South Beach Diet Phase 1 Guidelines and Food List

South Beach Diet Phase 1 Guidelines and Food List



Phase 1 Guidelines
Breakfast
Protein: Quantity is not limited. See choices
Vegetables: Minimum 1/2 cup. See choices
Fruit, Starch, Milk: None
Fat: 1 tsp mayonnaise or oil (optional) See choices
Lunch
Protein: Quantity is not limited. See choices
Vegetables: Minimum 2 cups. See choices
Fruit, Starch, Milk: None
Fat: 1 Tbsp mayonnaise or oil. See choices
Dinner
Protein: Quantity is not limited. See choices
Vegetables: Minimum 2 cups. See choices
Fruit, Starch, Milk: None
Fat: 1 Tbsp mayonnaise or oil. See choices
Snack
Snacks are required. Choose from the Protein or Vegetable list, or eat nuts from the Fats list.

Foods Allowed in Phase 1
BEEF Lean cuts, such as:
  • Eye of Round
  • Ground beef:
  • Extra Lean (96/4)
  • Lean (92/8)
  • Sirloin (90/10)
  • Tenderloin
  • Top Loin
  • Top Round
LAMB (Remove all visible fat)
  • Center Cut
  • Chop
  • Loin
PORK
  • Boiled ham
  • Canadian bacon
  • Loin
  • Tenderloin
POULTRY (SKINLESS)
  • Cornish hen
  • Turkey bacon (2 slices per day)
  • Turkey and chicken breast
SEAFOOD
  • All types of fish and shellfish
TOFU
  • Use soft, low-fat or lite varieties
VEAL
  • Chop
  • Cutlet, leg
  • Top round
EGGS
  • The use of whole eggs is not limited unless otherwise directed by your doctor. Use egg whites and egg substitute if desired.
LUNCHMEAT
  • Fat-free or low-fat only
MEAT SUBSTITUTES (SOY BASED)
  • Bacon - Limit to 2 slices per day
  • Burger - < 3 gms fat per 2-3 oz portion
  • Chicken Patties & Nuggets - < 3 gms fat per 2-3 oz portion
  • Hot Dogs - < 3 gms fat per 2-3 oz portion
  • Natural Peanut Butter - 2 Tbsp (may use as protein choice or limited nut choice)
  • Sausage Pattie - Limit 1 patty per day
  • Seiten
  • Soy Crumbles
  • Soy Nuts - 1/4 cup for a protein snack is suggested serving
  • Tempeh
  • Yuba
DAIRY
  • Low-fat (1 percent) or fat-free milk or soy milk
  • Plain or sugar-free low-fat or fat-free yogurt
  • Fat-free half & half
CHEESE (FAT-FREE OR LOW-FAT)
  • American
  • Cheddar
  • Cottage cheese, 1-2% or fat-free
  • Cream cheese substitute, dairy-free
  • Feta
  • Mozzarella
  • Parmesan
  • Provolone
  • Ricotta
  • String
NUTS (Limit to one serving per day as specified)
  • Almonds - 15 (Dry roasted recommended)
  • Brazil Nuts - 4
  • Cashews - 15 (Dry roasted recommended)
  • Pecans - 15 (Dry roasted recommended)
  • Macadamia - 8 (Dry roasted recommended)
  • Peanut Butter - 1 tsp
  • Peanut Butter, Natural = 2 TBS
  • Peanuts, 20 small (May use dry roasted or boiled)
  • Pine Nuts (Pignolia) - 1 ounce
  • Pistachios - 30 (Dry roasted recommended)
  • Walnuts - 15 (Dry roasted recommended)
In place of nuts, may use: Flax Seed - 3 TBS
  • Cayennes
  •  
  • Acid
  •  
  • Leg
  •  
  • Diet Pill
