WHY PEOPLE GET SO WORKED UP ABOUT COOKING good fried chicken is a real mystery to Southerners, and quite frankly I’m getting a little tired of all the helpless moaning and groaning. Nothing on earth is simpler than frying great chicken, so long, that is, as you observe a few basic cardinal rules: (1) Learn to cut up your own whole chickens, which allows not only more uniform pieces than those hacked to death in supermarkets but also the freedom to cut out the pully bone (wishbone) from the breast, if you wish; (2) use only a black, cast-iron skillet or heavy steel electric fry pan for even heat distribution, as well as high-quality vegetable shortening such as Crisco; (3) Never crowd the skillet with too many pieces of chicken or turn the pieces more than once; (4) maintain the heat of the fat exactly no matter what temperature is indicated, except when, due to the nature of the batter or a heating malfunction, the chicken is obviously burning; (5) never, ever cover fried chicken once it has drained unless you want soggy skin. For truly luscious, beautifully flavored and textured fried chicken, I first soak the raw pieces in buttermilk, add a little bacon grease to the fat, and fry the dark-meat pieces a few minutes longer than the white. And if you’re wondering if great Southern fried chicken should involve only organic birds, or can be skinless, or really needs salt, or might be undercooked at the bone, you shouldn’t be frying chicken in the first place.
MAKES: 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
- Two 3-pound fryer chickens
- Buttermilk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Vegetable shortening (preferably Crisco), for deep frying
- 1 tablespoon bacon grease
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Carefully and evenly cut the fryer chickens into serving pieces, keeping the skin intact.
- Rinse the chicken pieces under cold running water.
- Place the chicken pieces in a bowl and add enough buttermilk to just cover them. Let soak for about 30 minutes.
- In a heavy brown paper bag, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Shake the bag to blend the ingredients.
- Add the chicken pieces to the bag and shake vigorously to coat them evenly with the flour mixture.
- Tap off the excess flour from each chicken piece back into the bag.
- Stack the coated chicken pieces on a large plate.
- Place a large cast-iron skillet over moderate heat or set an electric fry pan to 375°F.
- Fill the skillet or fry pan halfway with melted vegetable shortening and add the bacon grease.
- When a drop of water flicked into the fat sputters, carefully arrange the dark-meat pieces of chicken in the fat, ensuring not to overcrowd the pan.
- Fry the chicken until golden brown and crisp, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Use tongs to turn the chicken pieces and fry for another 15 minutes until golden brown on the other side. (Turn the chicken only once.)
- Drain the fried chicken on another brown paper bag to remove excess oil.
- Repeat the frying process with the white-meat pieces of chicken.
- Transfer the fried chicken to a large serving platter. Do not cover it to keep it warm.
- Serve the fried chicken warm or at room temperature.
