Fried Chicken From The Islands.
If you’ve been following the updates on the Facebook Fan page, you would have seen where I was asking for suggestions for a fried chicken recipe, as I had a severe craving and didn’t feel like KFC or Popeye’s! I wanted chicken that had that strong home-fried taste, texture and smell. I wanted to control the spices I used as well, since the goal was to recreate the same sort of chicken I enjoyed as a boy growing up on the islands. I still recall my mom saying “yuh have to let it cool down”, ignoring that and feeling the pain of steaming hot chicken.
Thanks to everyone who left me their suggestions and family secret recipes. Rather than use one, I combined some aspects of all and the end product was simply amazing. When all you see are bones on a plate after your children had their dinner, you know you’ve struck gold with that particular recipe. So again.. thanks to everyone who contributed.
You’ll Need…
For seasoning the chicken:
5-6 LBS chicken pieces (I used legs and thighs)
1 teaspoon peppersauce (hot sauce – use as much as you can tolerate)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ginger (powder or as I did – fresh grated)
1 teaspoon green seasoning (see notes below if you don’t have green seasoning)
1 lime / lemon or 3 tablespoons of vinegar to wash the chicken pieces before seasoning.
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the dusting:
1-2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* oil for frying. I shallow fried, so I used about 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil.
* if you don’t have the green seasoning (<< click there for the recipe) mince fine:
– thyme
– scallions
– shado beni or cilantro
– parsley (flat leaf)
– 2 cloves garlic
* You’ll also need 2 eggs.
Start off by trimming of fat and excess skin, but I left a fair amount of skin on the chicken ( you can remove it while you’re eating). I find that the skin give the meat a sort of protection and prevents it from drying out while frying. Then I pour the lime or lemon juice over it (you can also use vinegar). Rinse with water and strain dry. Then it’s on to seasoning the chicken (btw I used dark cuts of meat and I tried to keep them all the same size). In a large bowl use the ingredients mentioned above to season the chicken. Make sure to stir well, cover and allow to marinate in the fridge for about 2 hours.
In a heavy pan, heat the oil on medium/high heat and while this heats up, lets do a couple things.
1. Crack the two eggs into a small bowl and whisk… then add to the bowl with the seasoned chicken and give it a good stir. Try to get all pieces of the chicken coated with this egg mixture.
2. Pour the flour onto a plate and add the paprika and black pepper and mix well.
The next step is to dust the pieces of chicken into the flour mixture we just made. Be sure to cover all pieces and shake off any excess flour before placing into the hot oil. My pan was not very large, so I did 3 pieces at a time, as I didn’t want to crowd the pan and have it go soggy from the reduction in the oil’s temperature. Depending on how big the pieces of chicken you have and the cut (dark or white meat), the cooking time will vary between 15 and 20 minutes. In my case it took about 18 minutes and I flipped each piece every 4-5 minutes, since I was shallow frying. If you find that the outside is going brown too fast, it’s an indication that your oil may be too hot. Adjust accordingly.
Remember that it’s hot oil that you’re working with so be very careful. Have a wire tray or paper-towel lined basket ready to place the cooked pieces of chicken to drain off any excess oil. Continue doing in batches and remember to give it a few minutes to cool down before serving.
Give this a try and I’m sure you’ll be amazed at how tasty, moist (without being “wet”) and crispy at the same time. I’d really appreciate it if you leave me a comment below, even if it’s just to say hello. And for those of you who assisted with this recipe on Facebook, thanks. BTW, if you’ve not already connected with us on Facebook, do so NOW by clicking on the image below.
Oh yeah! I am definitely going to try this! Looks delish! Thank you Chris
Looks delicious. I have read about you going to festivals for cooking in Barbados. Next time you are there, take some time to go to Chicken Rita’s. Their fried chicken is the best I have ever tasted. They are located in the community of St. Christopher, in Christchurch. Rita was the lady who started selling chicken from her rum shop and her daughters, Caroline and Girly have kept up the tradition. With the chicken you get hand peeled chips. Can’t wait to get back there.
Hello there. I was very pleased with he outcome my husband and kids loved it.
Hello there .I can’t wait to try this
Can this be baked instead, cannot eat fried foods.
Disappointed as the chicken lacked flavour. Will be adding more seasoning in the future.
Greetings from Europe ! Just wanted to holla at ya. Will be Frying some chicken tonight for sure. Great Site please keep up the fantastic work.
Nuff respect an Big up yuself. 0:)
I can actually fry chicken now Thanks to you. Oh my Chris I can make fried chicken. I make it time to time for my family. I usually never wanted to be in the kitchen fryiny. Was Always scared of the oil splashing, the chicken I felt had to look dark enough so my temperature was always on high then medium wasn’t quite sure. Sometimes the chicken was not fully cooked in the middle so I would always be putting the chicken back into the oil. haha. Now I know how long it would take, I see the beautiful look my chicken has and it is always tasty. Thanks for your help.
ive been trying to find a good fried chicken recipe for ages to cook for my boyfriend (im white he’s Jamaican) as I am the better cook 🙂 but ive never been around Caribbean food am so excited to try this…..doing it tonight thanks 🙂
Hi there, love your recipes and avidly follow the blog and youtube videos. I cooked this on Saturday (see pics https://instagram.com/p/fGOA5UCxxD/) – the texture was amazing however I found the taste didn’t quite have that kick I was after. Next time I may use chicken seasoning instead of salt plus some finely chopped onion. I’ve tried many methods of frying chicken including buttermilk fried chicken and I think this is my favourite BUT the taste disappointed me slightly. All is not lost though – still time for trial and error.
