Healthy Tips Blog

While many people enjoy their chicken unbattered, a great many more love to dip their chicken in a batter of some sort. It does not matter if the chicken is in whole pieces, wings only or cut up breast slices for chicken strips or nuggets, chicken batter is popular around the world. There are almost as many recipes for chicken batter as there are chickens!

The World of Batter

Batter can be made with corn meal, wheat flour, rice flour, or graham flour. Ethnic chicken recipes often use different flours. Each region will have their own special blend of spices and herbs as well, giving the fried chicken a flavor that will be recognizable from that corner of the world.

A batter from India may be made of graham flour with cloves, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, red chili powder and curds. It is applied to tender boiled chicken meat, and then fried until crispy. From Asia, you can find a recipe where the chicken is marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, five-spice powder, garlic, and onion before being dredged in a batter made of rice flour, salt, baking powder and water. The result is a translucent coating with a distinctive flavor of Asia.

Beer batter is the one preferred by many Americans. The yeasty taste of the beer adds a tang and makes the batter light. Buttermilk also adds a tangy flavor. Just soak your raw chicken in a bowl of buttermilk before dusting with seasoned flour. This mixture will turn to a moist batter on the chicken before cooking.

There are many ways to get that crunch on your chicken. Crushed cornflakes, breadcrumbs, or crushed crackers are used by many home cooks. Others prefer wet batters that turn crisp in the hot oil. Japanese Panko breadcrumbs make a light, crispy surface. For those cooks who like a light batter, tempura is a good choice.

For diners who prefer a southern fried chicken recipe, there are many to be found in cookbooks or online. While some are a simple combination of flour, salt, and pepper mixed with milk, others include many fresh or dried herbs or spices.

The Cooking Controversy

There is an ongoing debate on whether it is best to deep fry battered chicken, cook it in a cast iron skillet or use a pressure cooker. There are cooks who are devoted to their own preferences, each sure that their method is the very best. The deep-frying camp will try to convince you with the quick cooking time and lack of spatter. The cast iron camp will wax eloquent about even heating and the perfect crisp to the skin. The pressure cooker camp are not truly frying their chicken… they must brown it first, then cook it in the pressure cooker for about 15 minutes to get juicy chicken. You must be cautious with a pressure cooker… do not open it until all the pressure has been removed.

With all these options for batters, you are sure to keep busy in the kitchen for years. Enjoy your battered chicken, no matter which method appeals to you!