# How do you folk cook 'Southern Fried Chicken'??



## Diwundrin

I do it as taught from TV Asian cooking shows but there seems to be a difference.
What tricks, in detail if you could, are in cooking the genuine American version??
There has to be more to it than throwing it into the pan.  I always poach it in boiling lemon water first otherwise it never cooks through before it burns. 

 Any help that doesn't breach the Official Secrets Act would be appreciated.



Also any good recipes for home made bread that produces a nice doughy soft slice, and not something like stale cake that the one I tried turned out.  New to the 'art' of bread.  (No breadmaking machine either)


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## Ozarkgal

Boy, that's something I haven't made in a while.  Di, your idea of poaching it is a good one, it would also remove a lot of the fat from the skin.  Think I'll try that next time I get the urge to fry chicken.

I usually dip mine in buttermilk and make a dredge of flour, corn starch, garlic and onion powder, lots of black pepper and some smoked paprika.  Put it in a plastic bag and shake the chicken in it.  Dip it in the buttermilk again and shake it in the flour mixture again.  Fry it in vegetable or canola oil until it's nice and golden brown and finish it off in the oven until done.

I'm going to try Diwundrin's idea of poaching it first, then I might be able to skip the oven finish.

Bread, can't help much there.  Hubby wanted a bread machine and a friend gave him hers.  I don't think she ever used it, as it looked brand new.  It sat in our cabinet shelf for almost two years before we tried it out....managed to burn the crust and black smoke was pouring out of the machine and smelled up the whole house....that's the end of that epicurean experiment.  I do make an Irish beer bread that's great for toasting for breakfast, no yeast though, and simple to make.

My mother used to make wonderful yeast rolls and cinnamon rolls, but it was lost on me!


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## Diwundrin

Thanks OG, that Irish bread sounds like what we call Damper or Johnny Cakes. It was made by early pioneers and 'swagmen', travelling workers, who didn't have much access to ingredients.   Just flour, water, salt, pinch of sugar if you had it mixed to dough and cooked in a pot in the ashes, or these days in, by me,  a covered frypan.  .   I still make one when I run out of bread but they're nothing wonderful.  The beer instead of water seems a smart innovation. 									
	


The Asian way to poach chicken:  a large pot of enough rapidly boiling water, or stock if you want it fancy, I just use lemon juice,  to cover the chicken or the pieces, drop in the chicken then immediately turn it off.  
Let the liquid cool right off and then bring it back to the boil and immediately off again.  Leave about 10 minutes and the chicken should be cooked right through and be very juicy. (Once is usually enough for the pieces.) 
 I found it in a recipe for Crispy Skin Chicken which is one of civilization's greater inventions.  
The chicken must be left to drain and the skin must be dabbed very dry before coating it, very lightly with whatever flavoured spices you like and frying it lightly to crisp the skin up.
And yes it does melt most of the fat out of it.  Makes getting rid of the greasy water messy but I have a vacant paddock next door and it gets tossed over the fence.  Too easy. 



I see shows where they're frying chicken over there and wondered how they get it to cook through, I never noticed any oven finishing going on so thought there must be a trick to it.


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## SifuPhil

Go down South.
Fry chicken.


Man, how do some of these people ever get through _school_?!? 

I've never had real Southern fried chicken - my arteries would probably explode if I ever did. That Southern breakfast in Georgia with the grits was enough ...


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## SeaBreeze

There's a restaurant by me that's supposed to have really good fried chicken, and they parboil the chicken first.  My mother used to make good fried chicken, I think she just dipped it in a milk and egg mixture, and rolled it in Cracker Meal, which was a boxed bread crumb type product that was very fine consistency.  Then she fried it in vegetable oil.


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## SifuPhil




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## Diwundrin

You're right Phil,  can't be good for you, but I chose enjoying a short life over enduring a long one ages ago. 



Bring on that baaaad delicious stuff.  

I was told KFC do their chicken in some big pressure cooker unit first then crisp it up in the deep fryer or something.  Seems it has to be at least part cooked some other way first before frying.

Thanks for the input, now I know there's no real trick to it that I was missing.  

I know that stuff is lethal but hey, what a way to go.  





Now, what about Pumpkin pie??  Anything in it beside mixed spice and extra cinnamon, lemon, brown sugar and sultanas?

