And to make it perfectly?

要想做出完美的炸雞呢？

Well, that's impossible… as long as you keep making these simple mistakes.

簡直是不可能的任務！尤其是如果你一再犯這些簡單的錯誤。

"I feel like a Kentucky fried idiot!"

「我感覺就像個炸雞白癡。」

Here are some ways you're screwing up your fried chicken — and how to fix it.

以下是一些搞砸炸雞的作法，以及補救辦法。

Some people swear by salt water brine for juicy fried chicken.

有些人會用鹽水浸泡雞肉來做多汁炸雞。

But if you want to avoid the time sink of drying each piece before breading and frying, try buttermilk instead.

但要是你想省下用乾每塊炸雞的時間，試試改用白脫鮮乳。

Buttermilk actually sticks to the chicken better, which helps with the breading, while giving the same juicy benefits as brine.

白脫鮮乳比較容易附著於雞肉上，裹粉比較容易，而且和鹽水一樣可以讓雞肉多汁。

Robbie Melvin, who works as a recipe developer for Time Inc. Food Studios, told MyRecipes, "Buttermilk is a classic Southern style… soaking chicken in buttermilk acts as a brine."

Time 公司食物工作坊的食譜編寫人 Robbie Melvin 在食譜網站 MyRecipes 表示：利用白脫鮮乳是經典的南方做法，將雞肉浸在白脫鮮乳裡，意思就和鹽水一樣。

"Buttermilk, yeah? It's brilliant for marinating chicken.”

「白脫鮮乳呀，浸泡雞肉的絕佳妙方。」

If you're not adding cornstarch in your breading, you're missing out on an opportunity to take your crust to the next level.

如果你在麵包粉中沒有加入玉米澱粉，那真是錯失巔峰造極的良機了！

Cornstarch helps keeps the chicken tender, which is one reason Bon Appétit recommends using a 50/50 ratio of cornstarch to all-purpose flour, which promises to give your fried chicken an "audibly crunchy, beautiful browned exterior."

玉米澱粉讓雞肉柔嫩，這也是為什麼美食雜誌 Bon Appétit 建議將玉米澱粉和中筋麵粉以 1:1 比例混合，這麼一來你的炸雞就會「聽起來酥脆悅耳，看起來美麗棕亮。」

Other chefs suggest skipping the flour entirely and using only cornstarch, but either way, cornstarch is a fried chicken game-changer.

也有其他廚師建議乾脆只用玉米澱粉，不過不管是哪個方法，玉米澱粉都是致勝關鍵！

"Another good trick, I always add cornstarch too."

「小妙招，我也是都會加上玉米澱粉。」

KFC's secret formula has been debated for years.

人們多年來爭論著肯德基的獨門妙方。

In 2016, the formula's 11 herbs and spices were supposedly uncovered, but according to a hard-hitting Chicago Tribune expose, even that didn't result in chicken like the Colonels.

在 2016 年，據說配方中的 11 中香料被公開了，但根據犀利的《芝加哥論壇報》，光這樣還端不上檯面。

Until, that is, they added an MSG-based flavor enhancer called Accent.

直到後來再加上以味精為基底的增味劑，這就對了。

Chicago Tribune reporter Joe Gray wrote that once the MSG was added, "Our chicken was virtually indistinguishable from the batch bought at KFC."

《芝加哥論壇報》記者 Joe Gray 寫道，一旦加入味精，「我們的炸雞就和肯德基的別無二樣！」

Turns out the answer was right in front of us all along — the chicken just needed a little southern Accent.

結果原來答案一直在我們眼前，炸雞不過是需要加一些南方味精。

"Mm, I think this is the best Kentucky Fried Chicken I ever had!"

「嗯！我想這是我吃過最好吃的肯德基炸雞！」

Logically thinking, it would seem like the sooner you get the breaded chicken into the hot oil, the better your chances of a superior crust, right?

理論上，剛裹好粉的雞肉就應該趕快下鍋炸，外皮才會越酥脆，對吧？

Not according to executive chef Ben McLean, who says this will only ensure all that glorious crust falls off with that first bite.

