JohnnyLA asked for my fried chicken method over in IMHO but I didn’t want to fuck up the thread, so here we are.
You know me: I grew up in Cleveland, my mother never made fried chicken (“That’s what KFC is for, no?”), went to school in Connecticut, lived in Manhattan and Brooklyn ever since. What right do I have to make fried chicken statements? Well, I love southern food and have trained myself over many years to prepare it, and MY fried chicken is among the best I’ve ever tasted. My friends will back that up.
I’ve had superior fried chicken in a roadhouse in Mount Pleasant called Gullah Cuisine, run by Charlotte Jenkins, a few miles north of Charleston, SC. Unfortunately now defunct. But you can still buy her cookbook online. I’ve never used mine, but bought it (retail price) and had her sign it for me in tribute to her amazing fried chicken.
Okay, here we go.
Buy a DAMN GOOD chicken, no more then 3 1/2 pounds. Free range, organic, what have you. Supermarket chickens won’t do, unless you have a really good supermarket.
Cut it up. Wings in two pieces, put the tips aside for the stockpot. Thighs. Drumsticks. Breasts cut crosswise into two or three parts, depending on size (smaller piece of breast absorb more flavor). Backbone and guts set aside for stockpot.
Pulling off the skin/fat is optional.
A LOT of people insist on soaking the chicken in buttermilk, or at least salted water. I don’t think it’s worth the trouble.
Season meat forthrightly with salt and pepper. A good Cajun seasoning like Slap Ya Mama can be used instead.
Put your skillet on the range. Many people insist on cast iron. I respect that. I have experimented hundreds of time and prefer stainless steel.
Put a cup of all-purpose flour into a bag (paper is traditional, but a leftover plastic veggie bag is fine). Season well with MORE salt and pepper, plus granulated onion (optional) granulated garlic (necessary) and paprika (necessary). Or use a lot more Slap Ya Mama. Shake the chicken pieces in it and lay out on a bed of foil. Reserve the bag of seasoned flour.
Put some heat under that skillet, and fry a couple pieces of good bacon.
Remove the crisp bacon and drain it for the snack that you deserve. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of a neutral vegetable oil to the bacon fat skillet and get it hot.
(Our friend Tubadiva, a serious southern cook and a truly traditional one, says I use far too little oil. I say PAH! Just turn the damn chicken more frequently)
Pick up the chicken pieces and RE-DREDGE in the seasoned flour. Lay them in the pan to pan-fry. Start with the dark meat, which needs more time. Wing pieces last.
Turn after five sizzling minutes. Turn again after five minutes. The drumsticks and breast pieces will need five minutes each on four sides. Thighs should get the same time because they need a longer time to get done. Wing pieces can come out when they look ready.
Drain on BROWN PAPER BAGS which absorb the grease far better than paper towels.
Bring grease back up to temperature, whisk in a tablespoon or two of flour until dark brown, then add some chicken stock or water and scrape up the browned bits for gravy. Stir until thickened to gravy status.
Consume chicken when cooled down to warm or room temperature, with the gravy and mashed potatoes or rice or potato salad or cornbread or whatever you like.