Classic Deep-Fried Recipes

Remember from Deep Fried Cooking Basics last week that the À l’anglaise Coating is basically a three station coating process (flour, egg wash, and bread crumbs). See last week’s article for more detail.

Also, to take the mystery out of the Croquettes, it is just a small fried food roll containing mashed potatoes, and/or minced meat, shell fish, vegetables, and soaked white bread, egg, milk or any of the combination of them. Then a handful is rolled into a cone, cylinder, or ball. Rolled in bread crumbs and fried.

Fried Chicken

Cut a young, tender chicken into serving pieces, coat the pieces à l’anglaise, and cook them in hot deep fat (370° F.) for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until they come to the surface of the fat and are a golden brown. Drain the chicken on absorbent paper and serve on a paper doily with fried parsley. Serve tomato sauce or cream sauce on the side. The dish may be garnished with fried bananas and sprinkling of apple or corn. (Southern Fried Chicken Video below.)

Breast: of Chicken Xenia

Remove the breast from a chicken weighing about 3 to 3 1/2 pounds. Cut the breast away from the bone, splitting the meat in half, and discard the skin. Pound the filers until they spread into. very thin slices. Season the slices with a little salt and pepper and spread the center with 1 teaspoon maitre d’hotel butter. Place a piece of pate de foie gras containing a bit of truffle on the butter, fold the meat around the filling, and secure the rolls with toothpicks. Coat the filers à l’anglaise and store them in the refrigerator. When the filets are ready to serve, fry them in hot deep fat (370° F) for about 4 minutes, or until they rise to the surface and are golden brown. Remove the toothpicks and serve immediately, so quickly, in fact, that when the rolls are cut with the fork, the butter and foie gras will not be melted, but just creamy. Garnish with slices of canned pineapple and peeled apple quarters sautéed in butter, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and glazed under the broiler. The garnish must be ready before the chicken is put in the fat to cook. Serve with sauce suprême or allemande. Serves two.

Chicken Croquettes

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small heavy saucepan, add 5 tablespoons flour, and cook until the roux starts to turn golden. Add gradually 1 cup boiling milk, stirring constantly with a whip or wooden spoon, and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until the sauce is very thick, stirring to keep it smooth. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and a little white pepper and stir in 2 eggs lightly beaten with a little of the hot sauce. Add 2 cups diced cooked chicken and 6 cooked mushrooms, diced, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture cleans the sides of the pan. Correct the seasoning with salt and spread the mixture on a buttered platter to cool. Shape the croquettes in cylinders, cones, or balls, coat them à l’anglaise, and cook in hot deep fat (390° F) until they are golden brown. Serve with suprême or tomato sauce.

Wild Rice Croquettes

Follow the recipe for chicken croquettes, substituting cooked wild rice for the diced chicken and using 1/2 cup cooked diced mushrooms.

Corn Croquettes

Follow the recipe for chicken croquettes, substituting corn kernels for the diced chicken. The mushrooms may be omitted.

Skewered Chicken

Cut cooked chicken into large dice and cook as many medium-sized mushrooms as there are dice of chicken. Alternate on a small skewer a mushroom, a piece of chicken, and a piece of truffle until the skewer is filled. Roll the whole in thick, lukewarm Villeroy sauce, coat them à l’anglaise, and cook the skewers in hot deep fat (390° F) until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and serve on a paper doily accompanied by suprême or tomato sauce and any desired vegetable.

Sweetbread and Chicken Croquettes

Follow the recipe for chicken croquettes, substituting cooked, diced sweetbreads for half the chicken. Two tablespoons chopped cooked ham or smoked ox tongue may be added, and 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped truffles will give the croquettes a very special flavor.

Skewered Sweetbreads

Follow the recipe for skewered chicken, substituting cooked diced sweetbreads for the chicken and omitting the truffles. Serve with suprême or tomato sauce.

Croquettes of Game

Dice finely enough cooked game to make 2 cups. Add 6 cooked mushrooms, finely chopped, and 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped truffles. Reduce 1 cup of Madeira sauce or brown sauce until it is very thick and mix it with the other ingredients. Cool. Shape the mixture into croquettes, coat the croquettes à l’anglaise, and cook them in hot deep fat (390° F) until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and serve with any desired sauce.