  •  
  • Cashew
  • Guide
  •  
  • Homes
  •  
  • Tweets
  •  
  • 2 Cup
VEGETABLE CHOICES (includes legumes) (May use fresh, frozen or canned without added sugar)
  • Artichokes
  • Asparagus
  • Beans, Green
  • Beans, Italian
  • Beans, Wax
  • Beans or Legumes:
  • Black Beans
  • Butter Beans
  • Chickpeas or Garbanzo
  • Pigeon Peas
  • Soy Beans
  • Split Peas
  • Broccoli
  • Bok Choy
  • Cabbage
  • Cauliflower
  • Celery
  • Collard Greens
  • Cucumbers
  • Eggplant
  • Lettuce (All varieties)
  • Juice (Limit to 6 ounces per day)
  • Tomato
  • V-8
  • Mushrooms
  • Mustard Greens
  • Okra
  • Onion - Limit to 1/2 per day
  • Peppers (All varieties)
  • Pickles - Dill or those sweetened with Splenda®
  • Radishes (All varieties)
  • Rhubarb
  • Sauerkraut
  • Snow peas
  • Spinach
  • Sprouts, Alfalfa
  • Squash, Spaghetti
  • Squash, Summer
  • Yellow
  • Zucchini
  • Tomato - Limit to 1 whole or 10 cherry per serving
FAT CHOICES (with some suggested serving sizes) The following monounsaturated oils are recommended to be consumed daily:
  • Olive Oil
  • Canola Oil
Other Oil Choices that may be chosen (Polyunsaturated or a blend of Monounsaturated):
  • Corn
  • Enova
  • Grape seed
  • Safflower
  • Soybean
OTHER FAT CHOICES:
  • Avocado - 1/3 whole = 1 TBS oil
  • Guacamole - ½ cup = 1 TBS oil
  • Margarine - Chose those that do not contain Trans Fatty Acids such as Fleishmann's Premium Olive Oil or Smart Balance
  • Mayonnaise - Regular or Low Fat
  • Olives (Green or Ripe) 15 = 1/2 TBS
  • Salad Dressing - Use those < 3 gms sugar per serving
TOPPINGS & SAUCES use sparingly (check labels for added sugar)
  • Hot Sauce
  • Salsa - Limit to 2 TBS during phase 1
  • Soy Sauce - 1/2 TBS
  • Steak Sauce - 1/2 TBS
  • Worcestershire Sauce - 1 TBS
  • Whipped Topping (Light) - 2 TBS
SPICES AND SEASONINGS
  • All spices that contain no added sugar
  • Broth
  • Extracts (almond, vanilla, or others)
  • Horseradish sauce
  • I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Spray
  • Lemon Juice
  • Lime Juice Pepper (black, cayenne, red, white)
SWEET TREATS (Limit to 75 calories per day)
  • Candies, hard, sugar-free
  • Chocolate powder, no-added-sugar
  • Cocoa powder, baking type
  • Fudgsicles, sugar-free
  • Gelatin, sugar-free
  • Gum, sugar-free
  • Popsicles, sugar-free
  • Sugar substitute Some Sugar Free
Products may be made with sugar alcohols (isomalt, lactitol, mannitol, sorbitol or xylitol) and are permitted on the SBD. They may have associated side effects of GI distress (abdominal pain, diarrhea & gas) if consumed in excessive amounts.
SUGAR SUBSTITUTES
  • Acesulfame K
  • Fructose (needs to be counted as Sweet Treats, Caloric Limit)
  • Nutrasweet (Equal)
  • Saccharin (Sweet & Low)
  • Sucralose (Splenda)
  • Stevia (Not approved by FDA)

