A Southern Delacacy as Old as Time

Fried Chicken seems as quintessentially American as apple pie, Mom and the 4^th of July and is a Southern delicacy.   Of course, we know that Southern Fried chicken is “finger licking good” and should come with a biscuit.  In today’s fast paced world, it isn’t something we often make at home, but it should be. 

  Pan fried chicken like I am going to show you in this iteration of Southern Home Cooking conjures up many fond memories of Grandma’s kitchen.  I learned by watching and eventually helping her make chicken for Sunday dinner when all my aunts, uncles and cousins would flock to her tiny yellow house after church.  There, two electric skillets and several skillets on the stove, were all laden with lard, heated to just the right temperature and then filled with piece after piece of that dipped and floured fowl.

   Trust me when I tell you, Grandma Miriam didn’t invent the dish, but she sure perfected it!  No, this dish is almost as old as time.  People have been frying yard bird since the middle ages.  It came to the Americas with Irish immigrants, was perfected by slaves a hundred years later, who added spices to the mix, and is something that continues to evolve.   And, isn’t that what great cooks do?  They tweak it here, add something there and put their signature on it making it uniquely their own. 

To begin with, you need chicken.  It can be precut or my preference, whole.  I always buy the whole bird.  It is cheaper.  Grandma taught me how to cut it up, which doesn’t take much time and isn’t difficult.  If that isn’t something you can stomach, I understand.  But, if it is and you just don’t know how, it’s worth the time to look it up and learn. I want meat from a single bird, not several, so I still do mine the old-fashioned way.   

   We need oil, flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, eggs and buttermilk and the afore mentioned chicken.

   Put your oil in whatever pan you plan to fry your chick in.  I recommend a large skillet or electric skillet.  You will fill it with about an inch of oil and bring it up to around 350 degrees.   I have taken to using peanut oil instead of lard.  Peanut oil doesn’t burn, which can be a hazard of lard or vegetable oil.

  While you have that going on, get your egg wash ready.  Crack you eggs (2-3) in a large enough bowl to accommodate your chicken, add buttermilk and mix.   Then put flour in a container and season it with the spices.  I generally recommend a paper bag for this part.  I will mix my flour and spices in a bowl and then put it in a large paper bag.   

  Once that is done, check your oil.  Then, put your chicken in the egg wash and drop it all into the bag.  Close the bag at the top (like roll it down a few times) and then shake it vigorously.  This coats all your chicken evenly and you can cook all that will fit into your pan or pans at the same time.   Let your chicken rest after shaking.   Then, do it again.  WE DO NOT WANT WET CHICKEN!!  Wet chicken makes your oil pop and makes a mess at best; at worse, it can and will burn you.  When that is done, start cooking your chicken.

  Cook your chicken, turning it occasionally until it is golden brown and crisp on the outside and reaches an internal temperature of about 165 degrees.   

  It wouldn’t be a chicken dinner without mashed potatoes and gravy!  For that, boil potatoes until tender, add butter and a bit of milk, then smash-em up.   I mix mine up with a hand mixer to get them nice and smooth.

 For the gravy…. we’ll look at that next time when we cook up some Southern Chicken Fried Steak

           

Peanut oil            2-3 cups
Flour                      2-3 Cups
Salt                         1 tsp
Pepper                 1tsp
Garlic powder   1tsp
Onion powder   1tsp
Paprika                 1tsp
eggs                       2-3
buttermilk           1 cup

For a spicy version, add about a tsp of cayenne pepper to your flour