Today Blake asked me for some old fashioned fried chicken, I guess he had a hankering for some comfort food. So, I set out to figure out a low-carb, gluten-free, dairy-free fried chicken recipe.
I starting digging through my flour subs to see what I could come up with and I think I hit the jackpot with this recipe. It came out crispy and flaky, but not too heavy.
I was blown away by how great the texture of the breading was. I think the key was using a dryer flour. The combination of the coconut flour and xanthan gum, really created the perfect crunch.
This recipe is a little high in carbs for those following a strict ketogenic eating style. I'd stick to pork rind breading if you can't afford the extra carbs. Otherwise, I think this is a low-carb fried chicken recipe for a splurge on occasion when the craving hits as most of the carbs are from fiber.
I don't recommend this one for the air-fryer. Frying in lard seems to have contributed to the texture and the taste. I would be afraid it would burn in the air fryer. Oil fried all the way for this one!
Also, don't forget the hot sauce! I LOVE to slather my fried chicken in Crystal Hot Sauce. I've been in love with Crystal ever since we visited New Orleans. When it comes to battered and fried meat, you gotta have Crystal!
Try it out and let me know what you think!
Low-Carb Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 chicken chicken, cut into pieces about 4 pounds
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2 eggs optional
- ½ cup xanthan gum
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Lard for frying
Instructions
- Add flours & xanthan gum to a large plastic bag. Season the mixture with paprika, salt, and pepper to taste (paprika helps to brown the chicken).
- In a separate bowl, mix the almond milk and eggs together with a fork.
- Dip chicken pieces in almond milk and egg then, a few at a time, put them in the bag with the flour, seal the bag and shake to coat well.
- Heat the lard to 350 degrees F in a deep pot. Do not fill the pot more than ½ full with lard.
- Fry the chicken in the oil until brown and crisp. Dark meat takes longer than white meat. It should take dark meat about 13 to 14 minutes, white meat around 8 to 10 minutes.
- You can also fry in a deep fryer if you have one, I did mine in my fry daddy...two legs at a time.
- Drain the fried chicken on paper towels and nom!
Kori says
Wow wow wow! this was absolutely delicious I’ve tried different keto flour variations to fry with and this one is the best I also used it for fried shrimp! So good!
Heather Cooan says
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed it!
John Andrews says
Can I use a whole cup of almond flour instead of half almond and half coconut?
Heather Cooan says
You can do anything you want in your kitchen! 🙂 Experiment! I think that would probably work out just fine. The coconut flour is much dryer than the almond and creates a crispier crust. It's also finer than the almond flour so it I find that it sticks better. So you may want to double dredge your chicken to get a thicker crust.