Foods NOT Allowed and to be Avoided in Phase 1
VEGETABLES
  • Beets
  • Carrots
  • Corn
  • Potatoes, white
  • Potatoes, sweet
  • Yams
BEEF
  • Brisket
  • Liver
  • Other fatty cuts
  • Rib steaks
POULTRY
  • Chicken, wings and legs
  • Duck
  • Goose
  • Poultry products, processed
PORK
  • Honey-baked ham
VEAL
  • Breast
FRUIT 
Avoid ALL fruits and fruit juices in Phase 1, including:

  • Apples
  • Apricots
  • Berries
  • Cantaloupe
  • Grapefruit
  • Peaches
  • Pears
DAIRY
  • 1/2 cup of plain fat-free yogurt (once per day max.)
  • Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2, Nonfat milk, 1% milk,
  • Soy milk allowed with coffee. Otherwise avoid all other dairy products (unless listed under protein choices or sweet treats).
  • Limit to < 2 TBS per cup of coffee. Otherwise, avoid all milk products in Phase 1, including:
  • Yogurt, cup-style and frozen
  • Ice cream
  • Milk, low-fat, fat-free, whole
  • Milk, soy
STARCHES AND CARBS
Avoid ALL starchy food in Phase 1, including:
  • Bread, all types
  • Cereal
  • Croutons, all types
  • Matzo
  • Oatmeal
  • Rice, all types
  • Pasta, all types
  • Pastry and baked goods, all types
CHEESE
  • Brie
  • Edam
  • Non-reduced fat
MISCELLANEOUS
  • Alcohol of any kind, including beer and wine
  • No regular ketchup or cocktail sauce
  • No pork rinds - too high in saturated fat
  • No jerky - too high in sugar content
  • Limit Caffeine-Containing Beverages to 1-2 servings per day
(By TLC - More Info at Forum)
Quick Shopping List | Phase 1 Food List | Phase 2 Food List
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South Beach Diet - Start Losing Weight Today

Dieta South Beach (trei faze)

Dieta South Beach (trei faze)

Dieta South Beach este o cura de slabire cu rezultate garantate. Dieta South Beacheste o cura de slabire deloc complicata daca ne stabilim inca de la inceput ce avem voie sa manancam si ce nu avem voie. Dieta South BeachMulti dintre cititorii site-ului prodieta.ro au laudat rezultatele certe ale dietei South Beach si de aceea am hotarat sa recitim cartea doctorului cardiolog Arthur Agatston si sa reluam subiectul, in special faza I a dietei si cea care da cele mai multe rezultate pentru slabire. Completam asadar un articol mai vechi despre dieta Soth Beach.
Iata principiile fazei I, cea care dureaza doua saptamani si totodata cea mai dificila din dieta South Beach. Este oarecum greu de tinut pentru ca timp de doua saptamani renuntam cu totul la carbohidrati dar rezultatele sunt garantate.

Faza I (doua saptamani) : Nu avem voie :

In primele doua saptamani ale dietei South Beach nu mancam deloc anumite alimente: deloc fructe, deloc lapte, deloc paste fainoase, deloc cereale, deloc carne de pasare cu piele, nu ne atingem de cartofi, morcovi, porumb, sfecla si ne permitem maxim o rosie pe zi. Nu avem voie nici un fel de alcool, nici macar bere sau vin.

Faza I (doua saptamani) : Avem voie :

Ce mancam in aceste doua saptamani ale fazei I in dieta South Beach: carne slaba de vita (muschi, file), piept de pui sau curcan, toate tipurile de peste si fructe de marecostita sau muschi de porccotlet sau muschi de vitel, branza dietetica cu continut redus de grasime (mozzarella, parmezan, urda dulce, cedar, feta, telemea degresata), nuci, fistic (cam un pumn pe zi), ouatofu, orice tip de condimente fara zahar, putin ulei de masline sau de canolalegume si verdeturi din plin(fasole de orice tip, mazare, broccoli, varza, conopida, telina, castraveti, vinete, salata verde, ciuperci, fasole chinezeasca, spanac, gulii, castane comestibile, dovlecei). Avem voie si dulciuri in dieta South Beach dar in cuantum de maxim 75 de calorii zilnic si de un anumit gen: bomboane cu inlocuitor de zahar, ciocolata fara zahar, cacao pudra pentru prajituri, gelatina fara zahar, guma de mestecat fara zahar, inlocuitori de zahar.

