Chicken Fried Chicken

Fried...need I say more. Everyone knows everything tastes better fried. Living in the south, you get an abundance of fried food. If you don't believe me, go to the State Fair of Texas and you'll find fried Twinkies, beer, and butter just to name a few. I've always loved chicken fried steak, but always stayed away from chicken fried chicken just because restaurants usually use chicken breast. So how do you make chicken fried chicken more enjoyable? Chicken thighs! That's your answer. The darker meat of the chicken contains more fat and therefore more flavor. I also made a cream and chicken stock gravy to top off the chicken fried chicken. The strips you see on top of the gravy are fried chicken skin I had leftover from the chicken thighs. I also paired this with leftovers from last night's dinner; snow pea casserole.

Ingredients:

2 chicken thighs (deboned and pounded flat, save the skin)
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 large egg (beaten)
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoon all purpose flour

2 cups canola oil (for frying)

Directions:

The first thing you want to do is prep your chicken by deboning it and pounding it flat. To pound it flat, you'll need two pieces of plastic wrap - you will then place the chicken in between the two pieces of plastic wrap, with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer, pound the meat down and outward until it is about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Set aside.

In a large bowl add the cream, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Place the chicken in the marinade and let it sit and marinade while you are prepping the other ingredients.

In another large bowl, add your egg and beat well. Add 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Mix all ingredients well.

In a different bowl, add your panko breading, 1/2 teaspoon fine seal salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Mix well.

In a large skillet, add your oil and heat over medium high heat. Once the temperature hits 350° begin frying your chicken skin. Cook for 5 minutes or until cripsy, remove from pan and place on a paper towel to drain the excess oil. Once it cools slice it into thin strips.

Set up your dredging station by having the chicken mixture first, followed by the egg mixture, then the panko breading. Take your chicken and dip in the egg mixture and then the panko breading; to coat the chicken evenly. Gently place the chicken in your skillet and cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and delicious (GBD). Remove and place on paper towel.

Once you're done cooking the chicken remove all of the oil from the skillet but leave any crumbs behind. Add 2 tablespoon of all purpose flour and begin mixing with a whisk. Add 1/2 tablespoon butter and continue mixing until all the butter had melted. Now add 1 1/2 cup of chicken stock and continue mixing until it is well incorporated and add 1 cup of heavy cream and continue whisking. Once the gravy thickens (about a minute or so) add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper.

To finish, place the chicken fried chicken on a plate and top it off with the gravy and chicken skin strips.

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