STORM2K

How come I can't - no matter how much I try - make pan fried chicken like my mom did, or like my grandma did!!!??? Very frustrating indeed.

Perhaps some of you S2K'ers might like to offer a fool-proof recipe and cooking method that will help me in my quest. My version turns out too brown, or it looses all of its coating in the frying process, or it turns out any of a hundred other less desirable ways that are completely opposite of the "good old days" when I was a kid.

Remaining hopeful...

I'll do my part and bump this topic up. So others see it.

I haven't made fried chicken in a long time. But when I used to, I would buy chicken from a butcher, with bones in and skin on. On the small size (not large breast halves, smaller breast halves are more tender I think). I soaked all the cut up pieces in cold water with several generous tablespoons of salt added. This removes any additional blood in packing. I then dried the chicken well on paper towels. Beat an egg or two, added a little milk, made my flour mixture in a paper bag (adding paprika, salt, pepper, etc.). Heated an inch or so of canola or corn oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Until a drop of water sizzles. After dipping chicken in first egg and then flour, I would quickly fry both sides or several sides of each piece. Then reduce temp to low, to simmer and cover with the cast iron lid. I read this tip somewhere. I think I simmered it for about 20 minutes or so. Then remove the lid, raise the temp again and flip pieces over again, so each side is evenly browned. The entire cook time was about 50 minutes or so. Until juices run clear.

My late MIL swore by her cast iron skillet. I inherited it. It does make really great tasting fried chicken.

Wish I had all that written down in an easy to print recipe but the suggestion or tip was possibly from a magazine or the Betty Crocker or Better Homes & Gardens cookbooks. Reducing the temp and simmering with the lid on really makes the chicken juicy and very tender. But you want all sides quickly browned before you reduce the temp. And even though you've reduced the temp when simmering, I always stayed near the stove in case there was a flare up, since you are frying with oil. This isn't like simmering soup or stew on the stove.

One word. Popeye's.

I was waiting for the flip side to this question - LOL!!!!

We've got this gas station here in town that sells fried chicken. They sell more fried chicken than gas. Remember, we are in Mississippi. I know the trick they use......it's hot grease and a lot of it. The price of a deep fried chicken breast and a jalapeno pepper is $1.87.

OMG - what is Kathy gonna do with your reply Dionne? "My car needs an oil change and I'll take a chicken dinner, extra crispy while I wait?" Does cole slaw come with that too? LOL

But seriously, I guess if you put aside who's doing the cooking here, it could taste wonderful!

Now I want a fried chicken dinner......near our community, we have an old historic schoolhouse (over 100 years old) that's been turned into a restaurant. Their specialty (among many, all home cooking, homemade pies and such) is....you guessed it - fried chicken. All the sides come in family style bowls and each table is fitted with a high lazy susan these dishes sit on.

And the menu is written on a chalk board! The original chalkboard!

The bathroom stalls are some of the tiniest ones I've ever been in - children sized.

But the food there is so good!

Funny how this topic started out asking for a good friend chicken RECIPE (meaning, you do the cooking....LOL) and it turned into take out or eating out. he he

alot of the gas stations here sell fried chicken too. Krispy Krunchy i believe is the name. They sell quite a bit of it.

Wish I could help with this one but I can't make fried chicken to save my soul. I surely wish I could make it like my granny too!

LOL at the chicken from a gas station. One of my husband's friends used to go to a gas station and get chicken near where they used to work. We always called it the "gas station chicken". We still tease him about it. LOL

CajunMama wrote:alot of the gas stations here sell fried chicken too. Krispy Krunchy i believe is the name. They sell quite a bit of it.

LOL! I was expecting you to be funny Kathy.....he he

But I guess that is more the norm than not.

Years ago when I started cooking everyday - 1973 - when my mom left my dad and dad and I went to town with groceries, grilling out (she only cooked the same 5 meals each week!) - I fried a lot of foods. In fact, people had individual fryers, you sat on your kitchen counter. Now if you had one of those babies, you were living! I remember making donuts from scratch and frying them in Crisco. No lie. Then dusting them with confectioner's sugar. I know I made fried chicken for my dad a lot, along with liver and onions (yuck, yuck!)....I could never eat it but I did make it for him.

So for a decade or more I continued to fry chicken the traditional way - in a deep skillet, in oil, lid off, med-high heat. 1975-1983, for my ungrateful ex too. Ugh.

Until I read that recipe about using a cast iron skillet, quickly browning all sides, then reducing the temp to simmer and covering the skillet. That was important! It turned out to be the best chicken I ever made.

Then of course we had a few relatives on my husband's (second and last hubby, wonderful guy!) side with heart problems, one sadly died, one had a stroke, my dad died from cancer and we both took very close looks at our diets. From then on, if I ever made fried chicken, I felt guilty. Truly I did!

I think I started making fried chicken in my oven! Similar to a shake-n-bake method but my own.

Now I broil or bake the chicken. De-boned and de-skinned.

And next I'll give it up altogether (not, just joking).

Funny how cooking trends have changed. My mom used to keep an old chipped mug in the fridge, filled with bacon fat. For flavoring of course! That's healthy!!!! NOT!

Yep. HOT oil is the secret to keeping the coating on. That's where most people mess it up so the coating falls off and the chicken ends up soaking up all the oil in a greasy mess. Sear all sides quickly in very hot oil, reduce to medium and simmer until done. That way you get a juicy piece of chicken with a nice crispy exterior.

I totally agree with the cast iron pans. They distribute the heat evenly so you don't get hot and cold spots. They work best with gas burners or the raised electric elements. I've got a stupid flat glass cooktop and I despise it!

I dip my chicken in egg with a tiny bit of milk then dip them in Italian bread crumbs. Fry in hot canola oil till golden brown on all sides, drain them on a paper towel then place them on a baking pain in a 375° oven for about 1/2 hour.

I like peanut oil for high-temp frying myself. It has a much higher burn point than vegetable oil - as does lard and bacon grease. Ever had chicken fried in bacon grease? Whoo hooo! It's a heart-stopper in more ways than one.

Jen, I like to fry in peanut oil with a small amount of butter.

Just reminiscing! I remember back in 2005 my mom was cooking chicken in the oven and the grease caught on fire! I remember my sister had wanted BK that night, but mom had already pulled the chicken out to thaw so she said no. Well, after the fire (and chicken...) met the fire extinguisher, my sister got her wish. My dad was in Kuwait at the time, and we didn't have the money, so for the next few months we were without our main oven! We went out and bought one of the kitchen top mini ovens