chicken fryer how to use???????

[Eunice]

I have a beautiful Griswold chicken fryer (#8) it is 9" across the bottom and about 3" tall without the lid.
It makes great fried chicken but you cant put very many pieces on the bottom of the pan. I stack it and then constantly moving pieces around from top to bottom.
does anyone know the proper way to use this pan? Does it fry all the pieces because of the lid?
Other brands of non cast iron chicker fryers are about 12" wide.

[Laredo]

was cook the chicken in 'batches'.
If it was chicken we dressed at home to eat ourselves (rare) she'd do half the chicken (a wing, a breast, and a leg quarter) in the pan at a time.

[Gaelen]

Eunice, I have a 10" diameter non CI chicken fryer, and I cook the chicken in batches. Don't stack it; you want all the pieces in the oil to fry evenly. Stacking will sort of (but not quite) par cook the bottom of the top layer and sort of (but not quite) steam the top of the bottom layer...so neither one of those sides will crisp up right and the pieces will be greasier than they need to be. I can do about a half chicken, or 4 breasts, or 8 legs or 6 thighs in mine at one time. But when you're doing the actual shallow frying, less (in the pan) is more.

Hope this helps.

[Eunice]

thanks for the replies. I am still confused by the depth of the pan (did they have bigger chickens way back when) and why the lid? It is like a self basting lid with the rings on it but the chicken doesnt crisp up when covered.
The chicken turns out great but I think I am missing some long lost secret to this pan.

[Dale M.]

Think of it as a wide shallow Dutch Oven.....

Dale

[Eunice]

Think of it as a wide shallow Dutch Oven.....

Dale

that makes sense to me. thanks

[Miriam C.]

Eunice, try cooking the chicken with the lid on, should be faster, then take the lid off, turn you stove up, and brown it. Should be quite crispy.