Fried Chicken

Making fried chicken is quite an ordeal whether you make it gluten/sugar/dairy free or not.  So it better be worth it.  And trust me, this fried chicken was!  I invited a bunch of my dearest friends over for a feast of chicken and waffles.  I used Arrowhead Mill's gluten free pancake/waffle mix, and replaced the eggs with bananas for my vegan friends, which made them sweet and chewy.  The fried chicken turned out crispy and flavorful - I couldn't fry them fast enough before my friends ate them up! I based it off my dad's amazing fried chicken recipe. Although there are a lot of steps, and you have to deal with hot oil, and end up with a ton of greasy dishes, making gluten/sugar/dairy free fried chicken is so much fun!

Ingredients

• 10 or so chicken thighs, drumsticks, and breasts
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup of seltzer
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 4 lemons
• 1-2 cups of corn flour
• 1-2 cups of rice flour
• 1/2 cup of tapioca starch
• 2 tablespoons each of salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder or other spices you like.
• 1-2 large bottles of canola oil
• Food thermometer is also helpful!

Directions

1. Unwrap the chicken meat and lay on paper towels to dry.
2. In a baking pan mix together the eggs, milk and seltzer to make the wet batter for the chicken.
3. Mince 6 or so cloves of garlic and mix into the wet batter.
4. Zest 2 of the lemons and put into the wet batter.
5. Squeeze the juice out of those 2 lemons into the wet batter.
6. Add one tablespoon each of the salt, pepper and cayenne into the wet batter.
7. Pat dry the chicken pieces and let chicken marinate in the wet batter for at least 15 minutes.
8. Fill a large and deep pot with oil.  Use a cooking thermometer to make sure the oil never gets above 350 degrees F.
9. In another baking pan mix together the corn, rice, and tapioca flours. 
10. Add the lemon zest of the other 2 lemons into the dry mix.
11. Add the rest of the salt, pepper and cayenne into the dry mix.
12. Once the oil is at 350 degrees, take 2-3 pieces of chicken out of the wet batter and coat them in the dry batter and slowly lower them into the hot oil.
13. It takes about 10 minutes until each piece is cooked through.  
14. When the chicken looks golden, carefully take out each piece of chicken from the pot and place on a tray covered in paper towels. 
15. Repeat until all chicken is battered and fried!
16. Serve with Arrowhead Mills waffles, or cornbread made from Pamela's gluten free mix!

PS:  You can also bake the chicken instead of frying it, at about 450 degrees for 40 minutes (flip over half way through.)  The baked fried chicken turns out juicy and tasty- and is definitely healthier if that's what you're going for!