Gluten-Free Fried Chicken & Biscuits

Wait.  What?  You didn't think that just because you're gluten-free you couldn't have fried chicken and biscuits, right?  I sure hope not.  Because you can have the most delectable fried chicken and biscuits on a gluten-free diet!  A nice crispy and crunchy coat, soft and juicy meat, and crisp little biscuits can all be yours, and it takes no more trouble to make than "regular" fried chicken and biscuits.  Although, I must confess:  it is healthier because there's no wheat!

Go ahead.  Tell me you don't want to dive into that, lol.  What a crunchy experience!

And fried biscuits.  Aren't they divine?  You can almost feel the crispness through the photo, and there's nothing tastier than these little guys.

What goes into the making of good fried chicken?  We start with fresh chicken, of course, but we also need a good marinade.  We're after one that doesn't impart too much flavor (as most marinades do and are supposed to do) but does soften the meat and make it juicier.  After that we need a nice coating of some kind of starch.  Then there's oil for frying and seasonings to make it irresistible.  Of course, fried biscuits are like icing on the cake, and if you can do all of these things, your family and friends will be your slaves forever.  For real--this chicken is that good.  :)

Place your chicken in a large bowl.  Here I have six wings (with tips removed), three thighs, and three legs, for a total of 12 pieces.  If you're using breasts, you might not be able to fit 12 pieces in your pan, so plan accordingly.  Pour a quart of buttermilk over the chicken and let it soak in this for several hours.

Now set your work station up like this:  Chicken on the left, gluten-free flour mix in the middle, and cutting board or platter on the right.  Grab a piece of chicken, hold it above the bowl, and let it drain for about 5 seconds.  Place it in the flour, and then grab a handful or two of flour and toss it on top.  Then press down well, making sure that the piece of chicken is thoroughly coated with flour.  Keep doing this until you can't feel any moisture seeping through the flour.  Place on the cutting board.

On the left you can see all the pieces of chicken nicely coated with gluten-free flour mix.  On the right, I have just placed them in a large electric frying pan set at 325 degrees with about 1/4 inch of oil.  Don't put too much oil in because as you add chicken the level will rise, and we don't want to submerge the chicken completely in oil.  We just want to fry each side.  Go ahead and season with whatever you like:  salt, pepper, Lawry's, etc.

After 20 minutes, turn the chicken pieces over with a pair of thongs.  They may stick to one another at the sides.  If they do, just press the thongs between them until they break apart.  Season again.  After you do this, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Then in a small bowl, mix the gluten-free flour mix, sugar, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum.  Measure out the milk and set aside--don't mix them together yet.

After the second side of the chicken fries for 20 minutes, remove it to a baking dish and place in the oven for 20 minutes.  Turn your electric frying pan up to 375 degrees.  In the meantime, pour the milk into the flour mixture and mix well.  It will poof up a bit from the baking powder.  Drop tablespoonfuls of the batter into the oil.  (I only used half the recipe here because we're more meat eaters in my household.)  Fry for a few minutes until you see the bottom edges browning.  Grasp each biscuit by the sides with thongs, turn, and fry for another few minutes.  When browned, remove to a plate lined with paper towels and turn your frying pan off.

By now your chicken should be just about done baking.  This baking is an important step--it really helps to crispen things up.  On the left you see the biscuits, and on the right you can see the pan of chicken and the biscuits.  Mmmm, mmmmm good!

8 - 12 pieces of chicken

1 quart of buttermilk

oil for frying

2 cups (260 g) gluten-free flour mix

1 tbs baking powder

1 tbs sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 and 1/4 cups (10 oz) of milk

Marinade the chicken pieces in the buttermilk for several hours.  Gluten-free flour is expensive, so we'll try not to waste it here.  Put a few cups in a large bowl.  Grab a piece of chicken and let it drain over the buttermilk bowl for about 5 seconds.  Then place it in the flour bowl.  Grab some flour and toss it on top.  Then press in well.  Keep pressing and putting flour on until you don't feel any moisture around the chicken.  Set the piece aside and continue, adding more flour as you need it.  Don't throw the flour away in the bowl yet because we'll use it for the biscuits.  Fry the chicken at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.  Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Turn the chicken over and fry again for another 20 minutes.  Be sure to season your chicken with whatever seasoning you like.  In the meantime, measure out 2 cups of gluten-free flour mix into a small bowl.  Add the baking powder, sugar, salt, and xanthan gum.  Mix well and set aside.  Measure out the milk and set aside--don't mix the two together yet.  After the chicken finishes frying, put it in a large baking dish and place in the oven.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Turn the heat on the frying pan up to 375 degrees.  Pour the milk into the flour mixture and mix well.  Drop by tablespoonfuls into the oil and fry for a few minutes until browned.  Grab each biscuit by its sides with a thong and turn over.  Fry the other side until browned.  Remove to a plate lined with paper towels, and turn off the frying pan.  Remove the chicken from the oven after 20 minutes.  Serve with buttered and salted corn--delicious!

TIPS:

1.  Buttermilk can vary.  Most sold in the supermarket is thicker than what I have here and will provide an even thicker coat of flour--meaning even more crisp and crunch for you when fried!

2.  I use my own gluten-free flour blend, called "Mel's Magic Mix," which is a blend of sorghum and rice flours with corn, potato, and tapioca starches.  My ratio is 3:1 (flours to starches), and I think this works well.  But you can use any good gluten-free flour mix.  If your mix already contains xanthan gum, then omit it when mixing up the biscuit recipe.

 

3.  You can re-use the buttermilk in the biscuits instead of using milk.  In that case, use 1 and 1/2 cups of buttermilk.  I like using milk better because I think it makes a fluffier, less dense biscuit.

 

4.  Any remaining flour or buttermilk must be thrown out because it had raw chicken in it.