I've been making it from memory as can't find Gran's recipe since I moved from Sydney years ago.


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## Katybug

Don't we all think our mom's anything was the best?  My mom, a southerner all her life, made the best ever. IMO, and she dipped it in buttermilk, then flour with no spices other than S & P, then buttermilk & flour mixture again.  Great crust and the best I've ever had. She didn't precook or put it in the oven even tho she was frying the whole chicken.  I'm sure that makes it more tender, but her's always was as well.  

I only fry chicken maybe 1-2 times/year and only do chicken breast and wings.  Mine is more like Ozark Girl's... a plastic bag w/the dry ingredients of flour, corn starch, garlic and onion powder, S & P, but I don't use the smoked paprika. Dip it in buttermilk and heavily coat in the flour mixture.  Since the parts I use are smaller, I don't need to cook it other than in the veggie oil I'm frying it in. It's wonderful, but I am a HUGE Chick-Fil-A fan and eat that most of the time I'm in the mood for chicken.  Cooking for one person is not fun.


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## rkunsaw

Katybug, your mother's method is just the way I remember my mother cooking it. Nothing fancy, just great chicken and a skillet full of gravy made in the drippings after the chicken was done.


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## GDAD

:yeah:Crumbed Breast, or thigh fillits:   Get some stale bread, put into processor, with prapika, garlic. parmesan cheese, Give it a whirl.
Place contents into a dish. Get chicken pieces dip into Flour,then buttermilk then crumb mix. Put in fridge for an hour.
This can be shallow fried over low heat..


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## Diwundrin

A lot of the fried chicken things I've seen on TV have been Cajun I  think.  Seemed a lot of spices going in to some of it.  I add some  bottled spice mix labelled 'Cajun' into the flour   occasionally, but don't bother doing it that way for myself often.

I use the plastic bags too, greatest idea evva!  Bet a woman invented that.


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## Jillaroo

_*I make a schitzel with chicken breast, instead of flour i use powdered milk or sometimes continental flour and i always add lemon pepper, garlic,  and add parmesan cheese to the breadcrumbs, you can put the lemon pepper in the bread crumbs, plus i always leave the chicken at about  1 1/2 cms or 1/2 inch thick and fry in butter and & rice bran oil*_


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## Diwundrin

That pretty much how I do it crumbed, except the cheese, hate Parmesan, but I've gotten over all the mess of crumbs and eggs, crispy skinned is my new addiction. 



Aha, you're using Rice bran oil too, greeeaaaat stuff.


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## SeaBreeze

SifuPhil said:


> View attachment 2252



Lol, Sifu!   It was Nabisco Cracker Meal that she used...but if she saw this one she may have used it.  She was always hounding me to eat as a kid, telling me I was a skinny pickle and I needed to fatten up.


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## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> Thanks OG, that Irish bread sounds like what we call Damper or Johnny Cakes. It was made by early pioneers and 'swagmen', travelling workers, who didn't have much access to ingredients.   Just flour, water, salt, pinch of sugar if you had it mixed to dough and cooked in a pot in the ashes, or these days in, by me,  a covered frypan.  .   I still make one when I run out of bread but they're nothing wonderful.  The beer instead of water seems a smart innovation.
> 
> 
> 
> The Asian way to poach chicken:  a large pot of enough rapidly boiling water, or stock if you want it fancy, I just use lemon juice,  to cover the chicken or the pieces, drop in the chicken then immediately turn it off.
> Let the liquid cool right off and then bring it back to the boil and immediately off again.  Leave about 10 minutes and the chicken should be cooked right through and be very juicy. (Once is usually enough for the pieces.)
> I found it in a recipe for Crispy Skin Chicken which is one of civilization's greater inventions.
> The chicken must be left to drain and the skin must be dabbed very dry before coating it, very lightly with whatever flavoured spices you like and frying it lightly to crisp the skin up.
> And yes it does melt most of the fat out of it.  Makes getting rid of the greasy water messy but I have a vacant paddock next door and it gets tossed over the fence.  Too easy.
> 
> 
> 
> I see shows where they're frying chicken over there and wondered how they get it to cook through, I never noticed any oven finishing going on so thought there must be a trick to it.



Di, once the chicken is good and brown, lower heat and put a lid on it.  Gets done perfectly for me and is very moist....no parboiling necessary.


