Fried chicken for dinner is a favorite choice for many families. But, cooking chicken is a skill that any cook should master. You can use milk instead of buttermilk for fired chicken by adding a little acid taste.
Good cooks alone make tender and savory chicken. One of the important ingredients to make chicken delicious, juicy and golden is buttermilk.
Many chefs use buttermilk for marinating chicken. The reason is that buttermilk is slightly acidic.
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Try this fried choice of recipe with milk instead of buttermilk
Due to the acidic nature of buttermilk, it can make the chicken soft when used for marinating. This process will help to prevent the chicken from getting chewy and tough.
Further, buttermilk is helpful with making the chicken go flaky and nice. This happens when you dredge the chicken through the dry mix.
Yes, you can use milk instead of buttermilk for fried chicken.
Let us consider that you do not have buttermilk at home. In this case, you can add milk with a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
The milk and vinegar or lemon juice combination will act as an excellent substitute for buttermilk.
Are you wondering why people use regular milk when cooking chicken? The calcium present in milk is known for the ability to kick-start a natural enzyme in the chicken.
In turn, the chicken becomes tender. Even, the addition of milk in chicken helps with bringing down the heat and acidity.
When talking about milk, not only dairy milk, people use non-dairy milk products as well. Examples include coconut milk and almond milk.
Another reason for the addition of milk in chicken cooking is that milk helps with the creation of a creamy sauce. In turn, the roast chicken will become even juicier.
As the best substitutes for buttermilk, milk and white vinegar combination can help. Instead, you can use a tablespoon of lemon juice if you do not have vinegar at home.
What can I use instead of buttermilk for fried chicken?
Buttermilk is one of the popular ingredients when some chefs make Southern-style fried chicken pieces. They use buttermilk when they make chicken tenders as well.
Buttermilk tends to break down some proteins in the meat to make the chicken soft. If you do not have a cup of buttermilk, you can choose one of the combos below:
- A cup of whole milk and a tablespoon of vinegar
- A cup of milk and lemon juice
- Milk and cream of tartar
- Acid and lactose-free milk
- Sour cream with milk or water
- Milk or water with plain yogurt
- Plain Kefir
- Water and buttermilk powder
- A cup of heavy cream and lime extract
- Soy-based alternatives like:
- Tofu, acid and water
- Water and vegan sour cream
- Acid and unsweetened soy milk
- Paleo-friendly and low-carb options:
- Acid and unsweetened cashew milk
- Acid and unsweetened almond milk
- Acid and unsweetened coconut milk
When you use milk instead of buttermilk, you should be particular about one thing. You should use an acidic ingredient to convert the milk to acidic so that it can tenderize the fried chicken.
Are you allergic to dairy products? If yes, you can use vegan milk with an acidic ingredient instead of buttermilk.
Can I Use Egg Instead of Buttermilk for Fried Chicken?
Yes, you can make fried chicken with eggs and flour when you do not have buttermilk at home. In addition to eggs and fried chicken, you will need multipurpose flour to make this best fried chicken recipe.
Also, you will need oil for frying, pepper and salt as other ingredients for this recipe. If the chicken is thick, you can pound it initially with a rolling pin or a meat mallet.
After this, dip every piece of chicken into the egg and flour mixture. Once mixed, add hot oil to a non-stick frying pan.
Cook the chicken pieces on both sides until they turn golden brown. In addition to being simple, this recipe will be satisfying and delicious as well.
Now, you might wonder how to know whether the chicken pieces are cooked. You can use an instant-read thermometer for this purpose.
If the internal temperature of the chicken measures 165 F, it is an indication that the pieces are cooked. Otherwise, you can visually check the pieces.
To visually check, all you have to do is to ensure that this is no pink portion. The chicken pieces would have cooked properly if the egg and flour coating on the chicken pieces have turned golden brown.
Can you use Coconut Milk Instead of Buttermilk for Fried Chicken?
Yes, instead of buttermilk, you can use unsweetened coconut milk with acid. Here, acid can be 15 ml of lemon juice or vinegar.
Add the acid to a liquid measuring cup. Now, add unsweetened coconut milk to 240 ml and stir.
As the consistency of coconut milk is similar to that of actual buttermilk, it is the best buttermilk substitute.
Can I use Almond Milk Instead of Buttermilk for Fried Chicken?
To tenderize a piece of chicken, buttermilk is widely used by chefs. But, if you do not have buttermilk, the best option available is almond milk.
But, almond milk will not have the sour taste of buttermilk. To get this, you will have to add either lemon extract or vinegar.
Is it OK Soaking Chicken in Milk vs Buttermilk?
