lets talk fried chicken !!

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EDIT: I know it's not fried but if anyone has details on Kenny Rogers Roasters I'll take them!
There are no locations in America anymore, only Asia. The chain is owned by Berjaya Corporation Berhad with 140 stores and they are expanding into southern China. Info from Wiki.

If I'm gonna eat anything fried I want it to be in lard or tallow! And Jake is right, we eat with our eyes first... anyone remember when heinz came out with green and purple ketchup... didn't last long but tasted the same.

Ryan
As for fried chicken, the flavor definitely comes from the cooking fat/lard.
 
after trying 100s of recipes ,i will admit that i was surprised at how well the skin and crust turns out with this recipe , i had never brined chicken before , and also how well the flavor of the spices came through was a pleasant surprise
 
Pickle juice brine and pork rind coating on the kettle/vortex these days. Chicken breasts strips here.
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So wanted to try the pickle juice brine on chicken and bought a brine mix packet for doing dill pickles... but seem to remember someone mentioning not adding quite as much of something since I'm not actually gonna brine any pickles.

Ryan
 
the original recipe was a copycat of "popeyes spicy chicken " but the original poster stated it was not a perfect copy but close . and without using the annatto oil and tallow i have found it to very much resembles "popeyes spicy chicken " both in taste and texture
 
So wanted to try the pickle juice brine on chicken and bought a brine mix packet for doing dill pickles... but seem to remember someone mentioning not adding quite as much of something since I'm not actually gonna brine any pickles.

Ryan
Maybe Alum? What brand did you buy?
 
the original recipe was a copycat of "popeyes spicy chicken " but the original poster stated it was not a perfect copy but close . and without using the annatto oil and tallow i have found it to very much resembles "popeyes spicy chicken " both in taste and texture
Popeyes uses annatto. Gives their chicken that red tinge under the batter
 
So wanted to try the pickle juice brine on chicken and bought a brine mix packet for doing dill pickles... but seem to remember someone mentioning not adding quite as much of something since I'm not actually gonna brine any pickles.

Ryan
Maybe mix full strength and dilute to taste? You can buy pickle juice in bulk, some drink it for health reasons.
 
Maybe Alum? What brand did you buy?
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This is what I bought. Kinda forgot about it since we were gone on vacation.
Maybe mix full strength and dilute to taste? You can buy pickle juice in bulk, some drink it for health reasons.
I'll give it a try full strength. We never have pickle juice around otherwise, don't buy store bought one's since we started doing our own and any extra juice disappears in bloody marys!

Ryan
 
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Super easy to make. Here is my go-to for chicken pickle brine. Tastes just like what comes out of the jar without having to rob it. Especially right now you can typically find fresh dill in the grocery.
I could see it would also be good with the addition of Turmeric, celery, and red pepper flake and even annato for brining chicken.
2C Vinegar
2C Water
1/2 C salt
1tsp fresh garlic
1tsp onion powder
1/4 C chopped Dill

Combine the ingredients in a pot over medium heat to dissolve. Do not boil.
 
I always just use the juice from the jar . Also used to take some to work and drink it when working in the heat .
We buy the big containers of Clausen pickles from sam's. After pickles are gone it's enough juice for 2 separate batches of chicken.........but I think we've already had this conversation atleast 3x lol
 
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I got Chick Fil A, Lees, KFC, less than a mile away but my preference is Popeye's (an hour). Are you guys contending to make fried chicken BETTER than takeout?

Apparently the Kenny Roger's places got phased out after losing a lawsuit file against them by Cluckers. The brine is supposedly made with calamansi limes and soy. Recently picked up a AMNTS and using my gas grill with it to cook chicken at around 325F and LOVING the results.

We go through a TON of pickles so I will take you guys up the pickle juice brine.
 
I got Chick Fil A, Lees, KFC, less than a mile away but my preference is Popeye's (an hour). Are you guys contending to make fried chicken BETTER than takeout?

Apparently the Kenny Roger's places got phased out after losing a lawsuit file against them by Cluckers. The brine is supposedly made with calamansi limes and soy. Recently picked up a AMNTS and using my gas grill with it to cook chicken at around 325F and LOVING the results.

We go through a TON of pickles so I will take you guys up the pickle juice brine.
2nd cook on this thread is breasts brined in pickle juice and wrapped in bacon. It's smoked not fried but delicious either way. Just another idea for you. Actually doing them again tonight
 
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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 guess I am lucky to be close to one that I don't have to try and clone it. Tasty for sure and my fave. The family prefers Chick Fil A. Our Raising Cane's should open next month. Curious about them.

For a start at Popeye's, I would bet serious dough Popeye uses chili oil and not annato.

 
View attachment 506774

This is what I bought. Kinda forgot about it since we were gone on vacation.

I'll give it a try full strength. We never have pickle juice around otherwise, don't buy store bought one's since we started doing our own and any extra juice disappears in bloody marys!

Ryan

Mrs Wages all the way! I use the Refrigerator Kosher Dill (they do have Polish Dill also) on asparagus, green beans, red peppers, onions, cauliflower, and of course cucumbers. These are not shelf stable, and you control the crunch by the length of the blanch. Refer life is about 4 months, but they don't last that long.
bfeAing.jpg

My neighbor won't drink a Bloody Mary without 2 asparagus stalks, so I keep her stocked up.
Q13IxEk.jpg
 
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its not that i "have" to copy Popeyes , its always been kinda personnel quest , you see i was a friend of Al Copeland back when lived in New Orleans , and had asked him 2-3 times how he made his chicken and he would always change the subject ...lol
so one day i told him that" i would copy it " his reply was" bet ya can't " and it kinda became a running joke with us ...well its been 40 years now ,Al passed away a few years back but i am still trying to copy it , if for no other reason , just to keep the memory of an old friend alive
 
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