And A Little Bit of Chicken Fried...

Is your mouth watering yet? I got inspiration for this recipe from Tyler Florence's Ultimate fried chicken. He takes a few extra steps that I don't bother with, but it's still delicious. That's right, the dietitian makes fried chicken. I use chicken breasts and cut them into strips, because it's cheaper than buying them already cut into strips. Also chicken breasts cook more quickly and evenly than buying a whole cut up chicken. The secret to what makes this fried chicken great is that it's dredged twice in flour, making it crispier. As usual, I don't measure my spices, I just use the amount that looks right.

~ 1 lb. of chicken breast, cut into strips

Flour for dredging

Canola oil for frying

Spices:

~ 1 teaspoon each Salt and Pepper

~ 1/2 teaspoon Chili powder

~ 1/2 teaspoon Paprika

~ 1 Tbsp Onion powder

~ 1 Tbsp Garlic powder

~ 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

~ 1 1/2 cups Buttermilk

Hot sauce

Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a pan at medium heat. Combine the spices with the flour. Mix a few dashes of hot sauce with buttermilk in a bowl.

Dredge the chicken strips through the flour, lightly. Dredge chicken through buttermilk mixture. Dredge chicken through flour mixture again. Fry the chicken, about 4-5 minutes on each side, turning once, until each piece reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Place on paper towels to drain. Garnish with fresh thyme if desired. I have to cook the chicken in 2 batches, and have to gradually turn the heat down a little for the second batch so that the oil doesn't get too hot, otherwise it will burn the outside before the inside reaches desired doneness. If you have to cook your chicken in 2 batches, do not coat the second batch in flour until you are just about to cook it. Letting it sit for several minutes coated in flour will make it soggy, and it will not brown as well.