Spicy Fried Chicken

This recipe for Spicy Fried Chicken is very similar to the one used by THE famous franchise and results in plump, juicy, cooked through chicken. I first discovered this recipe 30 years ago. The Colonel didn't have a big presence in the UK at that time and the nearest outlet was in London. I lived in Leicestershire, halfway up the country. We would go once a month or so, but it was a seriously long drive - about 2 hours either way - when I found this. I couldn't believe how authentic it tasted - saved a fortune in gas and time.

The secret is to pressure cook the chicken pieces before frying - that way, they're cooked through and the coating crisps off in the final cooking. I sometimes leave the skin on and sometimes take it off - depends how 'health conscious' I'm feeling on the day.
Submitted by Liz Alderson from www.find-a-seafood-recipe.com

Ingredients

Jointed chicken pieces - even sizes
Minced onion
Garlic puree
Plain flour
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Paprika
Chili Powder
Cumin Powder
Thyme
Sage
Chives
Salt
Pepper
Crisco or corn oil for frying

Note: Take some plain flour and a 1/4 teaspoon or so of each herb and spice - dried herbs are best in this case believe it or not! It's hard to be specific about quantities as it will depend on how many pieces of chicken you're going to use - so mince one or two onions, one or two cloves of garlic or use puree from a tube or jar.

Method

Rub the chicken pieces with the minced onion and garlic puree.

Put them in the base of your pressure cooker and bring to 15 lb pressure. Cook for 5 minutes.

Combine the flour, herbs and spices and put them into a poly bag.

Put each chicken piece in and shake until they're well covered with the coating.

Shallow fry for 4 minutes, turning half way through or deep fry for 2 minutes or so.

It is that easy - promise - and you'll save yourself a fortune in eating out - spend it on yourself instead. And a quick tip here - you can use fish fillets in this way too - no need to pre-cook though, just coat and fry.

When you want a break from spicy fried chicken, find a seafood recipe at Liz's Web site.