Can You Fry Chicken In Peanut Oil?[We Find Out!]

ByShruti

You are frying chicken and wondering which oil should you be using?
Having Stumbled upon one of the most common and versatile amongst all oils – peanut oil.

Peanut oil is a good choice for frying chicken. Perfectly fried chicken is cooked at 375F. As peanut oil has a high smoke point of 450 degrees, you will get a crispy coating with moist tender meat. Another advantage of peanut oil is that it has a neutral flavor and it is widely available.

In this article, we shall find out if frying chicken in peanut is any better than other vegetable oils. Also how to perfectly fry chicken in peanut oil. As well as some other options that can be explored.

What Are the Benefits Of Frying Chicken in Peanut Oil?

There are quite a few benefits to frying chicken in vegetable oils:

  1. High Smoke Point:
    Peanut Oil has a high smoke point. A higher smoke point while frying ensures that the oil is able to withstand high temperatures and will not burn when the temperatures are raised. Peanut oil has a smoke point of 450 degrees.
  2. Neutral Flavour:
    The neutral Flavor of the oil is superbly essential until and unless you do not want any added taste to the chicken. Also, this is superbly helpful when there are many other things to be fried.
  3. Cheaper and Easily Available:
    Peanut Oil is cheaper and easily available for use.

Does Fried Chicken Taste Better in Peanut Oil?

The fried chicken definitely tastes great in peanut oil as it is a neutral flavored oil with a high smoke point. The higher smoking point of the oil definitely gives the chicken a crunch to it and keeps it moist from within. Also, the high smoke point of 450 degrees ensures the chicken does not become soggy.

The neutral flavor of the oil does not get transferred to the chicken and the chicken retains the flavor of the spices that are added to it.

Is Peanut Oil the Best For Frying?

Peanut oil like other vegetable oils is one of the best options when you are frying. Most vegetable oils such as corn oil, canola oil, rice bran oil, soyabean oil, sunflower oil, etc. have a neutral flavor with smoke points between 400 – 450 degrees.

Thus, they can withstand higher temperatures and will not burn as well as they do not impart any funny, uncanny, or bitter taste to the chicken.

What Is The Best Temperature For Frying Chicken in Peanut Oil?

The best temperature for frying chicken is between 350-375 degrees. The ideal temperature is 350 degrees. Since peanut oil can sustain heat till 450 degrees it won’t be very difficult to fry chicken in peanut oil at the ideal temperatures.

Frying chicken at ideal temperatures helps to obtain crispy skin and moist and soft meat from within.

Suggested Reading: Cooking Temperatures For Frying Chicken Perfectly? [Internal and External Temperatures]

How To Fry Chicken In Peanut Oil?

Frying chicken in Peanut oil is similar to frying chicken in any kind of oil. Listed below are the steps that can be followed to fry chicken in peanut oil.

  1. Ensure that the chicken is seasoned and marinated adequately.
  2. Take a wide and heavy-bottomed pan.
  3. Heat Peanut oil to 325 degrees. You can use a cooking thermometer to ensure the oil has reached that point.
  4. Cook the chicken pieces for 12 – 18 minutes.
  5. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees and is cooked thoroughly.

How Long to Fry Chicken in Peanut Oil?

The time taken to fry a chicken perfectly varies from the part of the chicken that you are frying. Various parts of the chicken take different times to be cooked. The table below shows a fair estimate of the time that will be taken to fry chicken at 350 degrees.

Sr. No.Type of ChickenTime Taken at 350 F
1Chicken Wings18 – 20 minutes
2Chicken Thighs8 – 10 minutes
3Chicken Drumsticks12 – 15 minutes

Suggested Reading: Pan Frying vs Deep Frying Chicken [The Differences Debate!]

There are a few factors that can affect the cooking time. They are listed below:

  1. The size of the pieces that you are frying.
  2. The type of the piece that is being fried.
  3. The size of the pan.
  4. The number of pieces that are put in the pan. More pieces will lower the temperatures and thus the pieces will take longer to cook.

Suggested Reading: My Fried Chicken Is Not Crispy? [Avoid Making These Common Mistakes]

Can I Use Any Other Oil to fry chicken?

Absolutely, any unflavored and neutral oil can be used to fry chicken. As this will not impart any funny, weird, or bitter taste to the chicken. Oils such as mustard oil can not be used to fry as they have a strong pungent taste and impart a bitter taste.

Healthier oils that can be used for frying that impart a very mild and subtle flavor are:

  1. Avocado oil
  2. Sesame Oil
  3. Coconut Oil
  4. Olive Oil

Other Oils that shouldn’t be used for cooking on high heat are:

  1. Flaxseed Oil
  2. Palm Oil
  3. Walnut Oil

Suggested Reading: Can You Make Fried Chicken Without Oil? [Different Ways To Do It]

The Best Oil To Fry Chicken?

The best oil to fry chicken would be canola oil.

Reasons why you should choose canola oil over peanut oil or other vegetable oils:

  1. It has a reasonably high smoke point.
  2. It is a neutral flavored oil.
  3. High in monosaturated fats thus lowers cholesterol
  4. Canola Oil is slightly lower in saturated fat and thus is healthier than vegetable oils.

More Related Articles:

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  2. Can You Use Regular Milk to Fry Chicken?[ Is It Okay?]
  3. Using Self-Rising Flour To Fry Chicken [ Can It Be Done?]
  4. Best Flours To Use For Fried Chicken! [A Deeper Understanding!]
  5. Fried Chicken Vs Baked Chicken [Which to Choose?]

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