Southern me up!

Not to toot my own horn (okay maybe I lie), but I can make some damn good fried chicken. It is one of the main perks from being of southern decent, though as many know fried chicken is widely known and a global delicacy. In fact, I'm constantly hearing vegetarians say that the only meat that sounds good to them is bacon, and meat eaters insist that is a main reason why they could not be vegetarian. Myself? I might give up bacon before fried chicken, though bacon is something I can eat more on a regular basis. I think I don't make fried chicken constantly not just for obvious dietary reasons, but becase I do not want to grow tired of it. I want each fried chicken meal to be more special then the last, and this new and improved recipe I have flourished has done just that.


So lets begin. Any southern woman probably has her own secrets for making fried chicken, and I'm going to tell you exactly what I think about all of  that: there are hundreds of ways to make it. There is so much room for creativity with such basic ingredients so use your imagination. However, I insist on a few basic guidelines, such as a cast iron skillet and a dry rub that sits on the chicken overnight.

Ingredients: (for 3-4 people)




 Cast Iron Skillet
1 Whole Chicken (4 lb. or so)

1 C Buttermilk
1 large egg
1 T cornstarch
1 T Salt
1 T black pepper
3 C flour (all purpose)
Peanut oil or vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup of honey
3 T butter

Spice rub:
1 T salt
2 t black pepper
3/4 t lemon pepper
1/2 t garlic salk
1/2 t onion powder
3/4 t cayenne
1 t paprika

It is much more economical and environmental to use a whole chicken. Please please please, it is not as hard as you think to cut down a chicken. For me it not morally right to buy a package of chicken that just has one cut, such as the legs, and I admire the variety each piece gives to a meal. You can easily find you tube videos that show you how to cut down a chicken.

The night before you fry the chicken, place all of the pieces of chicken in a bowl. Combine the spice rub separately then generously portion all over the chicken, rubbing the spicy into it. Seal the bowl with plastic tightly and let sit over night. The reason you need to use a smaller chicken is so the pieces are not so huge and will be able to cook evenly with the batter so the outside does not burn.

The next day let the chicken sit out to almost room temp while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. The only way I will cook fried chicken is in a cast iron skillet. You will probably need to do 2-3 batches because you do not want to overcrowd the skillet. Mix 1 egg and the buttermilk in one bowl, in a second bowl combine flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper.

In a small saucepan, heat honey and butter on med-low stirring constantly (I used a local produced wildflower honey, but I think any will be delicious). Once it simmers, remove from heat and let cool. Fill the skillet about half way with oil. Peanut oil is more expensive and very rich, and this time I used half peanut oil and half veggie oil which worked out great. Heat at medium. Be careful, cast iron channels heat very well and you might have to turn down the heat just a notch once warmed up. You want the temp of the oil at 350 degrees.

Dredge each piece first in the egg batter (with right hand), then straight into the flour batter (left hand). Set each piece aside, it needs to sit for five minutes. If it goes straight into the oil you risk the chance of the batter not sticking as well. Carefully drop the chicken in the skillet. It should take about fifteen minutes to fry, turning each piece over once. Do not touch the chicken until the batter gets crispy or the flour can fall off. You can use a thermometer to see if the chicken is at 160 before pulling it out. Once you pull it out (setting on a paper towel or wire rack,) lather the hot chicken in the honey/butter with a brush. If you need to do more then once batch of chicken, keep the cooked pieces in a slightly warm oven to keep warm.

I am excited to experiment with the honey-butter lather further, such as fusing it with some fresh herbs. I also usually take some of the oil out of the pain after frying, add some flour and whisk it with milk to make gravy-but it is refreshing to mix things up a bit.