Naked Fried Chicken
Naked Fried Chicken, Deep Fried and loaded with Umami Flavor through the brine. No Breading or Coating is used. Plus, you can add in any additional Herbs or Spices to shape the overall flavors. Enjoy the incredible taste of this Fried Chicken.
Chicken Pieces
This type of Chicken is geared more so towards Quarters, Thighs or Legs because of the skin attached. However, Chicken Breast with skin on can be used too, usually from a Whole Chicken. If using Chicken Breast, chop them in thirds.
Chicken Quarters
Chop to separate the Thigh from the Leg, or use just Chicken Thighs or Legs.
Whole Chicken
Chop a 3-4 lbs Whole Chicken down into 9–12 pieces. Check out my Post on How To Prepare Chicken. It shows how to clean the thighs and how to chop the chicken down into pieces for deep-frying.
Whole Chicken
The nice thing about using a whole chicken is that the breast meat can be included and has the skin attached for crispness. Save the Backbone and other trimmings for Chicken Stock/Broth.
Poultry Brine
Poultry Brine is the magic of it all and is a base Brine for Fried Chicken that won’t have a coating or breading applied. Marinate the Chicken overnight for best flavors.
Poultry brine Ingredients
- 5 Cups of Water
- 3 Maggi Chicken Bouillon or 2 Tbl of Chicken Broth Powder
- 1 1/2 Tbl each of Sea Salt & MSG
- 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 tsp each of Garlic & Onion Powder
Naked Fried Chicken Seasoning
With the base flavoring there, all in the Poultry brine, you can certainly experiment here and add additional Herbs & Spices to shape the Flavors. Savory & Sage work wonderfully with Chicken. Alternatively you could also add in a seasoning blend like Cajun Spice, Poultry Seasoning, Italian Seasoning, Montreal Chicken Seasoning and so on.
Even if you wanted to add additional items such as Milk, Buttermilk, Coconut Milk, Pickle Juice, Soy Sauce, Minced Ginger, Lemon Juice, or even Celery juice for a curing effect, you can. The baseline umami flavors are already established.
Just be mindful that Alkaline ingredients will color the chicken darker when deep frying. While Acidic ingredients will slow down the browning process.
Salt & Pepper
The Salt & Pepper Blend below is used to season the Naked Fried Chicken after frying and is really going to make those flavors pop. Sprinkle on to taste after frying the Chicken.
Salt & Pepper blend
- 1 Tbl Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
How to Deep Fry Naked Chicken
Making Naked Fried Chicken is as easy as Brining the Chicken and then straining and frying it in a deep fryer. Followed by a Seasoning of Salt & Pepper when it comes out of the fryer.
Brine
Put together the Poultry Brine and add Chicken to refrigerate overnight.
You can brine for a shorter time, but the flavors won’t be as concentrated.
Strain
Strain out the Chicken and leave it strained while the Deep Fryer is preheated to 325 F.
Deep Fry
Place the Chicken into the Fryer and Fry for 18 minutes. When done frying, shake to get rid of excess Grease and place into a bowl with Salt & Pepper Blend to season and mix around.
Careful here, you are introducing the Brined Chicken that has been marinating in Water into Hot Oil. The Hot Oil is going to Fry aggressively and may splatter at times because of the water content in the Chicken. It’s to be expected, just be careful and use a deep fryer. Not a pot on the stove.
Deep Frying Oil
You can deep fry in any Oil you like, I typically use Lard. Although, Peanut Oil would be another good option, especially so where you can make Chick Fil A Chicken Nuggets. Chick Fil A uses Peanut Oil for frying their Chicken.
Leftover Poultry Brine
You might not need all the Poultry brine. Use enough to cover the Chicken to marinate and the remaining can be portioned into Ziploc bags to make Naked Fried Chicken in the future or into Ice Cube trays to add to things like Soups, Stews, Gravies, and Rice.
Poultry Brine Ice Cubes
Saucy Naked Fried Chicken
Instead of Seasoning the Chicken when it comes out of the Fryer, toss in Sauce like Buffalo Sauce, Sweet Thai Chili Sauce, Ranch dressing, etc… for a Saucy Naked Fried Chicken, just the same as Chicken Wings.
Buffalo Sauce
Equal parts of melted Butter & Franks RedHot Sauce.
Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
Add the desired amount into a bowl and toss the Fried Chicken or serve this on the side to dip.
Ranch Dressing
Add the desired amount into a bowl and toss the Fried Chicken or serve this on the side to dip.
Naked Fried Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Double Basket Deep Fryer
- 1 Small Pot
- 1 Marinating Bowl
- 1 Whisk
Ingredients
- 12 pieces Chicken - Quarters separated or use Thighs and/or Legs
Poultry Brine
- 5 C Water
- 3 Cubes Maggi Chicken Bouillon - or 2 Tbl Chicken Powder
- 1 1/2 Tbl Sea Salt & MSG
- 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 tsp Garlic & Onion Powder - each
Salt & Pepper
- 1 Tbl Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
Instructions
- Place 1 Cup of Water into a small pot along with the Bouillon Cubes and heat over max heat while pressing the cubes with a fork to assist in them dissolving faster. Then empty into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients for the Poultry Brine and whisk well.If using Chicken Powder, just combine everything into a bowl and whisk well.
- Place Chicken pieces into the marinating bowl and pour enough Poultry Brine to cover the Chicken. Marinate for a couple of hours in the fridge or overnight for better flavor. Any leftover Poultry brine can be portioned off into ice cube trays to add to Soups, Stews, Gravies, Rice or to make Naked Fried Chicken again at a later time.
- Remove the Chicken from the Poultry Brine and strain while you heat the deep fryer up to 325 F. Leave the Chicken sitting in the strainer.Combine the Salt & Pepper blend to season the Chicken after coming out of the deep fryer.
- Place Chicken into each basket and lower the baskets. Shake to ensure none of the Chicken pieces will stick together. Deep Fry for 18 minutes while giving the basket a shake a few times.
- Lift the basket up and stand the Chicken pieces up to drain off any excess grease and plate the Chicken. Season with Salt & Pepper and repeat for the next batch of Chicken. Allow the Naked Fried Chicken to rest 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Jerk Chicken
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- Swiss SteakFork Tender Swiss Steak with a Flavorful Beefy Tomato Sauce. Done Stove top, in a Slow Cooker or Oven Braised for a Delicious Comforting Meal. Add in your choice of herbs to shape the Flavors and serve with Mashed, Roasted or Steamed Potatoes, Crispy Fries, … Read more
