Freaked Out by Fried Chicken

Hey everyone!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I guess that's just what Junior year does to you. However, just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been cooking! As summer came to an end I decided I'd experiment with a food that I'd never have the time or energy to put together during the school year--fried chicken. My faithful cooking servant/mother, when hearing my idea said, "Ooof. That sounds tough..Do whatever you want..." In my mind, I was thinking that fried chicken couldn't be THAT hard. All you do is dip and fry, right?

Well after an hour of cooking, I can tell you it's somewhere in between. The prep, idea, and process of fried chicken is easy. It starts with a chicken that I bought, already broken down, and simply trimmed some fat and cartilage off myself.

I filled a large pot roughly half full with corn oil (though had I had some peanut oil, that might have been better). When I deemed it fit to be fried, I prepared the most important part of a good piece of fried chicken--the dredging to toss each piece into. This was, surprisingly, the easy part. I covered two plates--one with 1/2 AP flour, 1/2 Bisquick mix, and the other with eggs that I beat well. (Mistake, apparently self rising flour is the best.) If you want to jazz up the flour and bring out your inner Colonel Sanders, add some spices like I did. If you want yours like mine...
2 TBSP Chili Powder
Shakes of Salt, Pepper
1 TBSP Garlic Powder
1/2 TSP Cumin

When the oil is hot enough, take a piece of chicken, coat in egg, then flour mixture, then again in egg and again in flour, and place it in the oil. Once the pot is full of chicken, turn the heat down slightly to medium(ish) heat.
Now--THE PROBLEM. I, a novice chicken fryer, was way to excited for the cooking process. I stood there, shifting from foot to foot, twiddling my thumbs, and staring at my frying chicken.
BE AWARE:
Don't pull your chicken out before it's done. Looks done 5 minutes in? It's not. 8 minutes it looks like it's getting a little overdone...It's not. I repeatedly took my chicken out too early the first few fries. I'd take it out, cut a piece open, and gasp at how raw it was. It should take roughly 10-13 minute per piece.
JUST. BE. Patient.

When you're truly sure that your chicken is done, take it out, put it on a plate with a paper towel on it to drain out some of the unnecessary oils. Hopefully, at the culmination, your chicken should look (and taste) as good as this!