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## Diwundrin

That'd probably do it Katy, but would the skin stay crispy?  It tended to get a tad soggy when I've tried that.


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## Katybug

Diwundrin said:


> That'd probably do it Katy, but would the skin stay crispy?  It tended to get a tad soggy when I've tried that.



Gee, Di, it's been so very long, something my mother used to do, and she would only put a lid on it for about 5 minutes or so. I do remember the last 10 min or so of cooking was w/out a lid.  

Having cooked only breasts and wings, my chicken gets done without it.  Sorry I can't be more help.


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## babyboomer

Nice ideas, I have to try.
We marinade the chicken wings, drumsticks or breast pieces in mixture of oil, curry powder, peanut butter and garlic.
Than egg, flour, and bread crumbs with a bit spicing and parmesan.
Never tried buttermilk.
As for fillet (chicken) we tenderise it in mineral water for about 30 mins, then above procedure.


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## dbeyat45

KFC:  I thought the first step was to catch the cat or rabbit.


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## Old Hipster

The way my grandma did, I still do it that way. I just flour it with white flour and salt and pepper and a little paprika. Then fry it pretty hot and fast, to get a good crust on it and then put it in the oven for about an hour to finish cooking, we both like our chicken falling off the bones.

I pour most of the oil out of the pan I fried it in and then make gravy with milk, canned milk, I grew up with all milk gravies and any cream sauce made with canned milk, I still love that taste and creamy goodness. Is there anything better than fried chicken gravy, I think not!!!


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## Katybug

Old Hipster said:


> The way my grandma did, I still do it that way. I just flour it with white flour and salt and pepper and a little paprika. Then fry it pretty hot and fast, to get a good crust on it and then put it in the oven for about an hour to finish cooking, we both like our chicken falling off the bones.
> 
> I pour most of the oil out of the pan I fried it in and then make gravy with milk, canned milk, I grew up with all milk gravies and any cream sauce made with canned milk, I still love that taste and creamy goodness. Is there anything better than fried chicken gravy, I think not!!!



I would love to know if you're southern.  I can't believe I've missed out on that treat!  I grew up with chicken gravy made with chicken broth &  pan drippings.  I don't fry chicken anymore...Chick Fil-A or a home cooking restaurant works best for one. The only milk gravy I've ever eaten is with chipped beef...and it is to die for.  I was a bit surprised yesterday when the hostess made Giblet Gravy (tho we've never cut up the giblets, not appealing to me or my family, but just a matter of preference.) She put in lots of shreds of dark meat and the giblets, then made cream style gravy using pan drippings & water instead of milk.  There again, I've only had it made with chicken broth.  I'm not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I sure did miss it the way I've had it all my life.  It wasn't  good to me and I noticed my daughter, nor g'daughter, ate it.  Different strokes, different folks, all day long!


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## Diwundrin

Never had gravy as good as Dad's mum made it.  It was mostly fat and scrapings from the roasting pan with flour to thicken it and she'd drag a bottle of port out of her wardrobe stash to 'flavour' it. Mmmmmm, now that was great gravy.


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## Judi.D

My mother also a southerner made it like Katybug's mom. One bowl with buttermilk and one bowl with flour, salt and pepper. She would dip it twice and fry it over medium heat turning frequently until evenly brown all over. She then tuned the heat off and covered. It was always crispy, well cooked and delicious. Then she made milk gravy with can milk and the pan drippings. Any left over gravy we had the next morning over fresh homemade biscuits or grits. Unfortunately later she discovered Shake and Bake and said it was healthier. Ugh.


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## Old Hipster

Katybug said:


> I would love to know if you're southern.  I can't believe I've missed out on that treat!  I grew up with chicken gravy made with chicken broth &  pan drippings.  I don't fry chicken anymore...Chick Fil-A or a home cooking restaurant works best for one. The only milk gravy I've ever eaten is with chipped beef...and it is to die for.  I was a bit surprised yesterday when the hostess made Giblet Gravy (tho we've never cut up the giblets, not appealing to me or my family, but just a matter of preference.) She put in lots of shreds of dark meat and the giblets, then made cream style gravy using pan drippings & water instead of milk.  There again, I've only had it made with chicken broth.  I'm not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I sure did miss it the way I've had it all my life.  It wasn't  good to me and I noticed my daughter, nor g'daughter, ate it.  Different strokes, different folks, all day long!


