A Recipe with Minimal Investment

Fried chicken has always been one of my favorite dishes, but I've never found an easy recipe (a blessing in disguise, perhaps, given the calories from fat). An example of typical instructions [bold added]:

Twentieth-century doyenne of Southern cooking Edna Lewis fried her chicken in a pound of lard and a stick of butter after two overnight soaks—first in brine, then in buttermilk—and a flour-cornstarch-salt-and-pepper dredging. Some cooks add mustard, cayenne, smoked paprika, celery seeds or onion powder to the dredge. Dunking the chicken in beaten egg before dredging will help to form a thicker crust upon frying. Replacing the flour with bread crumbs, corn meal or even crushed Rice Krispies or Corn Flakes cranks up the crunch.

Who's got the time?

WSJ Illustration by Libby Vanderploeg

WSJ food writer Gail Monaghan comes to the rescue with a tested formula from her friend Marge:

Ingredients:

¼ cup cornstarch

2 cups milk

1 (3½-pound) chicken, cut into 8 or 10 pieces

2 cups all-purpose flour

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1-2 cups vegetable oil, lard or shortening

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)

Instructions:
1. Pour milk into a bowl large enough to hold chicken as well. Add cayenne or Tabasco, if using. Add chicken and turn to coat. Remove chicken pieces and set on a wire rack to allow excess milk to drain off, 5 minutes.

2. In a large Ziploc bag, combine flour, cornstarch, 1½ teaspoons sea salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, to flour mixture in bag, seal and shake to coat. Shake off any excess and set on wire rack.

3. Set a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add ¾ inch oil. (Oil should come no more than halfway up sides of chicken pieces.) Heat to 375 degrees, using a hot-oil thermometer to monitor temperature. Slip a few chicken pieces, skin-side down, into hot oil. (Do not crowd pan.) Cook, turning frequently, until chicken is golden all over, about 20 minutes. Lower heat to medium and continue to cook until meat is cooked through, 5-15 minutes more. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining chicken.

I already have all the ingredients and just need to buy the chicken. Like other subjects covered by the Wall Street Journal, the investment is minimal and the potential payoff is enormous.