Crispy Fried Chicken
8 chicken drumsticks (about 2 pounds)
2 eggs
1 cup Isaac’s Wonder Mills All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt, plus extra as needed
½ teaspoon ground mustard
Freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil
- Set your sous-vide immersion circulator to 154°F. While the water is heating, trim and rinse the chicken drumsticks; then pat dry. Sprinkle generously with salt. Bag the drumsticks, making sure not to let them overlap; keeping them in a single layer will enable them to cook precisely.
- Once the water is fully heated, slowly dunk the bags into the water, just until the food is submerged, leaving the zipper open and above the water. Doing this will vacuum out all the air, sealing the bag well. Once all the air is out, zip the bag and attach it to the side of the pot (a heat-resistant chip clip works great for this).
- Cook for 2 hours.
- Ten minutes before your chicken is ready, assemble the ranch dressing.
- Prepare the chicken coating in two bowls. Use one bowl to beat the eggs. In the second bowl, mix the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Remove the chicken from the sous vide and dry very well with a paper towel, making sure to remove all the excess moisture. One by one, dunk each drumstick into the flour mixture, then into the eggs, and then back into the flour mixture, making sure to coat each one evenly.
- In a cast-iron skillet, heat 1 to 2 inches of oil on a high flame. Since the chicken is fully cooked at this point, you just want a quick, hot fry to give it a crisp and golden color, so make sure to let the oil get extremely hot. Fry in two batches for about 3 minutes, turning halfway through. (Be careful—oil at this temperature tends to splatter.)
- Serve with the ranch dip and your favorite beer. Bon appétit!
Don’t have a sous vide but love this recipe? No problem!
You can use the same ingredients and recipe. Just fill your pan with 2 to 3 inches of oil, and heat it on a medium flame. Make sure chicken is brought to room temperature before breading. Fry each piece for 5 minutes on the first side; then flip and fry for another 5 minutes; and finally, flip one more time and fry for another 5 minutes, for a total of 15 minutes of cooking time. Bon appétit!
Ranch Dip
½ cup nondairy sour cream (such as Wayfare)
¾ cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon finely chopped parsley
2 teaspoons finely chopped chives
Juice of half a lemon
1½ teaspoons garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
In a medium-size bowl, mix all ingredients together until evenly combined.
