lets talk fried chicken !!

[thirdeye]

my goal for years has been to copy "Popeyes spicy fried chicken "
the recipe that i am using now is as close as i have ever come to replicating it , by using the annatto oil and beef tallow it might be as close as anyone can get to it.
go back and read the start of this thread for full instructions

I've only had Popeye's chicken about 5 times. We had a Popeye's but it closed after about 7 months and now it's a Mexican restaurant. That said, this COPYCAT recipe always looked good to me, and after we were talking about the 340° oil temp I see that this food blogger uses the same...

 

[cal1956]

that recipe calls for a buttermilk marinade as a lot of recipes do
and i have tried a great number of them , but to me the skin was always to moist and the skin never seemed to bond to the crust the way " popeyes " seems to,
however using the salt water brine , that seems to do the trick ,
i have also used the "chili oil " in several attempts, but the flavor was never quite right ,
i am convinced that Al used some form of "red pepper" for the hot spice, there is also a lot of "Spanish influence " in New Orleans " and it was noticeable in several things he cooked, so over the years i have tried several combinations of peppers like "habanero" without much luck ,
i believe i am now on the right track with this saltwater brine recipe

 

[zwiller]

I get trying to pull it off and that is a worthy challenge for sure. Good luck! I am of the opinion that pressure frying is a big part of the magic but sounds like you guys must are happy with your results. I was not at all. I will tell you a killer hack chopsaw came up with. SV the chicken first, then bread, and fry. I think it's genius.

 

[cal1956]

SV ?

 

[zwiller]

SV = Sous vide is a cooking technique where the food is vacuum sealed and cooked underwater so temp is very accurate. Often times the cooking time is lower than normal but extended so that pasteurization is achieved.

 

[cal1956]

well i would think doing that would make some very tender chicken for sure !! thinking about it, that might be better suited for a copy cat version of KFC than Popeyes , remember the old commercials where the Col. would pull the meat off a chicken leg with a napkin ...lol

 

[chopsaw]

Sam , thanks for the mention . I was reading along with this one . Did the brined / sv'd chicken just as a test . It sure is good . Some of the best chicken I've ever eaten . Not a very well written thread , but there is an idea there .

Pops brined / deepfried / bone in chicken thighs .

I put the thighs in Pop's brine minus the brown sugar but added 1/2 cup of salt free cajun seasoning . In the brine 6 days . SV 154.5 for 3 hours . Pulled out of sv dried off . I used Louisianna chicken fry coating . Its a wet paste then dry mix to cover the paste . Into deep fryer...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

I am of the opinion that pressure frying is a big part of the magic

Completely agree with that . The grocery store my son works at has some great fried chicken . They pressure fry it . Tender and juicy .
St. Louis has some of the best non chain fried chicken . but they're all an hour or so from here . There is a Popeyes 5 minutes down the road , but the chicken for the grocery store is killer . No point in making the mess when you can take a 5 minute drive and get great fried chicken .

 

[chopsaw]

Now days if I make fried chicken I do it on my Gas grill using this method .
Not sure any of this helps the OP with what he trying to do , but sometimes it sparks an idea .

Fried Chicken on the Weber Genesis

Been doing this for awhile now . A good gas grill is way more than convenient . Like anything else , know what it will and won't do . Pics are " fast forward " , so this is how I started . Had some nice chicken thighs . Went into Pop's low salt brine over night . Next day , pulled out drained...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[cal1956]

someone asked for pictures , so i am happy to show you how i am making it, so today i just made the saltwater brine and covered the chicken, tomorrow i will show the finished

product

 

[cal1956]

 

[Brokenhandle]

Looks really good!

Ryan

 

[cal1956]

my older sister tried this chicken and and said this
" i have been frying chicken for over 50 years and didn't think anyone could teach me anything about how to fry chicken, but this chicken is better than any i have ever fried "
her family LOVES this chicken !!!

 

[cal1956]

the other day i was going to make this chicken and realized i was completely out of red pepper , so i grabbed the BLACK pepper that was the ONLY thing i changed , the fried chicken was good but nowhere near as good as using the RED PEPPER , something about the combination of Turmeric and red pepper that works magic on the flavor !!

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Kenny Rogers Roasters folded out here about 25 years ago.
I asked the manager why.
"Even with lines out the door if your rent is high, you can't make it."

I heard the same about the outstanding Claim Jumper chain.
Overhead knocks the business's out.
"Quality, cheap, stay in business" -You can only choose one.