Can I fry chicken drumsticks in a saucepan?

gonedrinking

I don't have a deep fat fryer or a frying pan deep enough, so can I just put some oil into a saucepan and fry them that way?

Swampy

yep

The Sweeper

Use a stable saucepan with high sides, preferably one that does not retain heat (so don't deep-fry in a cast iron pot).

Fill the pot only one third of the way with oil - NO HIGHER.

To judge if the oil is hot, drop a cube of bread in - it should sizzle. You don't want the oil smoking before adding food - this isn't wok cooking!

Ensure your chicken drumsticks are dry before adding them gently and slowly to the pan - don't drop them in.

The oil will bubble up when you add the drumsticks. This is fine. Don't cover the pot. Don't panic. If you only filled the pot 1/3 of the way, it'll be fine. The oil should continue to bubble while the chicken is cooking - if the chicken is sitting in non-bubbling oil, you're making chicken confit. (This isn't good. ) If the oil is smoking, it's too hot.

Cook the drumsticks until golden brown. They'll float when cooked. Remove carefully from the oil and drain on kitchen paper before serving. You can try cutting into one to ensure it's cooked.

Do not leave the pot unattended. Do not allow the oil to smoke and overheat. If the pan goes up in flames: turn off the heat under the pot, close the kitchen doors and windows, call the fire brigade, and evacuate all people and pets from the house.

That's deadly serious - forget treating a chip pan fire yourself.

If you pour water on a chip pan, the superheated oil will explode upwards and outwards in a cloud of napalm-like scalding oil. If you pour water on a chip pan that's on fire, you'll get all of the above, except it'll be on fire. Don't put a lid on the pot. Don't put a cloth over the pot. Don't move the pot. Leave it, call the fire brigade. (I would have thought that was extreme, until the son of a work colleague tried to deal with a chip pan fire at home a year ago - he knew not to use water or a lid, but in a panic he grabbed the pot, ran to the door and threw it out - oil still went everywhere, scalding and burning the back of his hand to the bone - he was in for daily dressing changes for ages and will be scarred for life.)

Dizzyblonde

I saw Nigella Lawson fry chicken drumsticks in a couple of inches of oil.
She poached them in milk first so they'd be moist and tender, then dried them well. Then she coated them in seasoned flour, then beaten egg, then flour again and let them sit for a while before frying them. They looked delicious.

Kat1170

You could just fry them in a frying pan and finish off in the oven.

neuro-praxis

Re: chip pan fires.

The advice I was given in first aid was to always keep a pre-prepared thick, damp tea-towel beside the chip pan.

That way if it bursts into flames, you can turn off the heat source, and slowly lower the damp tea-towel over it (NO WAFTING OF THE TEA TOWEL), directing the tea-towel away from you, thus smothering the flames.

If I am ever deep frying, and the oil starts to smoke, I immediately remove it from the heat source, lower the heat, and when it has stopped smoking, return it to the heat for cooking again.

thecookingapple

better to roasted them in a nice marinade.

here is one simple one.

1 spoon of honey

1 raw garlic clove

1 lemon and 1 lime juiced

small cup of soy sauce

1 spoon of mustard dijon

corriander leaves

1 ginger peeled and cut

1 red chili

1 orange juiced

blend togeather until fine.

marinade and cook.

the honey will carmelize them.

CJhaughey

Anyone that cooks should have a fire blanket handy, they aren't expensive and are 10 times better and more effective than a tea towel wet or otherwise.
You pull it out and holding the tapes roll it back over your hands to protect them.
Holding it in front of you walk slowly towards the fire and place the blanket over the fire pushing the blanket away from you.
Doing it this way stops the flames from coming towards you.
Most injuries with flaming pans are when a person picks the pan up and rushes forwards with it, the flames come back at their face and cause panic throwing of the pan and contents.
Once the blanket is over the pan the flames will die out.
Turn off the heat source and leave it until cool, if you go back and lift it off there is a danger of re-ignition and thats not good.

neuro-praxis

Getting myself a fire blanket now!