There are many secrets for achieving crispy fried chicken, from coating it in cream of chicken soup to dousing it in vodka. But some hacks are less about the ingredients themselves, and more about the proper cooking techniques. One such technique involves a paper bag and a whole lot of shaking. According to Dennis Littley, chef and recipe expert at Ask Chef Dennis, with whom Food Republic had the opportunity to consult, “Shaking seasoned flour and chicken in a paper bag is an old-school technique that still holds up for good reason.”
The expert explained that this helps ensure each piece of chicken gets an even coating without clumping. “When you toss the chicken around in a closed space like a bag,” he said, “the flour has a chance to adhere naturally to all the nooks and crannies of the chicken.” To perfect that crispy crunch we all look for on the outer layer of fried chicken, this “gentle tumbling action,” as the expert put it, will help achieve this in no time. For the crispiest fried chicken, double dredging is best, so you might want to give all the pieces a second shake in the flour.
How to get the most flavor and texture out of the paper bag method of dredging
Dennis Littley gave Food Republic expert advice on how to best employ the paper bag shaking hack when preparing your fried chicken. “To get the most out of this method,” he said, “I always pat the chicken dry before it goes into the bag.” He explained that after you pull it from the brine — whether you use buttermilk or even sweet tea — you don’t want the protein to be bone-dry, because it still needs enough moisture for the flour to attach itself to the outer layer, but you also don’t want it too wet, or else “you’ll end up with gummy patches.”
Littley also had suggestions for improving the flavor of your fried chicken through seasoning the flour. To nail the flour-to-seasoning ratio, add one tablespoon of seasoning for each cup of flour, “though I usually eyeball it,” he added. If you eat to keep it simple, like the expert does, use a combination of salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and a little cayenne for warmth. Littley then left us with a bit of advice: “Letting the floured chicken rest on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes before frying also helps the coating set and stick.”
