southern fried chicken

March 07, 2012

southern fried chicken

let me apologize right off the bat.. there is nothing healthy, low fat or dietetic about this meal.. in fact it's the exact opposite.. but i only make it once a year and it's for my dad's b day.. sooo.. here it is.. now our fried chicken is simple.. no brining.. no soaking in buttermilk.. no three part dipping, dredging process.. but it's fantastic.. my mother was born in texas and raised by a beautiful southern woman aka mommabell... mommabell only served her ice cream in wooden bowls (tasted better that way).. would not eat salad with a fork (the fork ruined the taste of the lettuce.. she would eat it with her fingers.. very delicately and daintily of course) .. if mayo was kept out for more than 20 minutes in the garbage it went for it became poisonous (i can't tell you how long it took me to get over that one).. she made a mean shrimp gumbo (no filet powder in her gumbo no sirree) and she made awesome fried chicken.. always in her iron skillet (the one used above was hers..) now there is a trick to fried chicken.. never ever ever put wet or partially frozen chicken in hot oil... my mom was making it once and there were little pockets of ice left under the skin, which she did not know about and when it hit the hot grease the result landed her in the emergency room.. so always defrost your chicken entirely and rinse and pat dry.. according to michael symon it's perfectly acceptable to leave chicken out for 30 minutes or so before cooking it.. so i rinse mine pat try and put on a lined baking sheet for 30 minutes before cooking..and always always thoroughly cook your chicken.. and yes i'm speaking from experience.. one year for dad's b day.. about 8 years ago.. i made fried chicken, of course, and my outside was a golden beautiful brown and inside was raw (i won't go into details but good golly oh mighty augh).. bleeak.. icky.. let's just say for about 5 years after that fiasco we had my dad's dinner out at a fancy restaurant..when frying be sure your oil is between 350 - 370 degrees (f).. there are wonderful tips for frying here.. and make sure when done your internal temperature of the chicken is 160 degrees (f).. following these few simple rules and you too can be cooking like a southern woman or man :).. but you have to say words like pillah (pillow) mirrah (mirror) yellah (yellow) and my favorite hairikin (hurricane).. boy do i miss my mommabell.. she sadly passed away nearly 26 years ago.. but there is not a single day that has gone by since that i haven't thought about her.. *big smile*

prep time: 20 minutes

cooking time: 1 hour or more

servings: 10

ingredients:

1 package of skin on bone in thighs

1 package of drum sticks

1 package of breasts (the ones i used were boneless/skinless)

flour

salt and pepper

cayenne

oil (veggie or canola)

butter

sorry about no measurements but hopefully the way i explain how i cook it will suffice..

wash and pat dry your chicken pieces.. let sit on a lined baking sheet for about 30 minutes.. take a ziplock bag or large paper bag and put in about 3 cups a/p flour.. salt and pepper to taste.. i add a few shakes of cayenne too.. add one piece of chicken to bag and close bag with your fist and shake.. while shaking move your hips back and fourth and your arms up and down and say "shake shake shake.. shake shake shake.. shake your booty.." or not.. it's strictly optional.. *smile* after your piece of chicken is coated remove from bag shake off extra flour and let it fall back into the bag and place on another lined baking sheet NOT the one with the unfloured chicken.. continue until all chicken is floured.. remove the lining from the sheet that held the raw unfloured chicken and clean your baking sheet and line again, i use foil.. then take another paper bag and rip off end and rip down the center and spread over your foil lined baking sheet.. (this is where your going to put your chicken after it has been fried) take your iron skillet and fill with oil about 1/2 way.. do NOT over fill or you will have one big mess on your hands.. heat your oil, over medium high heat..then while it's heating add 1/2 stick of butter.. once your oil and butter have reached the proper temperature of 350-375 degrees (let me tell you though some cooks like alton brown say to have your oil no higher than 325 and an internal temperature of 180 just as an fyi) gently place chicken in pan using your tongs..do not over crowd your skillet.. you will be doing this in batches.. heat your oven to 225.. cook drum sticks and thighs for 10-12 minutes per side and breasts 12-14.. once cooked all the way through remove from oil and place on a foil lined/brown paper bag lined baking sheet and put in oven to keep warm.. then repeat until all the chicken has been cooked..