Yes, it is fine to soak chicken either in milk or buttermilk. But, if you are looking for a better option, buttermilk is the choice.
In case, you look for a marinade that acts fast, buttermilk is the better choice. The reason is that it is far more acidic with a pH level of between 4.4 to 4.8.
On the other hand, the pH value of milk is between 6.7 and 6.9. Both milk and buttermilk have a similar level of calcium in them.
You might wonder where lies the key difference. The difference lies in the texture and flavor.
When you use milk, it will not make any change to the flavor of any best fried chicken recipes.
On the flip side, buttermilk is tangy and so it can make changes to the taste of your chicken recipe.
If you need a marinade that tastes neutral, you can opt for milk. If you wish to get a sour taste even though you use milk, you can use an acidic ingredient like apple cider vinegar.
How to Make Buttermilk for Fried Chicken?
In case, you do not have homemade buttermilk, you can make the buttermilk yourself. To make buttermilk, you will need milk based on the number of cups of buttermilk you need.
Now, you have milk, you should combine the milk with white vinegar. For instance, for two cups of milk, you need two tablespoons of white vinegar.
Add vinegar to the milk and let the combo sit for around 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you will find that the combo curdles slightly.
Now, your buttermilk is ready to use. Otherwise, you can also make buttermilk by adding water to the buttermilk powder.
You can find buttermilk powder in a grocery store near you. To make a cup of buttermilk, you will have to do one thing.
Mix half a cup of dry buttermilk powder with three and a half cups of water. You will have to adjust the cup of water and powder based on the quantity of buttermilk you need,
Easy and Quick Fried Chicken Recipe
To make the easy fried chicken recipe, you will have to spend only 10 minutes on preparations. The total time required for preparing this recipe is 30 minutes.
With the ingredients listed below, you can prepare the fried chicken recipe for four people:
- Vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 cups of flour
- 3 eggs
- Chicken
The preparation process is as follows:
- Take three bowls. In the first bowl, beat the eggs
- In the second bowl, bring together paprika, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Add the flour to another bowl.
- Now, you will have to prepare the chicken for this recipe. You can do this with the help of seasoned salt as per your taste.
- The next step is to dip each piece of chicken in the egg by putting the pieces into the first bowl.
- Once it is completed quoted, take the pieces to the bowl that contains flour. Make sure that the chicken pieces are completely coated with the flour.
- Keep it aside and fill a deep fryer or a large pot with oil at half level. Heat the oil to 3500F.
- Once the oil reaches this temperature, place the chicken pieces. Fry until they become crisp and dark.
- If the chicken pieces are leg and thigh pieces, they will take a longer time to cook. They will take 15 minutes, while wings and breasts will take around 10 minutes.
- Get rid of the fryer from heat. Let the fried chicken reach room temperature.
- Serve them with paper towels to your family.
How Long To Soak Chicken in Buttermilk?
You will have to soak the chicken in buttermilk at least for 8 hours. However, you can soak for up to 24 hours for the best buttermilk marinade.
When soaking, make sure to use a large glass bowl against a plastic bag. Also, when soaking, keep the bowl covered.
For marinating, let the bowl stay in the refrigerator. The longer you soak the chicken in buttermilk, the tender it will become.
FAQ relating to can you use milk instead of buttermilk for fried chicken
What happens if you use regular milk instead of buttermilk?
Soaking in regular milk instead of buttermilk will not make buttermilk tasty. The sour taste in buttermilk is what helps with making the chicken tender and soft.
If you do not have buttermilk at home, you can do one thing. You can use regular milk along with an acidic substance.
You can get the sour taste from lemon extract, vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Can I use milk instead of buttermilk for the batter?
For the batter, you can use milk instead of buttermilk. However, for the sour taste that is present in buttermilk, you will have to use either lemon extract or vinegar.
Otherwise, you can also use a cup of sour cream if you do not have buttermilk at home.
What does Soaking chicken in milk do?
Milk is rich in calcium as you know. The calcium helps with the development of natural enzymes in the chicken for tenderizing it.
Further, milk will help with the creation of creamy sauce. This sauce will keep a roasted chicken piece juicier.
What can I marinate chicken in Besides buttermilk?
If you have bought a whole chicken, cut it into desired pieces. Then, for marinating, you can soak the chicken in buttermilk.
Besides buttermilk, you can use regular milk with acid. Otherwise, you can also use a cup of heavy cream.
Some also use baking powder with water or milk for marinating besides buttermilk. Once marinated, you can cook in a Dutch oven.
Otherwise, you can also grill on a wire rack.