Heavy Cream Is The Key Ingredient For Eggless Yet Delicious Fried Chicken

If you want to make a batch of fried chicken and think eggs are a must-have ingredient, think again. Sure, eggs are the go-to ingredient to get the flour or breadcrumbs to stick to the chicken, but there are other options. Maybe you don't like eggs or perhaps you open the fridge and discover you're out. Either way, heavy cream is an ideal alternative ingredient for deliciously crispy — and eggless — fried chicken.

Heavy cream is similar to buttermilk, which many people use to brine their chicken before breading and frying, and is thicker than regular milk, which makes it ideal to coat chicken and get the breading to stick on. Some recipes combine heavy cream with buttermilk or eggs but don't worry, you can keep it simple and only use cream for your deep-fried poultry.

Keep in mind that heavy cream isn't as acidic as buttermilk, so you won't get as much tanginess. But if you season everything well, you won't miss it. You can also put a little vinegar or lemon juice in the heavy cream to make up for its lack of acidity.

Are you ready to make eggless fried chicken? The best method to use heavy cream is to soak the chicken in it, sort of like a brine. Brining might sound intimidating, but it's really just soaking your chicken in liquid so it can get tender. Use heavy cream, add hot sauce for tanginess and a bit of heat, or take it to the next level with fresh herbs and spices. You can soak the chicken in the heavy cream for two to three hours, let it marinate overnight, or leave it in the bowl while you heat the oil and prepare the other ingredients. After the chicken is soaked, dredge it in flour and start frying.

Heavy cream isn't the only alternative for eggs when you're frying chicken. We've already mentioned buttermilk, which is a popular ingredient for this classic deep-fried dish, and mayonnaise is a more unconventional ingredient to coat your chicken. It is thick and tangy, which means your chicken will get flavor and become tender from the condiment. And because of its consistency, your breading will stay on each piece of chicken from the time it's dredged until it goes into your mouth. Other egg alternatives include hot sauce, vegetable oils, sour cream, and even Greek yogurt.