Crispy Beer Chicken Recipe - Easy Chicken Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to getting crispy chicken? ›

Double Dredge

The best way to ensure the breading will stay on the chicken is to double down on the flour. This creates a super thick, extra crispy coating on your chicken. After dredging the chicken in seasoned flour, dip it into an egg wash and place it back into the flour.

That trick is a sprinkling of baking powder, and it'll get you the crispiest, crackliest bites of fatty, salty skin imaginable, whether you're cooking just one thigh, a plate of wings, or an entire bird. Baking powder, it turns out, is good for quite a lot more than baking.

Chicken breasts must be at room temperature before going in the pan as cold chicken can cook unevenly and tends to be tough. Allow the chicken breast to sit out for 20 minutes. That should do the trick.

When paired with all-purpose flour, cornstarch helps prevent gluten development, which makes the flour coating crispier, and absorb moisture (from the frying and the chicken), which also means a crispier coating. If you already have a favorite fried chicken recipe, try replacing a quarter of the flour with cornstarch.

Proper cooling sets the crust and ensures that the chicken will have done all its carryover cooking. I like to cool any leftover chicken completely and then store in a paper towel-lined airtight container in the fridge. The paper towel absorbs condensation and keeps that chicken crisp for midnight snacking.

Ideally, pan-fried chicken will come off the heat tender and juicy on the inside, and golden and crispy on the outside -- but the perfect crunchy skin won't happen in just any cooking fat. If you want a tasty flavor, go with butter, but if you want your ideal texture, opt for a cooking oil instead.

Ingredient Tips

When mixed with the flour, the cornstarch makes the flour coating crispier and gives it that golden brown color! (It has to do with prevention of gluten development.) The baking powder reacts with the oil and creates tiny air bubbles, which also helps form a crispy coating.

Marinating is good for flavouring and tenderising your chicken at the same time. It's best to marinate your chicken overnight to give the flavours plenty of time to infuse. A faster way to add flavour is to simply brine your chicken in salty water prior to cooking.

What is the best liquid to use for beer can chicken? ›

Fill it halfway with chicken stock, wine, or any mix of liquid and herbs and spices. You might try also try using a combination of a healthy scoop of our Beer-Can Chicken Rub and a bit of water or wine, which will enhance the flavor of the rub you've already put on the bird's flesh.

“The hops mesh well with the spices. They play nicely together.” When the chicken gets spicy, like in Korean fried chicken, a hoppy IPA can intensify the chile heat. If you'd rather cool the fire, look for a more malty beer like a brown ale or porter.

The Perfect Winter Pairing

Beer! The beer's crispness helps cut through the richness of the fried chicken while also providing an extra layer of warmth. This classic pairing has been around for decades in Korea; Koreans call it "Chimaek," a portmanteau of two words "chi" ("chicken") and "maekju" ("beer").

The Secret to Extra-Crispy Roasted Vegetables

Cornstarch is frequently added to foods to give them an extra bit of crispiness, but for some reason it's not commonly included in roasted vegetable recipes. Once you try the cornstarch method, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

If your oil temp is too high, your fried chicken will be scorched on the outside with meat that is undercooked. If the oil is too cool, your chicken will be greasy and will lack the golden-brown crispy exterior you want.

KFC deep fries its chicken for 15 minutes and then drains the oil off for another five minutes – 20 minutes in total. If you don't have a deep fryer, heat up plenty of oil in a large saucepan and do it that way.