#16: Fried Chicken — Some Like It Salty

I’m very superstitious about numbers. Some numbers are inherently good, with nice personalities that lend themselves well to potentially divisive situations. Other numbers are bad and must be avoided at all costs (that’s right, I’m looking at you 3 – no one likes your unevenness). One of my favourite numbers is 4, which means that my MOST favourite number is 16, because obviously 4x4 = 16 and also I was born on the 16th.

“Oh no”, you’re thinking, “Maciel’s food blog is devolving into one of those nonsense blogs where all the writer talks about is their personal hang-ups and life struggles, which are not even tangentially related to the recipe that I hope this diatribe eventually scrolls down to”. Never fear – there is a related thread amidst all of my blathering incoherence.

Getting back to my auspicious love for the number 16, it seems only fitting that the 16th recipe of the 101 Home Cooking Challenge would be a heavy-hitter in the culinary world. A dish that many relegate to the world of eating out and never to their own kitchens. Something that involves a seemingly treacherous cooking task, such as, oh I don’t know, deep-frying? That’s right, folks, we’re talking fried chicken this week.

Now the only question is, what kind of fried chicken experience are you looking for?

For a timeless take on perfect fried chicken + classic accompaniments, click here.

For those with incurable Fear Of Frying, click here for the best unfried chicken imaginable.

For those who want to step up to the ultimate challenge and try their hand at fried chicken + waffles, click here.

**Quick disclaimer: all of the recipes EXCEPT for the Unfried Chicken require you to plan ahead and start marinating or brining the chicken the evening before you plan on actually frying. Surely this is unnecessary to say because you all know to ALWAYS read a recipe through in its entirety before making it, but I’m just going to put it out there for my own sense of security.