My dad loves fried chicken.  When we were little, he told us fried chicken was the one time we were allowed to “eat like a barbarian” — which, naturally, meant picking up our drumsticks with our bare hands and tucking in.  I know it was hard enough to teach us manners without the occasional exception like that; but, on the other hand, it was hard enough to teach us fine motor skills without the occasional exception like that, too, so I suppose the lesson there is just that we were difficult children.  🙂  I hope it’s paying off at least a little, Dad, what with the frying of the chicken now.

I can’t so much take credit for devising the particulars of this procedure, from the egg wash to the seasonings, as assert I was one of several personalities involved in a general collaborative undertaking.  I learned to experiment from my father, who’s a research scientist; so, things like taking notes on everything you try, changing as few variables as possible between trials, and systematically exploring your options all come very naturally to me in the world of researching gluten-free food.  🙂  It’s even better, though, when the whole family gets involved, and we have a fun evening together making something we’re all happy with.

You don’t need a fryer to make this, but it certainly helps; we’ve used both a deep fryer and an electric skillet.  As long as the temperature of the oil stays fairly constant, you should be fine.

Without further ado:

Fried Chicken

Yield:  10 good-sized drumsticks, or equivalent

Ingredients:

• 10-12 drumsticks (or equivalent), skin still on, thawed
• 2 eggs
• 1 T milk
• 2 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
• 1/4 tsp parsley
• 1/4 tsp basil
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 cups dough mix
• oil for frying

Directions:

1.  In either a fryer or a large pot, start oil at least an inch deep heating to 375.
2.  Thaw and rinse the chicken, then pat it dry with paper towels.
3.  In a large mixing bowl with a wide, flat bottom, combine the dough mix, salt, pepper, lemon pepper, parsley, basil, and paprika.
4.  In a small bowl (but still large enough and flat enough that you could set a piece of the chicken down in it), whip together the eggs and milk.  Also go ahead and set up a plate or two covered in either brown paper or paper towels, for the fried chicken to drain excess oil once it’s done.
5.  Now it’s time to batter up the chicken.  You’ll only want to do as much at a time as will fit in the oil, or else the chicken will soak up the flour mixture and you’ll just have to re-batter it.  A piece at a time, first roll the chicken in the egg wash, then dredge it in the flour mixture, like so.
6.  Carefully place the floured chicken in the hot oil, and cover it to cook for 16-20 minutes.  If the chicken isn’t totally covered by the oil, you’ll need to turn it over with tongs halfway through.  Here’s what some drumsticks look like in an electric skillet when first put in, then after 9 minutes before being turned and after being turned.
7.  Use tongs to carefully remove the cooked chicken from the oil and put it on a plate covered with paper towels or brown paper to drain and cool a little.  Then, eat up!