Meniu dieta South Beach faza I: Micul dejun

Dieta South Beach ne permite in fiecare zi la micul dejun o cafea decofeininzata sau ceai decofeinizat cu lapte degresat si inlocuitor de zahar.
Micul dejun are la baza oua: oua fierte, omlete cu multe multe legume dintre cele permise, frittata, buseuri. Alaturi de nelipsitele oua puteti bea in fiecare dimineata un pahar de 250 ml de suc de rosii sau suc de legume. Nu aveti voie sa adaugati nici o feliuta de paine langa micul dejun! Dar aveti voie la doua felii de bacon sau costita.
salata cu somonIata cateva dintre exemplele de mic dejun din dieta South Beach:
  • – 250 ml suc de legume, 2 buseuri de legume
  • – 250 ml suc de rosii, omleta din albusuri cu costita si ciuperci
  • – frittata dietetica cu spanac si sos de rosii sau frittata cu branza sau cu broccoli si costita
  • – frittata de somon afumat sau omleta occidentala din albusuri si 250 ml suc de legume
  • – oua jumari cu verdeata si ciuperci, 2 felii de costita, 250 ml suc de rosii
  • – 1 ou fiert, 2 felii de costita, 250 ml suc de rosii
Ati intalnit termenul de frittata iar pentru cei care nu si-au cumparat cartea “Dieta South Beach” incercam sa simplificam mentionand ca, in mare, frittata inseamna tot o omleta dar cu multe ingrediente si introdusa la cuptor la final. Va recomandam achizitionarea cartii unde veti gasi toate retetele si mult mai multe sfaturi decat putem cuprinde noi intr-un articol.
Reteta buseuri cu legume la dieta South Beach:
Ingrediente: un pachet de 300 grame de spanac congelat maruntit, 3 oua, 3/4 de cana de branza telemea slaba, rasa, 1/4 cana de ardei gras verde taiat cubulete, 1/4 cana ceapa maruntita, 1/2 lingurita sos de ardei iute (optional)
Buseuri de legume in dieta fara carbohidrati South BeachTineti spanacul pe foc cateva minute, pana se dezgheta, apoi scurgeti apa. Amestecati bine intr-un bol ouale, branza, ardeii, ceapa si spanacul. Repartizati amestecul in mod egal in 12 forme de silicon de briose. Introduceti la cuptorul deja incins pentru circa 20 de minute pana cand o furculita introdusa in mijlocul compozitiei ramane curata.
Nota*** Pentru buseuri puteti folosi orice legume doriti dintre cele permise si branza dietetica.
Aceasta mancare (circa 6 portii) are 77 calorii: 9 g proteine, 3 g carbohidrati, 3 g grasime, 2 g grasimi saturate, 160 mg sodiu, 10 mg colesterol, 2 g fibre
Reteta frittata cu branza in Dieta South Beach (2 portii):
Ingrediente: 2 lingurite de margarina, 1/2 cana ceapa taiata felii, 1/2 cana gogosar taiat felii, 1/2 cana dovlecel taiat felii, 2 rosii mici taiate cubulete, 1 lingura de busuioc proaspat maruntit, 1 varf de cutit de piper negru prospat macinat, 2 oua, 1/2 cana branza de vaci dietetica, 1/4 cana lapte praf degresat, 25 grame branza telemea slaba, rasa
Topiti margarina la foc potrivit intr-o tigaie cu diametrul de circa 20 cm. Adaugati ceapa, gogosarul si dovlecelul; caliti legumele pana cand capata o usoara tenta maronie (2-3 minute). Adaugati rosiile, busuiocul si piperul amestecandu-le cuj restul ingredientelor. Tineti-le pe foc inca 2-3 minute ca sa se intrepatrunda aromele, apoi trageti tigaia deoparte. Aprindeti cuptorul. Amestecati ouale, branza de vaci si laptele praf si turnati-le peste legume. Acoperiti tigaia si mentineti-o la foc potrivit pana cand amestecul se rumeneste usor pe partea de jos iar deasupra este inca umed. Transferati continutul tigaii intr-o tava pentru cuptor; tineti tava la cuptor pana se coace si partea de sus (2-3 minute). Apoi presarati branza rasa si coaceti in continuare pana cand aceasta se topeste.
Aceasta mancare are 231 calorii: 21 g proteine, 16 g carbohidrati, 10 g grasime, 3 g grasimi saturate, 480 mg sodiu, 15 mg colesterol, 2 g fibre

Gustarea de dimineata

Indiferent daca simtiti sau nu nevoia, pe la ora 10:30 trebuie sa fiti pregatit pentru o gustare. Daca va oferiti grasimi si proteine de calitate, la ora pranzului nu veti fi mort de foame.
Gustarea de dimineata poate consta in:
o felie de branza mozzarella cu continut redus de grasime
1-2 rulouri de curcan
un triunghi de branza topita dietetica

Meniu dieta South Beach faza I: Pranzul

legume in dieta south beachPranzul in dieta South Beach se axeaza pe piept de pui la gratar cu salata verde, salata cu ton, salata mixta (sunca de curcan si branza degresata amestecate cu verdeturi diverse), salata de pui Caesar fara crutoane, salata de crabi, salata greceasca, salata nicoise fara cartofi, salata de pui cu fistic, salata de somon inabusit cu spanac, ardei umpluti cu branza de vaci si legume tocate. Retetele pot fi gasite in cartea "Dieta Soth Beach" elaborata de Arthur Agatston.
Nici sa nu va ganditi sa limitati marimea portiilor; ideea de baza a acestui regim este sa mancati bine. Mancarea este una dintre placerile vietii si poate fi foarte satisfacatoare, cu conditia sa alegeti alimentele potrivite. Daca respectati aceasta conditie, puteti sa va delectati ulterior din cand in cand si cu unele “placeri interzise”.

