Ok, I think we have had enough bad news, politics, and generally bad joo joo.
This weekend, I'm going to contribute my famous fried chicken and some Ollalaberry pie to our family's annual 4th of July gathering, and thought I'd share with you guys.
This is the best fried chicken I have ever tasted, and here's how I make it:
Go to the store and buy the freshest and reasonably large chicken pieces that they have. The really big birds are tougher, and the small ones are tender but have less meat.
Buy fresh flour. One bag. I like either Gold Medal or King Arthur.
Buy some Pappy's Seasoning. The one with the red lid, all purpose seasoning.
Buy a half gallon of buttermilk. In a pinch you can use whole milk.
Buy some peanut oil. Peanut oil is best, but Canola Oil will do also.
Buy fresh eggs.
At home, wash the chicken and remove the skin. If you absolutely must have the skin on, separate it from the meat and cut slits in it.
Put the chicken in a deep glass bowl that will fit in the lower drawer of your refrigerator. Take the veggies out. Who wants to eat veggies when there is fried chicken anyway? Pour all of the buttermilk over the chicken until the chicken covered. If needed, cover with saran wrap.
Now, let the chicken soak in the buttermilk for about 4-6 hours.
Pour some flour in a large dinner plate or a pie tin. Pour some of the Pappy's seasoning into the flour. It is not an exact measurement, but enough so that you can smell it in the flour when you put your nose close to the plate. It helps if the flour is cold, so you might want to put it in the fridge too.
Crack some eggs into a cereal bowl or med size bowl, and mix up the eggs.
Ok, now you must keep the chicken COLD! Take the chicken out of the buttermilk, then stick in the flour, turning to coat. When the chicken is dry and coated, go into the egg to coat over the flour, then back into the flour to coat a second time. This is double battered chicken. When you have enough to fill a plate, back into the fridge but somewhere on a shelf or something - wherever there is room. Put the bowl of remaining chicken back into the lower drawer to keep it cold until batch #2 is ready for the coating process.
Heat your oil medium hot. Ok here's the key: it's the process of going from COLD to hot that makes the coating shrink and stick to the chicken. It won't fall off. If you have a deep fat fryer, it has a large basket and tells you how hot to set the oil. Ok, put the chicken into the heated oil. It is cooked when it floats to the top of the oil. Turn over and cook until evenly brown. Now coat and cook the rest of the chicken.
This chicken will be fantastic. Even better the next day cold with some hard boiled eggs, some biscuits and honey butter. I have a biscuit recipe too, but that's another post.
Happy 4th of July everyone! Be safe!!