Christine graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, and she has worked at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW.com. She lives in San Francisco and loves teaching cooking classes. Follow her latest culinary escapades on Instagram.
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Lots of recipes for fried foods (like fried calamari or fried chicken) call for placing them on paper towels, brown paper bags, or even newspaper to drain excess oil, but unfortunately, this doesn’t help keep that nice crispy texture you worked so hard to achieve.
There’s an easy way, borrowed from restaurants that deep-fry food every day, to keep your fried foods crispy and delicious! The best way to keep fried foods crispy? Just place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet.
If you’re frying multiple batches, throw the whole setup into a low oven to keep everything warm as you keep frying and adding to the rack.
Cooling racks are usually used to quickly cool down baked goods, like cookies and muffins, but they also prevent steam from collecting underneath and making the food soggy. In much the same way, putting fried food on a cooling rack means the excess oil will drip off, but there’s enough air circulating underneath the food that the bottoms don’t get soggy.
If you’ve ever seen a high-volume restaurant or fast-food chain kitchen in action, you’ll notice that they keep deep-fried foods like crispy, fried chicken wings on perforated trays that act in much the same way as the cooling rack and baking sheet combination.
So the next time you make doughnuts, fried chicken, fries, egg rolls, latkes, or whatever deep-fried deliciousness you’re craving, give this tip a try! This even works with keeping non-fried foods like waffles crisp. Also, don’t forget the dipping salts with your fried foods.
The high temperature of the oil causes the water in the food to evaporate, creating a crispy exterior and a juicy interior. The oil also adds a rich and savory flavor to the food, as well as a moist and tender texture.
Simply place a layer of paper towels in the bottom of the container before adding the food. The paper towels will absorb any excess moisture and help to maintain the crispy texture. To ensure the best results, roll out the paper towels neatly and consider wearing disposable food gloves to avoid contamination.
Saucing strategically: If you're adding sauce to a crispy dish, wait until the last moment to apply it. This prevents the food from becoming soggy, ensuring that each bite remains wonderfully crunchy.
If using an oven, use the upper-middle rack with close placement to upper heating elements for extra crunch. If the breading has become soft in the fridge, add a little more oil before reheating to help crisp it back up. Use the air fry setting if you have one.
If the ingredient you are going to fry has high water content, dredging the ingredient in a thin layer of flour before dipping into batter and fry. ...
Getting fried food onto the paper towels quickly pulls the excess fat off the food and leaves a crispy, crunchy treat that isn't greasy and weighty with oil.
Proper cooling sets the crust and ensures that the chicken will have done all its carryover cooking. I like to cool any leftover chicken completely and then store in a paper towel-lined airtight container in the fridge. The paper towel absorbs condensation and keeps that chicken crisp for midnight snacking.
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