Gustarea de dupa amiaza

Gustarea de dupa amiaza poate consta conform dietei South Beach intr-unul dintre urmatoarele feluri de mancare: humus cu legume crude, branza mozzarella proaspata sub forma de bulgari, 1/2 cana de branza de vaci dietetica, telina umpluta cu un triunghi de branza topita cu continut redus de grasime, rondele de castraveti cu pasta de somon, 1-2 rosii umplute cu branza de vaci dietetica.

Meniu dieta South Beach faza I: Cina

Si-n cele din urma cina. Exemple de cina in dieta South Beach: somon la gratar cu rozmarin + sparanghel fiert la abur si salata mixta (diverse verdeturi, castraveti, ardei, rosii) ; piept de pui la cuptor cu vinete si ardei si salata mixta ; friptura din muschi de vaca cu broccoli fiert la abur si rosii la gratar cu pire de conopida; peste oceanic cu sos de hasme si ghimbir cu garnitura de mazare fiarta la abur si varza calita in ulei de masline ; pui cu otet balsamic, sote de rosii si ceapa, spanac fiert la abur si salata mixta; peste la gratar cu legume la cuptor si salata de verdeturi. La salata puteti adauga un sos vinegreta cu otet balsamic, ulei de masline, cimbru, sare si piper alb.
“Am descoperit ca rezultatele cele mai bune le obtin pacientii care incearca toate retetele imaginabile si se bucura de toate alimentele si ingredientele permise. Ei folosesc din plin ierburile aromate si condimentele – mai ales cele cu arome puternice cum sunt hreanul, ardeiul iute, usturoiul, scortisoara si nucsoara. Un pacient a inventat o supa facuta din toate verdeturile posibile” declara Arthur Agatston. Plictiseala este un inamic al regimului de slabire.
Dupa cele doua saptamani ale fazei intai se trece la faza a doua in dieta South Beach, mai putin restrictiva. Acum este momentul sa reintroduceti treptat in alimentatie anumiti carbohidrati sanatosi: fructe, paine din faina integrala, orez integral, cartofi dulci, paste din faina de grau integral. In cartea "Dieta South Beach" de Arthur Agatston veti gasi si retete utile pentru slabit. Faza a doua va ofera mai multa libertate si in ceea ce priveste deserturile; una dintre propuneri este desertul de capsune in sos de ciocolata.
In momentul in care ati ajuns la greutatea ideala treceti la faza a treia. Faza a treia a dietei South Beach este mai degraba un stil de viata sanatos decat o dieta de slabire. Dar nu cumva sa credeti ca puteti sa o luati cu totul de la capat. Regimul a fost conceput astfel incat sa permita unor oameni normali sa manance asa cum le place. In cartea "Dieta South Beach" de Arthur Agatston veti gasi foarte multe retete pentru faza a treia a regimului.
Informatiile sunt redate din cartea "Slabeste sanatos cu dieta South Beach", de dr. Arthur Agatston, Bucuresti, Editura Curtea Veche, 2007

The Food Lab: The Best Southern Fried Chicken


The Food Lab: The Best Southern Fried Chicken

THE FOOD LAB
Unraveling the mysteries of home cooking through science.

20150715-fried-chicken-21.jpg
The ultimate fried chicken. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

More

Fried Chicken
Digging into the cluckin' awesome world of our favorite fried food.
My publishers over at W.W. Norton were kind enough to let me share one of the new recipes from my upcoming book, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science with you guys here, which is good news because I've been DYING to share my Southern Fried Chicken recipe with you.
Here is the section and recipe from the book, in near-complete form. In the book, you'll also find a few extras, like instructions on how to double-fry your leftover chicken for even more crunch, a gallery of the more than 50 whole chickens I fried in the process of writing this recipe, and a do-it-yourself experiment that shows you the pros and cons of resting your chicken after dredging it in flour and before frying it. I hope you enjoy it. (And look out for my book in stores on September 21st, or preorder it through the link below to be the first kid on your block to get a copy!)

