I love fried chicken. I ONLY love it the day it's made....not.cold. I know I am weird. We grew up eating fried chicken a lot. It was crispy and crunchy...made in a cast iron frying pan and NOT finished in the oven. My Mom made it the way my Grandma made it. I make it the same way~the right way! My Dad would always fry up the heart and gizzards. Delicious. Some days I throw a batch of gizzards on to fry just for me. MMMMM. Many days I fry up a bunch of legs....tonight is one of those days! Good fried chicken takes time. Don't rush it....it will be worth it!
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
1 cut-up fryer or chicken pieces of your choice, i.e. legs, thighs, etc.
2 c. buttermilk
1 T. salt
Pepper to taste
Coating
4 c. flour
salt and pepper to taste
Oil to fry
Place the chicken in a large bowl and add the salt and pepper. Mix it around so it coats the chicken pieces. Pour the buttermilk over the chicken and let it sit for about an hour. This tenderizes the chicken and gives it great flavor.
Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. You can get creative here; some people add cornmeal to their flour for crunch. You can also add spices or even cayenne to give it some zip.
After the chicken has marinated in the buttermilk, coat each piece in the flour mixture.
Heat the oil in your skillet till it's hot. Add the chicken pieces and fry until golden brown or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees. Watch it so it doesn't burn....like I just did!
My Grandma served her fried chicken with mashed potatoes and milk gravy, fried okra, sliced tomatoes, bread and butter.
Finger-lickin' good!
