How to make fried chicken...

I had dinner tonight with my great grandmother. In spirit at least. :)

I went delving through her old house the other day. It's mostly junk, and the house is literally falling apart. But I did find a few gems. Keep in mind, one man's trash is another man's treasure, and that second man is probably me. Or woman rather... That goes without saying, but I said it anyway.

But I digress- I decided to make dinner "with" this lady tonight. Of course, an occasion such as this calls for fried chicken.

First you take a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. Being well-seasoned by your cherished great grandmother's hands 50+ years ago is entirely optional, but I swear it makes everything taste better.



Then you use whatever oil of choice in a med-high heat (I set mine to a 6). Vegetable oil is probably most common per Suth'n tradition, but I prefer regular olive oil, non extra-virgin. Extra virgin has too much flavor for me I think, the flavors compete in the fried chicken. Using your very last bit of olive oil is entirely optional and NOT recommended, as it means you have to go to the grocery store tomorrow.



Then you make your dredge. I typically grab several things and ad lib it. Every time is something different. It typically is some variation of what I have pictured below. I do about a cup and a half of flour, and 1 heaping Tbsp each of the other stuff, except the salt, that I just sprinkle a bit. Maybe 1/2 a tsp if I guesstimate. Using your great grandmother's antique bowls is again, entirely optional, but prefered. I wonder what the last thing she did with them was?



Then I make my egg mixture to bind the flour. I use 1 egg, about an 1/8 or so cup of milk (buttermilk or whole milk is best, but I didn't have any today) and I like to add a shot of worchestershire sauce. I call it wista-sher sauce by the way, and I don't think I'll ever be convinced to call it anything else.



Make sure the egg mixture and flour mixture are both well-whisked. I never sift flour btw, I always just whisk it. And have another bowl handy filled with bread crumbs. Or crumbled chips and crackers. Even corn flakes! Whatever floats your boat! My husband and I both prefer whole wheat crackers, oddly enough. Has an interesting flavor. Anyway, I set it up as thus, to minimize mess and nuisance. Chicken goes to my 4 o'clock, egg wash to my 6 o'clock, flour at 10 and bread crumbs at 2. I take the chicken (pre-salted) and dip in the egg, then the flour, and give it a lick and a promise kinda coating (not very much) and then into the crumbs, and then back into the flour. I make sure I coat it very well this second time. Then plop into the now hot oil in the skillet. Oh, and be sure and save a portion of the flour mixture before you start this process, for the gravy later.



Continue til all the chicken is in the skillet and happily sizzling. Granny Gran, can you smell it?



Now here is the tricky part. You don't want to bother it too much, or the breading will fall apart. I let it go maybe 5 minutes before turning it the first time. Then I turn them over every 3-4 minutes afterwards til they are a nice golden brown. Feel free to cut into it and check and make sure it's done before serving. You probably knew that anyway, but hey, I felt like saying it anyway.



And we're done!



Now, time for gravy! Some say this is the best part. I can't say I disagree. You take your still sizzling skillet full of chicken drippings and stuff, taking care to use a fork and fish out any large clumps of breading, or not, whatever, I rarely do.



Add that flour you saved earlier.



Splash in some milk, or water if you prefer, about 1/4 a cup? I have no idea exact measurements for this, I literally splash it in there.



Here you need to hurry, it will set quick. Stir continuously and as soon as you think you see it's almost set where you want it, transfer it to another bowl, which you have previously set aside in a handy location. It will continue to set in that bowl. If you wait til it's already set as thick as you want in the skillet, it will be too thick by the time it's in the bowl. It happens really fast, I promise! If you do happen to let it overthicken, just splash in a bit more milk. And if need be, if you over-compensated and it's too thin, add more flour. And voila, gravy! Spilling milk as you do your patented "splash" is entirely optional and not at all recommended, unless you enjoy extra range-scrubbing.



Enjoy your classic southern meal! I like to serve mine with mashed potatoes and green beans. The gravy goes great with the mashed potatoes too. Oh, and finishing it off with some faux tea in your great granny's carnival glass pitcher is entirely optional as well, but oh so recommended.



For some reason, I feel like I should say "entirely optional" one more time.