Southern-Style Fried Chicken

20150715-fried-chicken-primary.jpg
I know how passionate people can get about fried chicken, and I'm not one to tell you who makes the best, but if you were to ask Ed Levine, the Serious Eats overlord, he'd tell you that it's Gus's, a sixty-seven-year-old institution in Mason, Tennessee. They serve fried chicken that he describes as incredibly crunchy, with a crisp, craggy crust, juicy meat, and a "cosmic oneness" between the breading and the skin. We're talking fried chicken so good that you have to resort to metaphysics to make sense of it.
For me, as a kid growing up in New York, fried chicken came from one place, and one place only: those grease-stained cardboard buckets peddled by the Colonel himself. To my young mind, KFC's extra-crispy was about as good as it got. I distinctly remember eating it: picking the coating off in big, fat chunks; tasting the spicy, salty grease; and shredding the meat underneath with my fingers and delivering it to my waiting mouth. It was heavenly.
20150715-fried-chicken-18.jpg
But times have changed, and as is often the case, revisiting those fond childhood memories results only in disappointment and disillusionment. All over the country, there's a fried chicken and soul food renaissance going on. Even the fanciest restaurants in New York are adding it to their menus. My eyes and my taste buds have been opened to what fried chicken truly can be. I may still dig the ultracrunchy, well-spiced crust that KFC puts on its birds, but that's about the only thing it has going for it. Flaccid skin, dry and stringy breast meat, and chicken that tastes like, well, it's hard to tell if it really tastes like anything once you get rid of the crust.
20150715-fried-chicken-22.jpg
Even the breast meat should be juicy in good fried chicken.
That said, stylistically, it can't be faulted. So I figured that I could somehow manage to take what the Colonel started and bring it to its ultimate conclusion—that is, deep chicken flavor; a flab-free skin; juicy, tender meat; and crisp, spicy coating—I might just be able to recapture those first fleeting childhood tastes of fried chicken as I remembered them.