Grandma grew up up in the wilds of Montana and her mother was from the mid west, I think.

Most all roast gravies, beef, pork, or turkey were pan drippings and flour and water, but fried chicken gravy was always pan drippings and flour and milk as was pork chops and hamburger gravy.


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## Katybug

TO OLD HIPSTER.....I'm going to try milk gravy with chicken, sounds way too good to pass up.  Thx for the info!  

I'm with you on Shake & Bake....tried it 1 time and that was more than enough!


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## rkunsaw

I'm with old hipster on this. I always make milk gravy with chicken, pork chops and with bacon or sausage when I have gravy with breakfast.

Chicken was always just floured and fried crisp in a deep cast iron skillet, no lid and not in the oven.

Those deep cast iron skillets were called and still sold today as "chicken fryers"


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## Old Hipster

Oh yeah chicken gravy with milk is Nectar of the Gods. Good luck Katybug, hope you love it.

Rkunsaw, those old cast iron skillets are the best. I've switched over to heavy teflon pans, but still have one old iron skillet I drag out once in a while.


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## Katybug

rkunsaw said:


> I'm with old hipster on this. I always make milk gravy with chicken, pork chops and with bacon or sausage when I have gravy with breakfast.
> 
> Chicken was always just floured and fried crisp in a deep cast iron skillet, no lid and not in the oven.
> 
> Those deep cast iron skillets were called and still sold today as "chicken fryers"



My mom cooked all meat in the cast iron skillet, kept 3-4 of them all the time.  She wouldn't dream of using anything else. They're just too heavy for me and I'm with OH -- switched to heavy teflon....and not being able to put the iron skillets in the dishwasher influenced me heavily.  lol


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## Ozarkgal

Di:





> Now, what about Pumpkin pie?? Anything in it beside mixed spice and extra cinnamon, lemon, brown sugar and sultanas?



Just happened to see this..I'm posting my pumpkin pie recipe in a new thread in FOOD.  I am definitely not a great pie baker, but this recipe is so easy.  I've made it several times, and it seems fool proof and tastes wonderful.


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## RedRibbons

Judi.D said:


> My mother also a southerner made it like Katybug's mom. One bowl with buttermilk and one bowl with flour, salt and pepper. She would dip it twice and fry it over medium heat turning frequently until evenly brown all over. She then tuned the heat off and covered. It was always crispy, well cooked and delicious. Then she made milk gravy with can milk and the pan drippings. Any left over gravy we had the next morning over fresh homemade biscuits or grits. Unfortunately later she discovered Shake and Bake and said it was healthier. Ugh.



Yes! That is real Southern fried chicken. And also the milk gravy.


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## Diwundrin

Thanks for that, I used   Garam masala a lot years ago, but got away from those recipes lately.  I'll buy some fresh and give that a try, have most of the other things on hand, sounds good.


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## Old Hipster

Oh I made fried chicken last night and we have having it again tonight.

It is official, chicken gravy is The Nectar of the Gods, I could see myself mainlining the stuff if I could. Chicken gravy made with canned milk! Ymmmmm!!! Ok the chicken was good too.


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## Katybug

I did the fried chicken via the browning & 1 hr baking....OMG!  It was to die for!  Thanks bunches for the suggestion, the family loved it!!!layful:

I would love to add bacon to food for the gods.  I don't eat it too often for obvious reasons, but I could easily wolf down a pound a day, with a couple slices at breakfast, a BLT for lunch, and the rest just munching on as a snack!  Short of desserts, there is nothing that doesn't taste better with it!  I have to force myself not to buy it more than once a month.


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## Old Hipster

Katybug said:


> I did the fried chicken via the browning & 1 hr baking....OMG!  It was to die for!  Thanks bunches for the suggestion, the family loved it!!!layful:
> 
> I would love to add bacon to food for the gods.  I don't eat it too often for obvious reasons, but I could easily wolf down a pound a day, with a couple slices at breakfast, a BLT for lunch, and the rest just munching on as a snack!  Short of desserts, there is nothing that doesn't taste better with it!  I have to force myself not to buy it more than once a month.


Hey you remind of that dog in the Bacon commercial. I like bacon too, I mean come on, it's good eats!

Oh I'm so glad you liked the chicken cooked that way.


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