How to Cook Like a Southerner by Johnnie Gabriel

Author:Johnnie Gabriel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2014-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

An hour or so before you’re ready to fry, rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Put the chicken in a large bowl. Add ¼ cup salt to the buttermilk and stir. Pour the buttermilk over the chicken and set in the refrigerator for 1 hour to soak.

In a large zip-top plastic bag, mix the flour, remaining 2 teaspoons salt, pepper, paprika, and poultry seasoning.

Pour the oil in a large cast-iron skillet that has high sides, about halfway up the side of the skillet, and heat over medium-high heat.

While the oil heats, begin battering your chicken. Use tongs to transfer one piece of chicken at a time to the flour bag. When you have a few pieces in the bag, toss to coat well. Transfer the floured chicken pieces to a plate. Try to keep one hand dry for using the tongs and one hand for pulling chicken from the flour. Discard the buttermilk once you’ve battered all the chicken.

Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature of the oil. When your instant-read thermometer reads 350 to 360 degrees, you’re ready to fry. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can test the oil with a pinch of flour. It will sizzle in the oil when the oil is getting hot enough. Don’t allow the oil to smoke.

Using clean tongs, carefully slide the largest pieces of chicken into the hot oil, skin side down and one piece at a time, until the pan is about three-fourths full. The oil will start to cool off as you fill up the skillet. Keep the heat up sufficiently so that the oil will continue to bubble up around the chicken.

About 10 minutes into the process, cover the skillet with a lid and let the chicken steam for about 5 minutes. When the chicken has turned golden brown on the bottom, remove the lid and turn the pieces. Place the lid on for about 5 more minutes and allow the chicken to steam again. Remove the lid and let the chicken brown again, about 10 minutes. Try not to turn the chicken more than once as this will sometimes cause the crust to stick to the bottom of the pan instead of the chicken.

Remove the pieces to a paper towel–lined rack to let the pieces drain. Check the temperature of the leg portion to see if it registers at least 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. It should take about 25 minutes per batch. My mom knew instinctively when the chicken was done. She used a cooking fork and could tell just by sticking the chicken.

Repeat with remaining chicken. You may need to add additional oil or strain flour and batter that was left in the oil. Make sure the oil temperature comes back up to 350 degrees before you begin cooking again.

The chicken will hold at room temperature for up to an hour while you’re frying the remaining pieces. Serve with Brown Gravy on the side.

Brown Gravy

After frying

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