Title: Breaded Chicken
 Categories: Chicken
      Yield: 8 servings
 
      2    2 1/4 to 2 1/2 -lb. fryers,
           -cut into serving pieces
      2 c  Milk
      2 c  Flour
      3 tb Chef's Salt (see below)
      4    Whole eggs
    1/2 c  Milk
    1/2 c  Water
      4    To 6 cups bread crumbs
           Shortening for frying

------------------------CHEF'S SALT-----------------------------
      1 c  Salt
      1    Tb Spanish paprika
      1 ts Ground black pepper
    1/4 ts Ground white pepper
    1/4 ts Celery salt
    1/4 ts Garlic salt
 
  Crisp fried chicken is one of the things that I always find
  contradictory instructions for.  "ALWAYS cover the frying chicken."
  "NEVER cover the frying chicken." This is from "The Chef's Secret
  Cook Book" and directly addresses the question.  It works too.  I
  tried this out last night (used a bunch of chicken wings rather than
  whole cut up chickens) and came up with a crispy, nice batch of fried
  chicken. The trick is explained in the "Chef's Secret" section below.
  BTW, I used plain ol' commercial seasoned salt instead of the "Chef's
  Salt" called for and it turned out just fine.
  
  1.  When cutting the chicken into serving pieces, separate the thighs
  from the drumsticks, cut each breast in half, leaving a part of the
  breast meat on each wing, and, if you wish, cut two separate back
  pieces.
  
  2.  Take out all the small bones like the rib cage, backbone,
  collarbone, etc.,leaving only the main bones in the pieces.
  
  3.  Mix the flour with the Chef's Salt.  Beat the eggs with the 1/2
  cup milk and the water, then strain through a sieve.
  
  4.  Dip each chicken piece in the 2 cups milk, let the milk drip off,
  then dip it in the flour-spice mixture.  Be sure to completely cover
  with the flour mixture.  Shake off excess flour and then dip in the
  egg wash. Turn the piece to be sure no dry spots remain, then place
  the piece on the top of the piled up bread crumbs, Sprinkle more
  bread crumbs over the chicken until completely covered, then gently
  but firmly press down so that the crumbs really adhere to the
  chicken. Shake off excess crumbs and lay the chicken parts on a paper
  covered tray, skin side up. Continue until all chicken is breaded.
  
  5.  In a large frying pan which has a lid, beat half of the
  shortening to approximately 360F and carefully, one by one, put in
  the chicken pieces, skin side up.  Add the chicken slowly so that the
  fat remains hot. Cover the pan, adjust the beat to medium, and cook
  for about 10 to 12 minutes.
  
  6.  Remove cover, turn pieces, and fry, uncovered, for another 10
  minutes or so.  Remove the pieces to a warm place on absorbent paper
  and keep warm until served.
  
  CHEF'S SECRET:  By straining the egg-milk-water mixture, called egg
  wash, you avoid having big parts of the egg white adhere to some
  pieces so that there is not enough of the egg wash for other pieces.
  Also, the straining makes the coating even.
  
  If you want to avoid lumps of flour and bread crumbs on your fingers,
  designate one hand as "wet" and the other as "dry." With the wet hand,
  handle the uncoated chicken, dip it into and remove it from the,
  milk, and place it on the flour.  Sprinkle flour over it with the dry
  hand, and coat it and lift it out with the dry hand.  Place it in the
  egg wash with the dry hand, lift it out with the wet hand, and then
  finish with the, dry hand.  It sounds complicated, but if you learn
  the trick you can prepare large amounts of chicken without ever
  getting lumps on your fin fingers.
  
  It is important to cover the pan while the bottom of the chicken is
  frying as this keeps it tender.  Frying the pieces without a cover
  after turning makes the skin crisp.
  
  CHEF'S SALT:
  
  Mix well and use instead of salt:
  
  Be careful to use garlic salt, not garlic powder, If you use garlic
  powder a small pinch is enough.
  
  Makes 8 servings.
  
  From "The Chef's Secret Cookbook", Louis Szathmary, Quadrangle Books,
  Chicago.  1972.