Croquettes of Lobster

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy saucepan, add 3 tablespoons flour, and cook until the roux starts to turn golden. Add gradually 1 cup boiling milk, stirring constantly with a wire whip or wooden spoon, and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes until the sauce is very thick, stirring often to keep it smooth. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and a little pepper and stir in 2 eggs, lightly beaten with a little of the hot sauce. Add 2 cups cooked lobster, 6 cooked mushrooms, both finely diced, and 1 tablespoon chopped truffles. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture cleans the sides of the pan. Correct the seasoning with salt and spread the mixture on a buttered dish to cool. Shape into croquettes, coat the croquettes à l’anglaise, and cook them in hot deep fat (390° F) until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and serve with white wine sauce.

Fried of Gudgeon, Whitebait, or Smelts

Clean and dry the fish well. Dip them in milk and then in flour. Shake off the surplus flour and cook the fish in hot deep fat (370° F) for 2 to 3 minutes (2 minutes for gudgeons or white bait, 3 for smelts). Drain the fish on absorbent paper and sprinkle them with fine salt. Serve with lemon slices and tartare mayonnaise or sauce rémoulade.

Filets of Sole à la Mode de Goujons (Gudgeons)

Cut filets of any good white-fleshed fish into pieces about the size of the little finger. Dry them well and dip in milk and then in Hour. Shake off the surplus flour and cook the filers in hot deep fat (370° F) until they are golden brown. Drain the fish on absorbent paper and serve with lemon slices and tartare mayonnaise or sauce rémoulade.

Fried Fish Filets

Dry the filers well, and if they are large, cut them into serving pieces. Dip the fish in milk, then in flour. Shake off the surplus flour and fry the filets in hot deep fat (370° F) until they are golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve with slices of lemon, fried parsley, and tartare mayonnaise or sauce rémoulade.

Fried Oysters Orly

Dry raw oysters well, dip them in flour, and coat à l’anglaise, using fresh bread crumbs. Fry in hot deep oil (390° F) for not more than 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper.

Fried Oysters Villeroy

Poach raw oysters for about 1 minute. Trim off the fringe, dry the oysters well, and roll them in flour. Cover the oysters very thoroughly with Villeroy mixture and cool. When the oysters are ready to serve, coat them. à l’anglaise and fry them in hot deep fat (390° F) until they are golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.

Fried Scallops

Rinse scallops to remove any sand and dry them well. Dip them in milk and then in flour. Shake off the surplus flour and cook the scallops in hot deep fat (390° F) for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they are golden brown. They will rise to the surface when done. Drain the scallops on absorbent paper and sprinkle them with a little salt. Serve on a paper doily accompanied by tartare mayonnaise. Fried parsley and broiled bacon are often served with them.

French-Fried Potatoes

Peel potatoes and cut them into pieces about as long and thick as the little finger. Dry them thoroughly on a towel. Put the potatoes into a frying basket and lower them slowly into hot deep fat (370° F), Raise them out of the fat if it tends to bubble up too much, return them, and cook for about 7 to 8 minutes, or until they are brown.

Remove the potatoes from the fat and drain. When ready to serve, return them to the fat which has been heated to 390° F. and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. The potatoes will rise to the surface when they are done. Drain them well on absorbent paper, sprinkle with fine salt, and serve immediately. Do not cover the serving dish. For straw or shoe-string potatoes, cut potatoes into julienne, or very thin, strips, and for potato chips, cut in very thin slices and cook as above.

Fried Sweet Potatoes

Cook unpeeled sweet potatoes in boiling water for about 30 minutes or until they are tender, but not too soft. Drain, cool, and peel them. Cut the potatoes in pieces about as big as the little finger or in 1/4-inch slices and cook them in hot deep fat (390° F) until golden brown. Drain the potatoes on absorbent paper and sprinkle them with a little salt.

Potato Croquettes

Prepare potatoes duchesse as follows: Peel and boil 1 pound of potatoes in salted water until they are soft. Drain the potatoes, dry them well over the heat, and rub them through a sieve into a hot saucepan. Work the purée with a wooden spoon until it is very smooth and add 1 tablespoon butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a little white pepper, a bit of ground nutmeg, and 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk. Mix well and cool. Shape the mixture into croquettes, coat the croquettes à l’anglaise, and fry them in hot deep fat (370° F) until they are golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.