Mama Rosetta's Crispy Fried Chicken

I was taught this recipe by an African American woman on her 70s who I fondly referred to as my American mum 🥰. She's gone home to be with the Lord now, but she was an awesome cook and I learnt at lot from her so it is only right that I dedicate this recipe to her. 

I met Mama while we lived in America and she became my 'mom'. Years later, when we came back to Africa and to Kenya in particular, Mama followed us and lived with us for two years before getting a place of her. She lived in Kenya for a few years before going back to America. I have tweeked the recipe a bit over the years adding sugar, garlic and even rosemary to my brine, but it is still the same basic recipe Mama taught me ❤️. It beats KFC and I know you will love it. 

Ingredients:

                   8 pieces of chicken

                   Salt 

                   Sugar 

                   Water

                   Black pepper

                   Garlic powder

                   2 cups of Flour

                   Butter

                   Oil

                   2 cloves of Garlic (Optional) 

What is Brining and why should you brine chicken?

First, we start by brining the chicken. Brining is a technique in which chicken is soaked in a brining solution for a period of time before it is cooked. 

Why Brine chicken? - Well, Chicken can taste bland and dry on the inside after cooking but brining the chicken will keep the chicken moist on the inside AFTER cooking and it will also add tons of flavor. I usually add two cloves of garlic to my brine and some fresh rosemary too because it flavors the chicken even more. (I simply cut each clove in two and drop it in the brine).  

Measurement for the Brine

                  5 Cups of Water

                  2 Tablespoons of Salt

                  1 Tablespoon of Sugar

How to make the Brine: Add the salt and sugar to a bowl with the water, then stir until well dissolved. Next, add the chicken to the brine.

(It should taste salty but not too salty and sweet). 

Leave the chicken in the brine for at least 40 minutes at the minimum or 8 hours at the most. This means you can leave the chicken in the brine (in the fridge of course) overnight. Once you are ready, drain the water completely with a strainer and set it aside. Now, get a brown paper bag or a plastic bag if you have no paper bag. Pour two cups of flour in the bag with two teaspoons of salt, a teaspoon of black pepper and a teaspoon of garlic salt. Now, put the chicken pieces in the bag and shake well. 

Next, heat up enough oil to cover the chicken halfway in a frying pan, (This is called Shallow Frying). To tell when the oil is hot enough before adding the chicken, sprinkle some flour from your paper bag into the oil. If it bubbles, the oil is hot enough so now add a teaspoon of butter. Adding butter to the oil helps the chicken to brown. Now, take a piece of chicken from the bag. Shake off any extra flour and put in the hot oil gently.  

Now put in all the pieces of chicken or as much chicken as the frying pan allows. Let the chicken fry until it browns on one side and then flip it to the other side and allow it to brown as well. By now the chicken is well-cooked crispy and ready to eat.

Now enjoy 😋.