Perfect fried chicken recipe
Golden drumsticks with homemade coleslaw and smoky potato wedges? Yes please! Paul Merrett’s feast is THE perfect night in food. Make sure you leave enough time to make as the chicken needs to chill in the fridge for an hour.
Chefs note:
You can keep the water you cooked the chicken in for delicious chicken soup! If you don’t have a deep fat fryer, you can use a deep saucepan with care. The pan should never be more than half full with hot oil.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs
- 4 chicken drumsticks
- 1 whole head of garlic, cut in half
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 100 g flour
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp celery salt
- 1 tsp English mustard powder
- 1 l vegetable oil
- 4 chicken thighs
- 4 chicken drumsticks
- 1 whole head of garlic, cut in half
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 3.5 oz flour
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp celery salt
- 1 tsp English mustard powder
- 1.8 pints vegetable oil
- 4 chicken thighs
- 4 chicken drumsticks
- 1 whole head of garlic, cut in half
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 3.5 oz flour
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp celery salt
- 1 tsp English mustard powder
- 4.2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 light green heart of savoy cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 large gherkin, sliced and shredded into matchsticks
- 2 carrots sliced and shredded into matchsticks
- 1 red onion, peeled, halved and finely sliced
- 100 g mayonaise
- 1 light green heart of savoy cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 large gherkin, sliced and shredded into matchsticks
- 2 carrots sliced and shredded into matchsticks
- 1 red onion, peeled, halved and finely sliced
- 3.5 oz mayonaise
- 1 light green heart of savoy cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 large gherkin, sliced and shredded into matchsticks
- 2 carrots sliced and shredded into matchsticks
- 1 red onion, peeled, halved and finely sliced
- 3.5 oz mayonaise
- 4 baking potatoes, cut into equal size wedges
- 1 light olive oil
- 3 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 baking potatoes, cut into equal size wedges
- 1 light olive oil
- 3 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 baking potatoes, cut into equal size wedges
- 1 light olive oil
- 3 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
Details
- Cuisine: American
- Recipe Type: Main
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 45 mins
- Cooking Time: 50 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- For the chicken: Place the chicken thighs and drumsticks in a pot of boiling water with the garlic and thyme and leave to simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from the stock and drain, leave the chicken to cool then chill for an hour in the fridge.
- When the chicken is ready, mix the flour, cumin, cayenne pepper, celery salt, mustard powder and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Toss the chilled chicken in the seasoned flour (the skin can be removed if preferred).
- Pour the milk into a shallow bowl, dip the chicken pieces into milk one by one and then dip them back into the seasoned flour. Set aside.
- For the coleslaw: mix all coleslaw ingredients together and season with black pepper.
- For the wedges: Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/gas mark 5 and put a baking tray in the oven to heat up.
- Put the potato wedges into a bowl and pour over some oil, then add all the seasonings and toss together.
- Empty the wedges onto the heated tray, spread out evenly and bake for 25 mins or longer, depending on their size. Remember to turn them half way through the cooking time.
- While the wedges are cooking, pour the vegetable oil into a deep fat fryer and heat to 170°C/325°F. Test the oil temperature by dropping a cube of white bread into the oil – it's hot enough when the bread turns golden brown in 1 minute.
- Fry the chicken in batches, carefully lowering them into the oil with a slotted spoon and remove when crispy, golden and cooked right through, about 5 minutes.
- Serve the chicken with a dollop of coleslaw and wedges.
Also worth your attention:
More recipes from Paul Merrett
Gary Kingshott's slow roast chicken
Aktar Islam's Tandoori style chicken drumsticks
Jose Pizarro's Pan-fried chicken with mashed potato
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