This week we are going to cover fried chicken. If you eat a gluten-free diet, I’m sure you know how hard it is to make food you grew up with, taste the same. Fried chicken is a food I definitely grew up with. My Dad taught me how to bread it properly and get it fried just right, and his mother’s side taught him. My husband and kids have also always loved when I make it. It is a comfort food for sure, and at one point, I wasn’t sure if we were going to get to enjoy it again. Finally after a few tries, I felt like I mastered it, and now want to share it.

While I use cast iron skillets to cook just about everything, fried chicken is something I prefer not to cook in cast, I just can’t get the temperature regulated the entire time. I like to use an electric skillet, and I set the temperature to 375°F. The electric skillet then maintains the temperature the duration of cooking. So, for this recipe, you will need either a cast iron skillet, electric skillet, or whatever your preference for frying is. I have not tried this in a deep fryer or an air fryer, so if that is your method of choice, let me know how your preferred method works out in the comments.

All frying requires a batter. For fried chicken you will have a flour mixture and an egg mixture. The process of coating the chicken with the flour and egg is called dredging. I only bread my chicken once, but if you want you can repeat the process to double batter the chicken. This process also works for just about anything else you might want to fry. If you would like to make chicken nuggets, just cut chicken breast to the size you prefer, and follow the steps below. If you do decide to make chicken nuggets, they will not cook as long as a chicken leg, a good indicator is when the breading is golden on both sides, but you will want to check that the chicken is cooked through before serving. Chicken should be cooked to at least 165°F.

Typically the egg mixture contains milk to help thin the egg a bit. The recipe I have listed below uses chicken stock instead. So if anyone you love has a dairy allergy, or milk sensitivity you can still enjoy it! However, if someone in your family is sensitive to dairy check your gluten-free flour to make sure it is also dairy-free.

As far as the fry oil goes, though I highly recommend not using olive oil. Not only does olive oil add a strong flavor to the chicken, it has a very low smoke point, meaning it can catch fire. Most bottles of cooking oil list what the smoke point is for that oil. Some popular oils for frying are vegetable, peanut, or lard. I personally use avocado oil. It has a very mild flavor so that all you taste is the breading and chicken, and not the oil. Avocado oil also has a high smoke point. Also, the amount of oil you use will be based off of the size of the device you are using to fry the chicken in. My electric skillet is a larger one, and took 6 cups of olive oil. You will want at least an inch of oil height in whatever you choose to fry in.

Frying chicken legs also takes a decent amount of time. So plan for about an hour.

Heating your oil

The first thing you will want to do is get your oil to the right temperature. I use an electric skillet, and for the size skillet I have, I used 6 cups of avocado oil. (The amount of oil you use will be based on the size of your cooking device. I recommend about a 1/2 inch to 1 inch depth of oil). Get your oil to start warming up before starting your breading.

Put a pinch of flour in the oil to show you when the oil is ready for frying. The flour will bubble, or look like it is frying/boiling when the oil is fully heated and ready for the chicken.

Breading mixture

For perfect fried chicken you are going to coat your chicken in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, then once again in the flour before placing it in your pre-heated oil. You will need two different bowls, one for dry ingredients and one for wet. This recipe can cover up to 12 pieces of chicken.

For the dry ingredients:

• 3 cups measure for measure gluten-free flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika

For the wet ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Start by completely covering each piece of chicken with the flour mixture.
2. Now coat the flour covered chicken with the egg mixture.
3. After coating with the egg mixture you will now coat the chicken with flour again.
4. Place in your pre-heated oil.

Frying the chicken

Once your oil is pre-heated (see above), and you finish breading, you can place your chicken carefully into the hot oil. Fry uncovered for 20 minutes on each side for perfect, golden, breading. (40 minute total cook time) Always check to make sure the chicken is done (temperature of 165°F) for safety before serving.

Enjoy!