The Simple Mistake Everyone Makes When Draining Fried Food

If you're anything like most home cooks, you probably let your fried foods drain on plates or baking sheets lined with paper towels. While using paper towels is an effective method to remove excess oil, it turns out that how you position them can make or break the crispiness of your dish.

In fact, letting your fried food cool on flat paper towels is a common mistake that can result in a soggy mess. This is because fried items begin to steam on the bottom when air isn't able to circulate around them. 

Instead of laying out paper towels after frying, there are other methods that work like a charm to allow for better airflow, including crumpling up your paper towels or using a wire rack set over a baking dish. Both of these methods allow your food to cool and crisp up without accidentally steaming it — so all your hard work on frying the perfect chicken won't go to waste.

Crumpling up your paper towels into a few loose balls is one way to catch extra grease. Lay those out on the same plate or baking sheet you normally use to drain your food. When the food is ready to go, gently lay it on the crumpled paper towels, so that they can cool and drain with extra airflow. The paper will soak up that grease, but the crumples give ample room for steam to escape.

Another beloved method is using a wire cooling rack set over a baking sheet. This allows for air to circulate around the chicken while also giving plenty of space for the oil to drip down. You can line the baking sheet underneath with paper towels or aluminum foil so that clean-up is a breeze. 

One common outlier, however? French fries. Rather than draining on paper towels or a wire rack, tossing the fries into a brown paper bag with some sea salt is an effective — and yummy — way to finish them off. 

Some secret ingredients may be the key to ensuring crispy chicken. For example, adding vodka to your batter creates extra crispy fried chicken because it evaporates at a lower temperature than other common liquids. This works to dry out the batter faster when frying, resulting in a better — and crunchier — crust. Baking powder is another ingredient that can guarantee crispy chicken because it helps absorb moisture.

When it comes to your breading, one mistake is double dipping when dredging as it causes a sogginess. This is because adding too much flour can cause the food to absorb more oil. To prevent this, make sure you're only coating your chicken once — and shake off any excess dredging to ensure only a thin layer is left behind. 

Starting with a dry base will help ensure that chicken skin crisps up perfectly. You can achieve this by simply patting the chicken dry on all sides with a paper towel before dredging. If you want to go a step further — and have the time — you can even let the chicken dry out further by popping it uncovered in the refrigerator for a while. Just make sure to bring the chicken back to room temperature before frying. Otherwise, the cold chicken causes the oil temperature to drop too low, which makes your chicken not cook evenly.