Did you know that Southern Fried Chicken is a historical dish?
I don’t know about you, but nothing says “Down Home Cooking” like a big ole’ plate of fried Yard Bird!
(thats what we call Chicken here in Arkansas…)
Any how there are probably as many recipes for Southern Fried Chicken as there are Southern Fried Grandma’s…heehee
You might be asking the question, Who in the world decided to take a chicken, throw some flour on it and fry the darn thing?
Whew! thats a good question and I just happened to do a little research to find the answer. ( Thats alright, you can thank me later…)
What I’ve come to know about it from Wikipedia:
Fried chicken (also referred to as Southern Fried chicken in the United States) is the meat of chicken which is dipped in a breading mixture and then deep fried, pan fried or pressure fried. The breading seals in the juices but also absorbs the fat of the fryer. The chicken itself may be chicken pieces on the bone with skin, or boneless and skinless pieces, usually breast meat, as in chicken fingers.
It is most often made using a pressure frier, as this is the quickest method of preparation. The water inside the chicken becomes steam and escapes through the oil in a sealed chamber, increasing the pressure and lowering the cooking temperature needed. The steam also cooks the chicken through, but still allows the piece to be moist and soft inside the crispy batter.
Deep Frying has a long history of which evidence occurs in ancient cultures all over the world such as Rome, Egypt and China. Fritters had already existed in Europe since medieval times, and fried chicken was known in Europe as pollo fritto in Italy, Ga Xao in Vietnam, etc. before it became a culinary habit in the Southern United States. The Scottish who enjoyed frying their food may have brought the method with them when they migrated to Southern USA. There is also evidence of deep frying in West Africa.
What is uncertain is if it existed before European contact in that region or not. Whichever way it was introduced to the American South, fried chicken became a common staple.
Ok did that answer it for you?
Well enough foolin’ around with the history stuff PaPa,… just give me the darn recipe…..
Alright quit your whinning! Keep in mind that you can take this starter recipe and add or subtract to it as you wish, just keep the basics and you can’t go wrong…. Ready?
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (or 1 serving for me…)
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup water
- About 1 cup hot red pepper sauce
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- Basic seasoning, recipe follows
- 1 (1 to 2 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into pieces
- Oil, for frying, preferably peanut oil
Procedure:
In a medium size bowl, beat the eggs with the water. Add enough hot sauce so the egg mixture is bright orange. In another bowl, combine the flour and pepper. Season the chicken with the house seasoning. Dip the seasoned chicken in the egg, and then coat well in the flour mixture.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a deep pot. Do not fill the pot more than 1/2 full with oil.
Fry the chicken in the oil until brown and crisp. Dark meat takes longer then white meat. It should take dark meat about 13 to 14 minutes, white meat around 8 to 10 minutes.
Basic Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
note: I will be adding my favorite Seasoning Recipes in another Post….
You can mix all this stuff together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Try it out and leave a comment about how you liked it…or fed it to the dawgs (thats the way we spell “dogs” in Arkansas..:-) get use to it!
Take care All Y’all and thanks for reading….
