Hungarian Fried Chicken

Adapted from Culinaria Hungary (Könemann, 1999)

My friend Walter’s beautiful mother, Gizi, was from Budapest. She was a fantastic cook. She taught me how to make chicken paprikas and goulash, and this is how she made rántott csirke — fried chicken. When I later read Culinaria Hungary, I saw the same method there, which confirmed that this is the traditional way.

You can use a whole chicken cut up or individual pieces. I like to use drumsticks, preferably Bell & Evans Organic Premium, which are very plump.

The amount of the ingredients will depend on how many pieces of chicken you are making. The following is what I use for 6 drumsticks.

6 chicken drumsticks
Salt
1 cup rice flour (not sweet rice flour)
2 eggs, beaten and strained
1 cup plain dried breadcrumbs

Salt the chicken the morning of the day you are going to cook it and place it on a rack set over a quarter sheet pan, uncovered, in the refrigerator.

One to two hours before cooking, set up your breading station. Dip the pieces of chicken into rice flour, then into the beaten and strained egg, then into the breadcrumbs. Once the chicken is breaded, place it on a plate and return it to the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.

Heat 2 inches of grapeseed oil in a wide, deep pot — not a frying pan. I use an All-Clad 6-quart stockpot (which is not a traditional stockpot, as it is not narrower than it is tall). A Le Creuset 5- or 7-quart pot would work well, too.

Add the chicken pieces and cook over medium heat, turning often and regulating the heat so they brown but do not burn. I judge doneness by watching the color and removing one piece to check with an instant-read thermometer. I consider it done when it reaches 165°F. This should take about 20 minutes.

This is delicious hot or cold.