There are, by my count, at least seven levels of fried chicken. The worst of them is good; the best, which I waited forty-four years to find, led to what can only be called an out-of-body experience. Let’s start at …
Meat Seasoning Tips
Adding seasoning to meats enhances the natural flavor already found in the meat while it cooks. The required preparation takes little time in most cases and the only real difference in time is in how long you allow the meat to sit with the seasoning prior to cooking it. Add this to my Recipe Box.
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Marinate
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Marinating the meat before cooking it is where you allow the meat to soak in a mixture of juices and other spices. Marinade mixtures can be made from glazes, soups, liquid spices or prepackaged mixtures, either liquid or dry. Meats can be topped with these types of solutions while sitting in a pan or soaking in a sealable plastic bag anywhere from one to 72 hours, depending on what the recipe calls for. Once the meat is done soaking in the marinade mixture, some of the marinade juices can be used to fry the meat. Add prepackaged liquid marinades directly to the pan to add a light flavor right before cooking. Some marinades can be high in salt, so consider diluting it with water before using it.
Rub
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Some recipes call for seasoning the meat by rubbing dry spices into the surface of the meat. The goal is to have the seasoning embed itself in the top layer of meat without having to coat the meat in a batter in order to make the seasonings stick. Meats can then be fried, broiled, baked or grilled. Some individuals feel that rubbing seasoning into the meat offers the dish a sharper flavor when it's finished. Fresh seasonings are added right after cooking as a light topping for added flavor.
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Slow Cooker
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Slow cookers, also known as crock-pots, cook meats slowly in their own juices over a 4- to 10-hour period, depending on the recipe. Marinating the meat ahead of time or choosing to season the meat directly before cooking will cause different types of results for flavor. Marinating meats ahead of time builds in flavor and these meats will hold a richer taste than those seasoned just beforehand.
When using a slow cooker, you have the option of adding seasonings to the meat before or after any soups or other liquids. Placing the seasonings directly on the meat will provide a more robust flavor than adding the seasonings on top of everything else once placed in the slow cooker.
Stuffed
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Seasoning meat right before cooking can be enhanced by physically stuffing the meat with the seasonings. This is done by stuffing the cavities of chicken or turkey. Steaks and pork chops can be split open when thick enough and stuffed with dry soup mixes, onions and garlic or stuffed with breaded mixtures. In addition, you can cut small slats a quarter to half an inch down into the meat and stuff whole cloves of garlic directly into the slats.
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