Inside Out

I started with a working recipe of chicken pieces simply dipped in buttermilk and tossed in flour seasoned with salt and black pepper, then fried in peanut oil at 325°F until cooked through. A few problems immediately became clear. First off, timing: By the time my chicken was cooked through (that's 150°F in the breasts and 165°F in the legs), the outer crust was a dark brown, bordering on black in spots. Not only that, but it didn't have nearly as much crunch as I wanted. Finally, the meat underneath the crust wasn't completely desiccated, but I wouldn't exactly describe it as moist, not to mention its rather bland flavor. I decided to fix my chicken from the inside out.
20150715-fried-chicken-01.jpg
Looks crisp outside, but inside this chicken is dry.
*For those of you squeamish about "undercooked" chicken or who insist that breast meat must be cooked to 165°F to be safe and tasty, please read this discussion on real world food safety, which is quite different from what the U.S. government would have you believe.
The problem is that with fried chicken, the crisp well-seasoned coating is merely a surface treatment. None of that flavor penetrates very deeply. Surely brining and/or marinating should help with that problem? Brining is the process by which a lean meat (most often chicken, turkey, or pork) is submerged in a saltwater solution. As the meat sits, the saltwater will slowly dissolve key muscle proteins—most notably myosin, a protein that acts as a sort of glue, holding muscle fibers together). As the myosin dissolves, three things take place:
  • First, the ability of the meat to hold onto moisture increases. You can imagine meat as a series of long, skinny toothpaste tubes tied together. As you cook the meat, the tubes of toothpaste get squeezed, pushing out valuable juices. Breading will help mitigate this effect to a degree by slowing down the transfer of energy to the meat, but a significant amount of squeezing is still going to occur regardless of how well breaded the chicken is. Myosin is one of the key proteins responsible for this squeezing action, so by dissolving it, you prevent a lot of moisture loss from taking place.
  • Second, brining alters the texture of the meat by allowing dissolved proteins to cross-link with each other. This is the main principle behind sausage making—dissolved proteins can bond with each other, creating a pleasantly bouncy, tender texture. By brining a chicken breast or a pork chop, you're in effect giving it a very light cure—the same process that converts a raw ham into a supple prosciutto.
  • Third, as the brine slowly works its way into the meat, it seasons it beyond just the very surface. An overnight brine will penetrate a few millimeters into the meat, giving you built-in seasoning before you ever get to the breading. Brines also improve juiciness by increasing the muscles' ability to retain moisture. My normal brining for chicken breast is anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. In this case, however, a much, much longer brining time was necessary in order to completely mitigate the effects of high-temperature frying, delivering a uniquely smooth, juicy texture to the meat.
A full six hours submerged in salt/sugar water produced the beauty below. Weighing the meat confirmed that an overnight-brined-then-fried bird loses about nine percent less moisture than an unbrined bird does and is significantly tastier.
20150715-fried-chicken-02.jpg
Unbrined chicken on the left versus brined chicken on the right.
I've experimented with tossing certain animal preparations with a mixture of baking powder and salt a day in advance in order to improve their crispness. The salt acts as a brine, while the baking powder raises the pH of the skin, causing it to brown more efficiently and the thin film of protein-rich liquid around it to form microbubbles that can add crispness. I tried this method on my fried chicken, but it ended up drying the skin out too much, making it tough to get the breading to remain attached down the line.
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Knowing that I'd be soaking my chicken in buttermilk the next day anyway, I wondered if I'd be able to kill two birds with one stone by replacing the water in the brine with buttermilk. Not only did the chicken come out just as moist as with water brine, it was actually significantly more tender as well, due to the tenderizing effects of buttermilk on food (soaking it for more than one night led to chicken that was so tender that it bordered on mush). Finally, hitting the buttermilk with spices helped build flavor right into the surface of the bird. I played around a bit with the mix before arriving at a blend of cayenne pepper and paprika (for their heat and peppery flavor), garlic powder**, a bit of dried oregano, and a healthy slug of freshly ground black pepper. The Colonel may use eleven secret herbs and spices in his chicken recipe, but five was quite enough for me (and both my wife and my doorman heartily concurred).
**Some folks shun garlic powder, saying that it's nothing like real garlic. I agree: garlic powder is nothing like real garlic. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have its culinary uses. It's particularly effective in spice rubs and breadings, where fresh garlic would be difficult to incorporate, due to its texture.

Crust Lust

Next up: add some extra crunch to that crust. I reasoned that there were a few ways to do this. First off, I wanted to increase the crust's thickness. I tried double-dipping my chicken—that is, dredging the brined chicken in flour (seasoned with the same spice blend as my brine), dipping it back into the buttermilk, and then dredging it once more in flour before frying, a method chef Thomas Keller uses for his justifiably famous fried chicken at Ad Hoc. This worked marginally better—that second coat definitely developed more crags than the first coat did. But it also made for an extremely thick breading that had a tendency to fall off the breast because of its heft.***
***You may notice the redness of the center of the chicken. This is not because it is undercooked, but because I cracked the bone when cutting it open, revealing some of the chicken's red marrow. Occasionally bones may snap or crack on their own, or while you are breaking down the chicken, leaving a few red spots inside the chicken even when it is fully cooked. This should not alarm you.
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A double coating of flour creates a thick crust that falls off the chicken.
Much better was to simply add a bit of extra structure to the breading in the form of an egg mixed into the buttermilk.
My crust was certainly thick enough now, but I ran into another problem: rather than crisp and crunchy, it was bordering on tough, almost rock-like in its density. Knowing that gluten—the network of proteins formed when flour meets water—was the most likely culprit, I sought out ways to minimize its formation. First and foremost: cut the protein-rich wheat flour with cornstarch, a pure starch that adds moisture-absorbing capabilities to the breading without adding excess protein. Replacing a quarter of the flour worked well. Adding a couple teaspoons of baking powder to the mix helped bring a bit of air to the mix, forming a crust that was lighter and crisper, with increased surface area (and we all know that more surface area = more crispness, right?).
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Adding buttermilk to the dredge creates the extra-craggy surface on the left.
Finally, I used a trick that a friend, a former employee of the Chick-fil-A Southern fast-food fried-chicken chain had told me about. He'd mentioned that once the chicken was breaded, the later batches always come out better than the earlier ones as bits of the flour mixture clumped together, making for an extra-craggy coat. Adding a couple tablespoons of buttermilk to the breading mix and working it in with my fingertips before dredging the chicken simulated this effect nicely.****
****This method is also employed in Cook's Country magazine's fried chicken recipe.
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The last problem—the coating overcooking long before the chicken is cooked through to the center—was simple to solve. Just fry the chicken until golden brown, then transfer it to a hot oven to finish cooking at a gentler pace. The result is chicken with a deep brown, craggy crust that's shatteringly crisp but not tough and that breaks away to meat that bursts with intensely seasoned juices underneath.
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The Food Lab's Southern Fried Chicken Recipe