Me again. Another try this evening. Better – but I’m still yearning for that KFC taste! This time I put both chicken seasoning and dried garlic granules in my seasoning. What do I need to add to get that taste?! It’s frustrating me! Looking good though. https://instagram.com/p/ierNsxix0O/
Letting seasonings sit on chicken for a few hours and even overnight will enhance the flavor.
Hi it’s delicious. Do you know how to make Home Made Butter cookies, if so can you share? Thanks
Cut de freshness.
Hi, we lived in Trinidad for 2 1/2 years, my maid always washed the chicken & shrimp in lime juice before she cooked it. I never asked, but why do you do that?
Thanks.
it gives a better taste when you wash off all the excessive fatty flavor with an acidic something. Lime is just right for this, in that, it leaves a fresh scent while doing its job. I believe for shrimp, its the fishy smell instead of fat.
You wash chicken in lime or lemon to remove impurities. I soak my chicken in lemon juice water and salt because it removes the yellow coating very easy .
Love this recipe. The last time I tried doing fried chicken using another recipe/method I found online, it was a complete disaster. Saw this one and was a bit nervous while doing it – because I'm not a cook – but, it turned out great, whew!! My hubby's clean plate was proof.
Thank you so much for this recipe and the detailed, precise instruction. Will definitely be coming back on this page.
I’m following this recipe for my daughters christening party first time I have ever cooked Jamaican food. Fingers crossed lol ill let you know how I get on
tried this for lunch today and it was delicious…. just perfect…no a piece left!!!! 🙂
Been looking for a definitive recipe for a while – from London – thank you very much – I will be trying next weekend and will tweet (@FoodieClaire) or post to Facebook showing results. 🙂
I'm from Guyana. Wasn't raised with fried foods. My mum was a vegetarian. But i remember my grandmother fried. But still haven't got it prefect until now. But I have my own recipe where I crush whole garlic cloves add buttermilk 2/3 of hot sauce. Over night. My flour mix whole weat flour. With thyme ,paprika, garlic salt and black pepper with parsley. But I'm looking to try this next for deh kiddies. It reminds me of my grandmother. Thank you
i will definitely try this i love fry chicken….. i love to cook and i find all ur recipes informative
Chicken Soup was off the MAP!!! LOVED IT My daughter said mom i give you a A+ on the Soup! Thanks Chris.
Chris my chicken is frying right now.. First batch came out crispy…looks good and I’m sure it’s gonna taste even better thx Chris:)
Made this last night, used self rising flour for the extra crispy, next time I will omit the egg, was first time using it, made the batter stick but don’t care to much for it..I had steamed vegetables and yellow rice, I also made brown gravy to cover some of the chicken and it was delicious
Nummy, might just try this for supper tonite.
yummy seasonings! i like the pictures. my grandmother always used Accent and curry powder instead of green seasoning.
Hi beware Accent has a lot of MSG in it, not healthy at all. Just wanted to share that.
You always have something new to try.
I love making your Heavenly Oxtail stew, Curry Duck, and quit a few more of your recipes.
I am looking for your Lemony baked Chicken Recipes, but can't seem to find it, can you please tell me where on your website i can find it?
Thank you,
Regards Janet.
hey chris , fried chicken was an instant success, thanks so much.xxx
getting it ready for dinner hope it goes well .
getting it ready for dinner hope it goes well .
To get crispy skin, you could eliminate the egg wash and deep fry the chicken pieces. To make it healthier you could also eliminate egg wash, deep fry for 3 minutes to crisp up skin and finish cooking chicken in the oven. This reduces the amount of oil absorbed in the chicken during the frying process and gives the skin a wonderful crunch. Thanks for the recipe, I really enjoy your post.
I tried it first time and it came out perfect…and this from a non-cook. Thank you very much.
made this twice so far and both times it was great!! I did add two teaspoons of corn starch the second time and it came out very good….love this recipe..it's simply the best homemade fried chicken.
Gorgeous! My husbands new favourite meal.
I usually add bread crumbs to the flour.
Another excellent recipe! I marinated the chicken in a large ziploc bag and omitted the eggs. I added the flour directly to the bag, shook it well, and voila! The seasoning was perfect. Thanks for the inspiration!
@ Ama-
the egg is to hold the batter to the chicken. give it that crispyness. Great recipe
i just needed to ask what exactly is the reason for the egg and how do i get my chicken to crispy it is a first for me 🙂
wow.. that was very detailed.. good job
I've been living in Kentucky for almost 4yrs now, and even here I don't like KFC, but I've come to realize that I'm totally hooked on Southern cooking. Everybody has their own way to make fried chicken, but some how for me they use to much batter, to much black pepper and/ or white pepper in their flour , and the crust is usually burned. This recipe helps me understand that simplicity is always key. I'm from the Carribbean (Puerto Rico), and the way we do our traditional fried chicken is well seasoned and fried without any flour and/ nor any batter, and for those that don't like it crispy then we use a little amount of oil and a half a cup of water, put the lid on and let it cook 'til the water evaporates then let it crisp up a little with the remaining oil….mmmmmm!!!…some rice and beans and enjoy!!!
Looks delicious…now all we need is a recipe for Royal Castle chicken!
ent.. Royal castle (hope it still taste the same) was my choice when I was a kid. that and chicken unlimited (Southern people will know this brand well).
they were and very tasty as well. thx for stopping by.
OMG if I could reach my hand in there and grab one of
those!!!!!!LOL Those look perfectly fried!
Dinner is served! I tried the recipe tonight. I made it with rice and beans. It was delicious! I'll post a picture on facebook
looking forward to seeing the pics.
Good Recipe but I would also add two tbls. of corn starch to the flour mixture. It adds crispiness to the batter.
thx for the tip, next time I'll be sure to give it a try.
Would arrowroot flour work if you don't have cornstarch
I don't see why not. give it a try man.