Much to my hubby's delight, I have been making fried chicken lately. It's actually healthy and good for you and it's something that we both love and are on bored with. That doesn't usually happen with many things with the word "fried" in it. That is, until I discovered coconut oil. I have been using it for a while now and wish I had discovered this stuff 10 years ago. Not only is it sooo good for you, with a long list of health benefits, it also has a much higher smoking point then most oils on the market that turn into trans fats at a much lower temp then you would think (or want to think). It can also help with weight management, as it actually speeds up your metabolism when you include it in your diet regularly.
This particular article, I have bookmarked and re-read and go over sometimes. It not only discusses coconut oil but saturated fats in general and why they are so good for you and why we NEED them. It also gives lots of great info on what fats to avoid and why. If you can get past all the technical mumbo jumbo and just get the basics from the article, it is a huge eye opener and really expanded upon what I had been learning, and really made me feel good about our family's food choices. It's a long article, but very well worth the read.
Coconut Oil and Its Virtues
For some "lighter" reading, here's a couple of articles about coconut oil that might be interesting to you:
Coconut Oil Burns Fat
Coconut oil can help your thryroid
So backed to the fried chicken. Basically, I started breading the chicken in coconut flour and frying it on the stove top in coconut oil. As Joe put it, "It tastes just like fried chicken!" This is especially exciting for him, as he pretty much grew up on fried chicken and I have never made it for him once until I started using coconut oil.
Over the weekend, I decided to mix it up a little by using some of the fresh tilapia I had picked up at Whole Foods. I changed up the seasonings a little bit and it was delicious. It got everyone's seal of approval. Especially the munchkin's! She couldn't shovel it into her face fast enough. As soon as she took her first bite, she smiled real big and looked at us and said "MMMMMMMM"!
I set up my assembly line. First we have our tilapia filets, rinsed, dried and seasoned with salt and pepper. In the next bowl, I scrambled up a couple of eggs. Then the final bowl, I have my coconut flour seasoned with some garlic powder, tarragon, onion powder and paprika... you can really use whatever you want.
I heat up my pan to just a little above medium and add in a few tablespoons of coconut oil. This stuff is outrageous at the stores locally. I
order mine online for a much better price. I get the 54 oz tub and it lasts a LONG time. I use it almost every day for all kinds of things. I use it to grease my cake and muffin pans too. I also order my
coconut flour from the same company. One bag goes a long way. I have some delicious baked goods recipes that I use this stuff for. Like these
Banana nut muffins. Yummo!!
Salt and pepper the fish.
Dip it in your eggs.
Turn it around all over in your coconut flour mix until evenly coated.
Fry 'em up in your pan! I usually cook them until they are evenly browned all over. It doesn't take too long to cook, usually once it has browned and looks a little crispy its done, maybe about 15 minutes.
I usually have to not only flip them, but rotate them as well so they get brown on both halves, not just the half sitting towards the middle. I also leave out my tub of coconut oil and keep adding more as the fish soak it up and it gets dry in there.
And this is what they look like when they are done. Seriously, they were fantastic! What I love about using the coconut flour/oil combo is that it doesn't impart a strong coconut flavor like you would maybe think, just a hint of it. And it is wonderful.
I was not exaggerating. She was seriously shoveling this into her mouth!
We just picked up some pastured pork chops from a local farmer and we are going to try them out breaded in the coconut flour and fried in the coconut oil too. This recipe is so versatile, it could be used for lots of different proteins, like shrimp and even veggies, tempura style!
