Actress Paula Patton's fried chicken recipe video went viral--not in a good way.
In the video, Patton said she was frying 138 chicken wings for her son Julian's school. (Patton shares Julian with her ex-husband singer Robin Thicke.)
She is then seen rinsing the chicken, dipping it in flour, placing it in avocado oil to fry.
In the initial clip, Patton shared a fried chicken demo that included her barely “rinsing” her chicken and choosing to season the wings when they were already cooking in the grease.
Have you ever seen that done before?
After much chatter about the multiple fried chicken preparation violations, Patton took to social media to address the situation, and she took it all in stride and with laughter.
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“I just wanted to respond and say listen, I get it. It might look crazy,” explained Patton, before hurling her mom under the bus. “It is the way we do it—my mom taught me; it is my mom’s recipe.”
She also addressed the filthy fowl situations, adding, “I do believe in washing the chicken. And maybe the way the video was edited, it looked like I don’t wash it long enough, but I definitely do because I feed it to my son. And I sent it to his whole school; that batch I made, I made it for his school.”
The Case for NOT Washing Your Chicken
It may sound weird, but there is a case for you not washing your chicken before you cook it. Yes, I know it sounds contrary to everything you grew up hearing, but FDA experts share their reasons why.
Studies have shown that 44% of the population washes raw chicken prior to cooking. The percentage goes up to 71% when the chicken is frozen.
Both situations raise the risk of spreading Campylobacter bacteria on multiple surfaces (hands, clothing, cooking utensils, counter tops and more) via splashing droplets of water.
Common symptoms of Campylobacter poisoning include abdominal pain, severe diarrhea (often bloody), vomiting, irritable bowel syndrome, reactive arthritis, as well as a serious condition of the nervous system known as Guillain-Barré syndrome.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that approximately one in every 1,000 reported Campylobacter illnesses leads to Guillain-Barré syndrome.
As many as 40% of Guillain-Barré syndrome cases in the U.S. may be triggered by campylobacteriosis.
The Naked Truth
A single drop of juice from raw poultry can have enough Campylobacter in it to infect a person!
The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NAMRS) reported that 47% of raw chicken samples bought in grocery stores tested POSITIVE for Campylobacter.
Be aware that in addition to raw meat, the bacteria can also be present in the giblets, especially the liver.
Before You Fry Your Chicken
So now that you know how Paula fries her chicken, here are some quick tips to make sure your fried chicken comes out flawless and flavorful every time you make it.
Cooking Oil
While you are frying the chicken, make sure the temperature of the oil hovers between 280 and 325 degrees. Please Note: that the temperature of the oil will drop from 375 when you add the first batch. Be sure that keep oil from getting too hot as it will fry the outside quicker and will leave the inner meat, especially closer to the bone, uncooked. You'll want the chicken to be cooked all the way through without burning the outside. This can take practice.
Extra-virgin olive oil sure is tasty, but it's not the best oil for deep frying and you shouldn't use it on your fried chicken. Not only is it a waste of money given the volume you'll use, it'll result in a bitter-tasting bird due to its low smoke point.
Go for a neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point, like canola, vegetable, or peanut oil. And don't leave things up to fate: Use a thermometer to track and maintain the temperature of the oil—you're looking for a steady 350 degrees.
Chicken Temperature
You shouldn't start putting the batter on chicken immediately from the fridge. If you try to fry it straight from a cold refrigerator, the temperature of the oil will drop significantly and your chicken won't cook evenly. Instead, it may take longer, but let the meat sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Now you may proceed!
Don't be afraid to break the chicken's crust to take the meat's internal temperature; it should read 165 degrees. A broken crust is vastly preferable to undercooked chicken.
Plan on the whole process taking around 15–18 minutes, keeping in mind that white meat will cook faster than dark.
Also majorly important: Crowding the pan with chicken will lower the oil's temperature, up the cooking time, and make the breading greasy.
Paula ended her response to all the commenters, saying “And I’ll take suggestions. I’ll make a new kind of fried chicken, but I’m gonna always make my mom’s chicken the way she did it,” she added.
‘We put the seasoning in the oil and all that. It’s just the way we do it.”
