Crispy Chicken, Onion rings and homemade Chips

This is a rather unhealthy meal, but being unhealthy in moderation is a nice treat now and then. Just going to try and be good the rest of the week.  

My Boyfriend decided that he needed to change the oil for the deep fat fryer so thought it would be an awesome opportunity to make deep fried chicken, and to go along side this homemade onion rings and chips. I found a recipe to follow in Gordon Ramsey's Ultimate Home Cooking recipe book for Buttermilk Chicken and Homemade Chips. 

I made the chicken in batches and I changed my cooking method for the second batch. For one, the deep fryers temperature was too high the first time and made the coating very dark and chicken only just cooked (I don't want to give anyone food poising). Therefore I put the chicken in the oven after the coating tuned a nice golden colour to cook the chicken thoroughly. The onion rings and chips worked well first time though. 

Recipes for Crispy Chicken, Onion Rings and Chips Below

Crispy Chicken

Ingredients 

4 free-range chicken thighs

4 free-range chicken drumsticks

500ml buttermilk (Or 125ml whole milk and 375ml natural yoghurt mixed together)

Flavourless oil, e.g. sunflower or groundnut, for deep-frying
300g plain flour
1–2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1–2 tsp cayenne pepper
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1.Place the chicken in a bowl, add the buttermilk and a good pinch of salt and mix well. Cover with cling film and chill overnight, or for at least 30 minutes. Bring back to room temperature before cooking.

2.Once ready to cook, Heat a deep fryer until the oil reaches 170ºC or a cube of bread dropped into the oil sizzles and turns brown after 30 seconds.

3.Put the flour on a plate and mix with the spices and a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove the chicken pieces from the buttermilk, shaking off any excess, then dip in the flour, making sure all sides are coated.

4.Fry the chicken in a single layer (you might need to do it in batches), for 5 minutes until evenly golden, you can either leave then in the fryer (but get quiet dark) or place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, till the chicken is cooked.

Onion Rings

For the onion rings I sliced the onion into 1cm rings and used the same buttermilk and flour mix used for the crispy chicken and used the same cooking process, except they don't take as long, about 1-2 minutes till golden.

Homemade Chips

Ingredient 

750g Potatoes 

Vegetable oil, for drizzling 

1tsp Smoked paprika 

Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Peel and cut the potatoes in to 1cm batons.

2. Boil a pan of lightly salted water and blanch in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. 

3. Drain and place on an a baking sheet in a single layer, Drizzle with oil and season with salt, pepper     and paprika. Place in oven at 200°C for 20 minutes.

Optional: as I had the fryer on I fried them for 30 seconds to make them crispy as felt the chips were soft.  

Yummy!

Keep Loving Food

Karen