Nigella Lawson's Southern-Style Chicken Recipe

Nigella Lawson's Southern-Style Chicken Recipe
Keith Kendrick

My wife bought me a chip pan for my birthday. She's romantic like that. Plus she likes chips. I'm trying to ration my use of it because I don't want us to contribute to the national obesity epidemic, but it's great to use once in a while (well, twice a week) especially when I come across a recipe that begs for it to be heated up.

This one is modified from Nigella Lawson's 2007 archive (which goes to show that a good recipe is timeless). The woman formerly known as the Domestic Goddess used thighs and drumsticks, but I've just used thighs. It's very, very more-ish.

Serves 2

4 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in

300ml milk, or enough to cover the thighs in a container

1 litre vegetable oil

2 tsp salt

200g plain flour

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 egg, beaten

1. Place the chicken in a plastic container and cover with milk. Put in the fridge for 2 hours to overnight. This helps tenderise the meat, but is optional.

2. Transfer the chicken and milk to a saucepan. Bring the milk to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low allowing to simmer until the chicken is cooked through entirely, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the milk, and place on a rack to cool. Allow them to sit until warm for about 15 minutes, and then pat dry using a kitchen towel.

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a chip pan over high heat just until it's nearly at the smoking point.

4. In a large zip-lock bag, add salt, flour, cayenne pepper, shake to combine.

5. In a medium bowl, beat 1 egg.

6. Place each piece of chicken, one at a time, in the bag and shake to coat the chicken. Then dip chicken into the egg to coat. Place the chicken back into the flour to coat for a second time. Repeat this method on remaining 3 pieces of chicken.

7. Gently drop each piece of chicken into hot oil, allowing the skin to crisp and turn golden brown in colour, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the oil and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

8. Serve hot or cold with potato salad or coleslaw.

For more recipes for to Reluctant Housedad's Recipe shed

Close