dipped in buttermilk and tossed in flour seasoned with salt
and black pepper, then fried in peanut oil at 325°F until
cooked through. A few problems immediately became clear.
First off, timing: By the time my chicken was cooked
through (that’s 150°F in the breasts and 165°F in the legs§),
the outer crust was a dark brown, bordering on black in
spots. Not only that, but it didn’t have nearly as much
crunch as I wanted. Finally, the meat underneath the crust
wasn’t completely desiccated, but I wouldn’t exactly
describe it as moist, not to mention its rather bland flavor. I
decided to fix my chicken from the inside out.
The problem is that with fried chicken, the crisp well-
seasoned coating is merely a surface treatment. None of that
flavor penetrates very deeply. Surely brining and/or
marinating should help with that problem? Brining is the
process by which a lean meat (most often chicken, turkey,
or pork) is submerged in a saltwater solution. As the meat
sits, the saltwater will slowly dissolve key muscle proteins—
most notably myosin, a protein that acts as a sort of glue,
holding muscle fibers together). As the myosin dissolves,
three things take place:
nandana
(Nandana)
#1