.  back it up the kettle.  then the chicken down the middle on a CLEAN, greased grill.  i end up opening and flipping it once.  start skin side up..then flip it..then flip it back skin side up.  the downside of my plan?  only skin, bone, thighs work.  everything ends up too dry, and the skin doenst "fry" in the oozing fat.