Ina Garten's Special Fried Chicken Tip For Breezy 4th Of July Cooking
Cooking for a Fourth of July party comes with great responsibility, especially if you're frying poultry. After all, preparing irresistibly crispy fried chicken can be a handful. The recipe might not be complicated, but the process can be messy and time-consuming — and the last thing you want is to end up stuck in the kitchen all day making batch after batch. Fortunately, chef and cookbook author Ina Garten has a special fried chicken tip to ensure you spend time basking in the sun and watching fireworks rather than cooking on Independence Day.
The Barefoot Contessa, whose culinary career and nickname stem from her specialty Hamptons grocery store, is an expert at simplifying cooking on special occasions. She often approaches parties with a "make-ahead" philosophy, creating recipes that are easy to prepare in advance or tackle in stages. The result is more time spent having fun with friends and family than stressing out over the menu — every host's dream. For fried chicken, Garten has a tried-and-tested strategy to split up the cooking.
When preparing her favorite crowd-friendly fried chicken, she fries it first to achieve the perfect crisp and golden brown color, then pops it in the oven before guests arrive to finish cooking. Breaking up the process means less cleanup and better flexibility with timing, so you can focus more on enjoying your Fourth of July party than preparing for it.
Fry then roast chicken for maximum convenience
Fried chicken is a classic food fit for a Fourth of July feast, but no matter your skill level in the kitchen, there's always an opportunity to hone your craft. When it comes to preparing sublimely crunchy chicken with convenience in mind, Ina Garten adds a special twist to simplify her standard recipe even more: She continues to cook the chicken in the oven for between a half hour and 40 minutes after it comes out of the hot oil. By only frying briefly to form a crust, her method leaves you with plenty of time to sip on a cocktail (or Garten's preferred caffeinated pick-me-up, which she calls "rocket fuel") while the bone-in pieces finish crisping up.
On her website, Garten writes, "I marinate the chicken in buttermilk so it's moist, then fry it quickly on the stove so it's crispy, and finally, I roast it in the oven so it's not at all greasy." She does the frying before people show up so she can "just throw the chicken in the oven to finish cooking before dinner." Since the steps of this oil-to-oven method don't need to happen in rapid succession, you can easily nail the timing of your Fourth of July menu while still participating in the fun festivities. You can even store the par-fried chicken in the fridge if you're not eating for a while — just let it come to room temperature before putting it in the oven.
Other Barefoot Contessa-approved tips for fried chicken
Ina Garten is no stranger to preparing poultry, so she has a few other tips worth considering when frying up delicious chicken this Fourth of July. Before you even set foot in the kitchen, it's important to choose the right bird. While some might think bigger is better, Garten believes small chickens are the ones worth buying, suggesting that their meat tends to be more tender. Depending on how many people you're serving at your party, this could mean buying multiple chickens, but the trouble might be worth it for a better-quality meal.
Siding with most poultry purists, Garten never removes the skin from chicken breasts, so it's best to follow suit and leave it on when frying each piece, whether you're working with light or dark meat. Between the oil and the oven, the skin will crisp up nicely without getting too greasy, all while trapping moisture for more succulent fried chicken. And when it comes to moisture, she also sometimes purposefully undercooks chicken for better flavor and moisture. However, this somewhat unconventional approach requires being a mother hen with the meat thermometer for proper food safety, so it may not be best for a busy party. Regardless of the finer details of how you choose to fry and then roast your chicken, though, the Barefoot Contessa's favored technique is sure to be a hit with hungry guests and leave you with more time to relax this Fourth of July.