Fried Chicken Feet Are The Deliciously Crunchy Bar Snack You've Been Missing
Few things go better with an ice-cold beer or cocktail than a salty, crunchy snack. Classic bar bites like cheap peanuts or popcorn at a local dive bar or an elegantly spiced bowl of mixed nuts or seasoned pretzels may find their way to you and your drink. The salty snacks and drinks combo enhances both your enjoyment of that beverage and the bar's profits. When it comes to beer specifically, it can have a slightly bitter taste courtesy of the hops incorporated during the brewing process. Even if you like a hop-forward brew such as an IPA, try taking a sip after a handful of peanuts. Chances are, you'll notice a change in your perception of the taste.
That's because salt acts to temporarily weaken taste receptors that key into bitterness. After a salty snack, the beer tastes smoother and goes down just a little easier, according to VinePair. When a drink becomes more drinkable, you often end up imbibing more, to the benefit of a bar's bottom line. What's more, salty things make you thirsty whether your drink of choice is a beer or a gin and tonic. But why stop at the standards? While peanuts and popcorn are cheap, easy to prepare, and well-loved, it's time for something new to shake things up.
Chicken feet make for an elevated bar snack
Step aside pretzels, popcorn, and peanuts — there's a new bar snack in town and we promise it's worth pushing past any initial resistance. Enter: fried chicken feet. While we can't guarantee your local watering hole will have them, if they're on the menu then we think they're worth a try. Consider that chicken skin or crackling pork rinds are already popular snacks for bringing a combination of rich, fatty flavor with a salty crunch. If you give them a try, you'll find that fried chicken feet are remarkably similar.
Made by lightly battering and deep frying the foot, you don't have to worry about biting into bones. The bit of tissue in chicken feet is mostly cartilage, so once they've been cooked it all but melts away. The skin on the outside combined with the batter and the hot oil leaves a nice salty crunch. Plus, there's plenty of room for adding new and exciting flavors, especially if you're intrepid enough to prepare fried chicken feet at home.
How to fry chicken feet
If you're excited about the possibility of fried chicken feet to go along with your next cold beverage, then there's good news: you can easily make them at home. Chicken feet can be fried with or without the batter. Depending on which method you choose, the final result will have a unique flavor and texture. Without the batter, the feet are more reminiscent of pork cracklins — lighter and less fatty, but still with the ability to melt in your mouth. Add a light coating of batter and the feet will remind you more of classic fried chicken, according to Serious Eats
Before you start cooking, be sure to remove the nails and any little callouses from pasture-raised birds. You can impart further flavor by simmering the chicken feet in a spice mixture of your choice before frying. If you want a chicken-forward salty flavor without the crunch, reverse the order and fry, then simmer the feet. Either way, there's plenty of room for creative liberties here. Done right, you may be about to fall in love with your new favorite drinking snack.