I recently got my hands on Francine Bryson’s Country Cooking from a Redneck Kitchen
Francine’s new cookbook is not only a collection of recipes that Francine has created over the years but includes recipes that Francine has collected over the years from her mom, dad, aunts, friends, and especially her nana. This cookbook is full of family secret recipes and as such is old school when it comes to ingredients- there is no skimming on butter, or the use of shortening. Quite a few recipes are picnic style food and not always the healthiest of recipes. It might not be my kind of daily cooking, but the cookbook does have a few treasures and some things I would cook when serving a gathering.
True to its name, Country Cooking from a Redneck Kitchen is full of classic american food and plenty of southern style cooking. I did have a tough time choosing a recipe though. With me off sugar for a month, I could not pick a recipe from the dessert section, which I think is Francine’s forte. Even though I did not try any recipe from the dessert section I have bookmarked “Aunty Fanny’s Buttermilk Pie”, “Sweet Potato Spice Cake” , ” Strawberry Custard Trifle”, “SchoolYard Peanut Butter bars”, and so many others. There are a lot of pork and beef recipes too, which I don’t cook at home – there is a squirrel pot pie in the mix too which I found so bizarre. But the cookbook does have an entire chicken section, and that’s where I found today’s recipe for fried chicken. I love good fried chicken, but have never made it at home.
This fried chicken recipe is actually her dad’s and Francine claims its the best fried chicken you will ever eat. I have a hard time with tagging something the best, but it definitely is one of the juiciest fried chicken I have had with a nice crispy skin. Her dad’s secret is to season the chicken and lets it overnight in the fridge. The seasonings penetrate the chicken and keep it moist inside and crisp outside.
I did have some trouble frying- since I dont deep fry stuff often, my deep frying skills are seriously lacking. Instead of a golden crust, I got a darker color, but thankfully I did not dry the chicken.
- 2 pounds bone-in skin chicken pieces
- Morton's season-all seasoned salt ( it's a blend of paprika, black pepper, onion and garlic, with a hint of chili pepper- so if you don't have this use a blend of these spices to season)
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup hot sauce (or to taste, recommended: Texas Pete)
- 1¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- Peanut or vegetable oil for frying
- Season the chicken with the season-all and salt and pepper on all sides. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and hot sauce. Add the chicken and let it sit for a round 30 minutes, for the chicken to come to room temperature.
- In a shallow round dish, mix the flour with the corn starch. Add a tbsp each of salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. The oil should be 340 F.
- When ready to fry, dip each piece in the buttermilk mixture and then in the flour mixture. Shake the excess of and fry.
- Do not over crowd the pan while frying. Fry each piece for about 6-8 minutes per side, around 12-16 minutes in total. You might need to reduce the heat if your chicken pieces are big and you are using dark meat instead of white.
- Drain the chicken on paper towels. Serve hot.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for an honest review of this book.
just two words – fried and chicken sounds amazing…
It does, doesn’t it 🙂
I grew up in Punjab, and fried chicken wasn’t really a “thing” there. But upon moving to Canada I stated doing once in a while. I definitely need to try this recipe. Looks perfectly fried!
Balvinder recently posted..Quick and Easy Savory French Toast
Haha true- tandoori chicken is where our heart is! I have also grown up eating that and would always choose tandoori chicken (can’t help it I’m a ssardarni!) over fried chicken, but love fried chicken once in a while.
For someone who says frying chicken isn’t her forte yours looks pretty darn delicious!
Sarah recently posted..Moong ki Daal (Yellow Lentils)
Thanks Sarah. I was actually going for a lighter golden look, but whatever it tasted good!
Looks yummy. Really looking forward to trying this out.
Thanks Puneeta! Let me know if you do.
fried chicken are my guilty pleasure! If only I could eat it everyday 🙂
Kankana recently posted..Almond And Coconut Crusted Green Beans
If only we could! Sigh!
I’m with you there on frying! Not only are my skills lacking, I’m afraid of deep frying. One time I decided to make chicken 65. I bought cornmeal instead of cornstarch! This recipe looks great, but I imagine I’d probably burn the kitchen trying!
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haha….I love chicken 65, but only reason I don’t make it because it involves frying. I am always scared of settings fire too!
Sounds delicious! I haven’t had fried chicken in forever!
Almost once every month I have fried chicken and waffles for brunch. I plan to use this recipe for a base and try my hand at fried chicken and waffles one of these days.
Woo! friend chicken is something I make at least once a month and have been looking for a different flavour or marinade. This one sounds interesting.. so how much of that Morton’s seasoned salt is required?
I just make sure that the seasoning covers the chicken well. I haven’t measured it. Will do so next time and update.
Looks yum!
Thanks 🙂
Shumaila, the trouble with this delicious chicken recipe is that 1 piece is never enough!!!:) 🙂 thanks for posting.
Haha, true that!
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Your fried chicken looks so good I am going to have to get the deep fryer out again!
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