Southern Fried

Being a Southerner, fried anything is always on the menu - green tomatoes, okra, eggplant, squash, chicken, pork chops, steak. You get the picture. Thus, I've spent the last several days contemplating breading. (Indeed, this is a serious topic worthy of deep thought.) Browsing the Internet, I found many types of low carb breading that feature Parmesan cheese and pork rinds. Now, I do love Parmesan (and pretty much any other kind of) cheese, but pork rinds are not my favorite munchy.

As a matter of fact, on a recent visit to my parents' home in East Tennessee, my mom and I tried breading some eggplant using almond flour and pork rinds. When we whirred the pork rinds in the food processor, they became a little glommed together because of the high fat content. In addition, when we tried a four dip process (water to almond flour to egg wash to pork rinds) the breading became too heavy to adhere to the eggplant slices. We ended up doing only two parts (water to almond flour or egg wash to pork rinds), both of which were acceptable after frying, though neither stuck completely.

Because of this previous experience, I am hesitant to try another breading based on pork rinds (even if they are mixed with canned Parmesan). So I decided I'd use some of my new Bob's Red Mill low carb baking mix on some chicken tenders (my son's favorite fried food) - and what a treat it was. The chicken came out tender and juicy on the inside, but crisp and golden brown on the outside. Once fried, the breading did look a little darker than normal cracker crumbs, but the taste and texture were fabulous. Even my 18-year-old scarfed down his normal extra helping of chicken before skittering away to spend the afternoon with friends. I know I'll be using this breading over and over again. Enjoy!

Low Carb Fried Chicken

2.5 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 16 tenders (0 net carbs)
1 1/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Low Carb Baking Mix (35 net carbs)
1 egg (0 net carbs)
Heavy cream and water (0 net carbs)
Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste (0 net carbs)
Vegetable oil for frying (0 net carbs)

• Use a fork to whisk the egg with a little cream and water to make an egg wash.
• Place the baking mix in a shallow plate and season to taste. (I usually add a good deal of pepper, but go light on the salt. I also put a lot of Italian seasoning in for good measure. If you want to fancy it up a little, try adding some finely grated lemon zest, or a ginger-citrus seasoning mix.)
• Heat oil in a deep skillet or wok. (Medium or "5" on my electric range)
• Dip each piece of chicken into the egg wash and then coat with the seasoned baking mix. (This is easier if you keep one hand in the wet dish and the other in the dry.)
• Fry the coated chicken in small batches (four or five pieces at a time depending on the size of your pan) until it is cooked through and the coating is a lovely toasted brown color.
• Remove chicken to a cookie sheet lined with paper towels, and keep it warm in a low oven while frying the remaining chicken.

Serve alone or with your favorite sauce, and veggies on the side.
2.2 net carbs for each of the 16 chicken tenders.