Substitute for flour in fried chicken?

Matthew Ricker · 09-12-2007, 12:31 AM

Two questions:

1. Are there any paleo-friendly, or even just semi-friendly (as in not pure paleo, but not a blatant violation, either), substitutes for flour when frying chicken? And perhaps more importantly, are any substitutes tasty?

2. What would the best frying oil, taste-wise, be? Coconut? Olive? Macadamia? Butter? More than one suggestion is okay/appreciated, as well.

Thanks.

- Matt

Steve Liberati · 09-12-2007, 04:11 AM

almond meal works great. Use it all the time to make chicken cutlets. Try it.

Scott Kustes · 09-12-2007, 05:54 AM

Not sure of substitutions, but when frying (or cooking in any way), your best oil is going to be the most stable and consequently, the most saturated. For this reason, I would lean towards coconut or palm oil or grassfed tallow or lard. I use all three for cooking, then use olive oil for topping foods after cooking. Any polyunsaturated vegetable oil is a bad idea.

Matthew Ricker · 09-12-2007, 05:07 PM

Thanks for the suggestions.

Went to the local health food store today and bought ~2 pounds of blanched almond flour. I think I'm going to try frying up some chicken with it and coconut oil.

Robb Wolf · 09-14-2007, 07:01 AM

Matthew-
scramble 1-3 eggs. Roll the chicken in the eggs prior to the almond flour. You can make your own almond flour using a coffee grinder anytime.

Make sure to season the flour with some garlic powder, salt pepper etc. Coconut oil is perfect for frying...don't start a grease fire!

Allen Yeh · 09-14-2007, 07:08 AM

Don't forget the paprika (seriously).

Matthew Ricker · 09-14-2007, 02:39 PM

Right.

The base recipe I'm following is Alton Brown's, and can be seen here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._15279,00.html

I'm just changing the oil to coconut, the flour to almond, and the buttermilk to eggs. I'll probably season the chicken directly, as specified in his recipe, but if it turns out sub-par, I'll try again with the seasoning in the almond flour.

Alton Brown/Good Eats is awesome, so I'm sure the chicken won't disappoint.

Garrett Smith · 09-14-2007, 04:46 PM

For those who didn't know already from Scott Kustes' article on herbs/spices, paprika is a pepper (a nightshade). Didn't want anyone to not know that if they avoid them.

Dr. Childers states in his book that Hungary had 2x the rate of cancer of immediately neighboring countries--Hungary grows something like 90+% of the world's paprika and they likely eat a ton of it, I'd guess.

I know, I ruin all the fun.

Matthew Ricker · 09-14-2007, 09:07 PM

Just wanted to say *thanks* to everyone for the suggestions. Made the fried chicken with one egg, 3Tbsp. buttermilk, seasoned with finely ground seasalt, garlic powder, paprika, and fresh ground peppercorns; dredged in almond flour, and fried in coconut oil.

Let's just say that tonight, I ate the best tasting fried chicken that I have ever had in my life. Bar none. I am not kidding. It was unbelievable.

I had never cooked anything with coconut oil before, so I was a bit leery of using it over traditional vegetable shortening. I must say, I don't think I will ever use anything but coconut oil for frying ever again. The flavor is out of this world.

Took some of the remaining frying oil and 'buttered' my steamed brussels sprouts with it. Again, absolutely unbelievable flavor. I don't even like brussels sprouts. Next time I may just bread them and fry them as well!

Thanks again. You guys rock.

- Matt

Brandon Enos · 09-14-2007, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allen Yeh

Don't forget the paprika (seriously).

Paprika *drool*