Best Ever Un-Fried Chicken

Everybody loves fried chicken but sometimes it can seem daunting.  Here is a simple, healthier "un-fried" chicken that will satisfy even a fried chicken expert.  Bonus: because you can use thighs or drumsticks and buy the family pack when they are on sale its super cheap!  


Now most fried chicken calls for oil or grease - but chicken skin naturally has all the oils you could need to fry it beautifully.  You can coat your chicken pieces in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper but there really is no need for the flour.  The skins will crisp without it.  






I start with my favorite large frying pan - you can use any kind you like as long as its deep enough to keep the grease from popping out all over.  Turn the heat on medium-high.  Season the skin side and place in a single layer, skin down in the frying pan.  Its best to do this while the pan is still heating so your pan doesn't get too hot and it will help keep the grease from popping so much.  Season the other side now.

You can see how much grease is in the pan
just from cooking the skin side first.

Let it fry for about 10 minutes and then turn the heat down to medium.  Check to see if the skin is starting to turn golden on the skin side.  If not, give it a few more minutes.  It should be a nice deep golden color before you flip it.  Let the other side fry 10-15 minutes and then check a piece.  I usually pull out a sacrifice piece and pull it apart by the bone to see if its still pink near the bone.  

If its cooked through, pull them out and drain on a platter covered with paper towel.  If its not cooked through give it another 5 minutes - flip sides again if its getting too dark on one side.


Let set for a couple of minutes to let the grease drain - this will let the skin finish crisping and will also keep people from burning off the roof of their mouth. If your gang likes this chicken as much as mine is you may have to hide the chicken while it cools a minute.  :)