THE FOOD LAB
Unraveling the mysteries of home cooking through science.
The Food Lab's Southern Fried Chicken Recipe

The ultimate fried chicken. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]
For me, as a kid growing up in New York, fried chicken came from one place, and one place only: those grease-stained cardboard buckets peddled by the Colonel himself. But times have changed, and as is often the case, revisiting those fond childhood memories results only in disappointment and disillusionment. That said, stylistically, it can't be faulted. So I figured that I could somehow manage to take what the Colonel started and bring it to its ultimate conclusion—that is, deep chicken flavor; a flab-free skin; juicy, tender meat; and crisp, spicy coating—I might just be able to recapture those first fleeting childhood tastes of fried chicken as I remembered them. Here's the result of my efforts.

Why It Works

  • An intensely flavored buttermilk brine tenderizes the chicken while keeping it moist.
  • Adding wet ingredients to the dry flour coating ensures an extra-craggy crust with lots of nooks and crannies.
  • Starting in hot fat and finishing in the oven gives you fried chicken with a crisp crust and evenly cooked meat.
  • YIELD:Serves 3 to 4
  • ACTIVE TIME:45 minutes
  • TOTAL TIME:At least 5 hours and up to overnight
  • RATED:    


Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 large egg
  • Kosher salt
  • One whole chicken, about 4 pounds, cut into 10 pieces or 3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on breasts, legs, drumsticks, and/or wings
  • 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1⁄2 cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 cups vegetable shortening or peanut oil

Directions

  1. 1.
    Combine the paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and cayenne in a small bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork.
  2. 2.
    Whisk the buttermilk, egg, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 tablespoons of the spice mixture in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces and toss and turn to coat. Transfer the contents of the bowl to a gallon-sized zipper-lock freezer bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to overnight, flipping the bag occasionally to redistribute the contents and coat the chicken evenly.
  3. 3.
    Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and the remaining spice mixture in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the marinade from the zipper-lock bag and work it into the flour with your fingertips. Remove one piece of chicken from the bag, allowing excess buttermilk to drip off, drop the chicken into the flour mixture, and toss to coat. Continue adding chicken pieces to the flour mixture one at a time until they are all in the bowl. Toss the chicken until every piece is thoroughly coated, pressing with your hands to get the flour to adhere in a thick layer.
  4. 4.
    Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat the shortening or oil to 425°F in a 12-inch straight-sided cast-iron chicken fryer or a large wok over medium-high heat. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain the temperature, being careful not to let the fat get any hotter.
  5. 5.
    One piece at a time, transfer the coated chicken to a fine-mesh strainer and shake to remove excess flour. Transfer to a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. Once all the chicken pieces are coated, place skin side down in the pan. The temperature should drop to 300°F; adjust the heat to maintain the temperature at 300°F for the duration of the cooking. Fry the chicken until it’s a deep golden brown on the first side, about 6 minutes; do not move the chicken or start checking for doneness until it has fried for at least 3 minutes, or you may knock off the coating. Care- fully flip the chicken pieces with tongs and cook until the second side is golden brown, about 4 minutes longer.
  6. 6.
    Transfer the chicken to a clean wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 150°F and the legs register 165°F, 5 to 10 minutes; remove the chicken pieces to a second rack or a paper-towel-lined plate as they reach their final temperature. Season with salt and serve—or, for extra-crunchy fried chicken, go to step 7.
  7. 7.
    Place the plate of cooked chicken in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight. When ready to serve, reheat the oil to 400°F. Add the chicken pieces and cook, flipping them once halfway through cooking, until completely crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet to drain, then serve immediately.