但根據總主廚 Ben McLean，這樣只會讓酥脆外皮在第一口就掉光光。

The way around that?

那該怎麼做呢？

He spills his secret to The Takeout, explaining, "What we do is once we bread it, we let it sit on a rack in the fridge and let air circulate overnight."

他在美食網站《外賣》分享他的秘方：「一旦裹好粉，先把雞肉放在架上、進冰箱放置一晚，讓空氣在它們周圍流通。」

"It'll allow the moisture of the chicken to soak through the breading, and it makes it super tacky, allowing the breading to stick to the meat itself."

「這能使雞肉的水分擴散到麵包粉，麵包粉就會變得黏黏的，才會好好附著在肉上。」

Frying chicken can be a pain — we get it.

下油鍋炸真的很麻煩，我們懂。

But if you've already committed to the oil and the splatter and the mess, frying the same chicken a second time really isn't that big of a deal, is it?

但你都已經決定要搞得油膩膩了，同一塊再炸第二次也不用耗什麼功夫吧？

And it's totally worth the effort.

而且肯定值得！

"Who loves chicken? You do!!”

「誰愛炸雞？你！！」

"We do!"

「我們愛炸雞！」

"Delicious chicken swing on through!"

「美味的炸雞，馬上來！」

Serious Eats explains that one of the biggest problems with cooking fried chicken is that in order to get the crust as crunchy as possible, you've got to cook it for a long time.

美食網站《認真吃》寫道，用炸雞最麻煩的是，要炸出酥脆外皮就要炸很久。

And in the process of getting that extra-crispy crust, you end up overcooking the meat.

而且為了炸得特別酥脆，卻把肉都煮老了。

No matter how amazing your crust is, nobody will want the dried out chicken underneath.

無論你的外皮有多美味，沒有人會想吃底下乾巴巴的肉。

To combat this conundrum, give your chicken its usual dunk in the hot oil, then remove it as you normally would.

為了解決這道難題，先別讓雞肉在熱油裡炸太久，普通久就好。

Let the chicken pieces sit for at least 30 minutes, and then fry it again.

然後拿出來讓炸雞靜置 30 分鐘，最後再炸一遍。

This way, the meat has had a chance to cool down, and the second trip to the oil bath won't do any harm — it will just make your crust unbelievably crunchy.

這麼一來，肉就能夠先放涼，回鍋再炸也不會有損肉質，只會讓你的外皮酥脆無比。

There's no greater sin than subjecting your leftover fried chicken — which you worked so hard to perfect — to the microwave.

前一天辛苦做好的完美炸雞，吃剩的卻在隔天放進微波爐，極大的罪惡啊！

To properly reheat your fried chicken you need to use an oven.

要用烤箱才能夠讓炸雞均勻受熱。

And there are a few tricks to ensuring that it's just as good as when you pulled it out of the fryer the first time.

有幾個小訣竅保證能讓你的炸雞回春。

First, the chicken should sit out for a 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature before reheating.

首先，炸雞應該先在室溫靜置 30 分鐘到一小時，才拿去加熱。

This guarantees that all the differently-sized pieces will heat evenly.

這能確保不同大小的每一塊都能均勻受熱。

Once the chill is off, put the chicken on top of a wire rack on a baking sheet, and cook in a 400 degree oven.

一旦靜置完成，將它們放進烤盤，底下墊張烘焙紙，然後以攝氏 205 度的溫度烘烤。

Time will vary depending on the size of the pieces; around 16 minutes for breasts, and 12 minutes for legs and thighs.

烤的時間依據炸雞大小。雞胸大概要 16 分鐘，雞腿排和棒棒腿則要大約 12 分鐘。

And then…

然後呢 ......。

"IT'S FINGER LICKIN' GOOD!"

「吮指的美味！」

Check out one of our newest videos right here!

看看我們最新的影片吧！

Plus, even more Mashed videos about your favorite meals are coming soon.

還有更多美食影片會陸續推出！

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.

訂閱我們的頻道，然後開啟提示鈴鐺，才不會錯過我們的影片！