It doesn’t get much more American than fried chicken! Some 4 years into my low-carb journey, my husband asked me “Can you make fried chicken low-carb?” At first I said, I didn’t really think so because I can’t make it with real flour (key to the great flavor of fried chicken). But not long after that, I decided I, too, wanted some fried chicken. Decided to give it a try…….. What did I have to lose? Haven’t been pleased with any of the low-carb fried chicken recipes I’ve found on the net that I’ve actually fried. Decided I was going to have to put on my experimenting hat. Although I hate standing over hot, popping grease, I will do so for fried chicken.
I wasn’t sure what to coat it with, but remembered reading a recipe somewhere on the web for a coating that used whey protein powder, so I decided that would be my foundation ingredient. To that I added crushed pork rinds for crunch and a touch of oat fiber for a flour-y taste. BINGO! The resulting coating was the closest to my old high-carb flour coated chicken. I was astounded! Although I didn’t make any cream gravy with the browned skillet bits, I tasted them and they would have made an excellent batch of gravy. Had I made some mashed cauliflower, I sure would have made some cream gravy from the browned skillet bits.
I’m so pleased with this recipe we make it again and again!! Great flavor! Crispy! Works in an air fryer, if sprayed with olive oil on the surface. Until you try this one, you just won’t believe it tastes just like flour coated chicken! A real keeper!!! It’s great leftover, cold, too!! Hubby said this was the best low-carb fried chicken I have cooked to date on my low-carb journey. My heretofore popular Oven-Fried Chicken, although very good, is just not the same as classic skillet fried chicken, ya know what I mean? Not like my Granny made, at least. This new recipe IS like my Granny’s and Mom’s fried chicken!
As I can’t know how you cut up your chicken, or what size pieces you tend to eat, I can’t really provide nutritional stats for the entire final meat dish. Instead, I am providing nutritional info for 1/10 of the coating, as it was just enough to coat 10 pieces of chicken: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 wings and 4 pieces of breast as I cut them into halves to speed cooking time.
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 c. plain whey protein
1 c. crushed pork rinds (about 2 oz.)
1 T. oat fiber (omit if on Induction or use certified oats ground into flour for gluten-free version)
1 tsp. my Seafood Spice blend (or other seasoning)
½ tsp. onion powder
½ c. Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper
2 large eggs
¼ c. heavy cream
¼ c. water
½-3/4″ deep hot oil (I used palm shortening I order in winter on-line)
DIRECTIONS: Measure out and mix all dry ingredients in a paper bag by shaking well. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream and water together. Toss in the pieces of cut up chicken into the egg wash and turn several times to well coat each piece. Pick each piece of meat out of the bowl and drop into the bag of seasoned “flour” and when you have 3 pieces in the bag, holding the top closed, shake the bag to coat the chicken. Don’t put more than 3 pieces into the bag at a time or they will not coat well.
Heat 3/4″ deep oil over high heat. Place the pieces closely together. If you’re creative, you can get an entire chicken in a 14″ skillet. Lower heat to medium-high so larger pieces don’t over-brown before done. Repeat the coating process with the remaining pieces of chicken. I was only able to fry 8 pieces of chicken in my largest skillet at a time, so I saved the wings for last as I knew they would cook quite fast. Brown the chicken well on one side disturbing as little as possible. Turn pieces of chicken over carefully to brown the second side. When brown and done (about 30 minutes) remove to paper toweling to drain. Finish cooking the remaining pieces if you were unable to get them all in your skillet. Serve at once with your favorite sides. I served mine with steamed cauliflower I topped with cheese and chives.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes enough coating for 10 pieces of chicken. Numbers are for the coating only. Be sure to add in the info for the chicken piece(s) you eat! 1/10 batch of the coating contains:
113.4 cals, 7.26g fat, 1.72g carbs, 0.53g fiber, 1.19g NET CARBS, 12.8g protein, 209 mg sodium
Buttoni's Low-Carb Recipes 