Pat's Southern Fried Chicken

"This is a "no-fail" recipe for people who have trouble making good fried chicken. It averts the problem of the coating falling off, it's very tender, and it's big on flavor. There are three "tricks" here that make this recipe so successful: "dusting" the chicken ahead of time, using Crisco, and not "crowding" the chicken in the skillet. If there are certain herbs or spices that suit you better than the ones listed, go ahead and make changes but remember that not all of it gets on the chicken as you dredge it so you'll usually add more (about twice as much) than if you were putting it directly on the chicken as it cooks. Good luck and good eats!"
 
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photo by Chef shapeweaver photo by Chef shapeweaver
photo by Chef shapeweaver
photo by Bone Man photo by Bone Man
photo by Bone Man photo by Bone Man
photo by Bone Man photo by Bone Man
photo by Bone Man photo by Bone Man
Ready In:
1hr 10mins
Ingredients:
12
Serves:
3
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ingredients

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directions

  • Cut up the chicken, setting aside the back, neck, and organ meat to make stock for other recipes. Cut the last joint off the wing tips too and add to chicken parts for stock. (Obviously, you can buy a whole fryer already cut up if you wish. You can trim excessive skin and some fat but leave the main part of the skin on each piece of chicken!
  • Carefully dry each piece of chicken with a paper towel. Pour 1 cup of flour into a paper bag and dust each piece of chicken, one at a time, by shaking it in the bag. Set all this chicken aside on a tray and let it sit until the "whiteness" fades (about 30 minutes).
  • Beat the eggs with a fork or whisk in a wide shallow bowl. Add the buttermilk to the eggs and beat for another few seconds and set aside.
  • On a large platter or plate, mix together the two cups of flour, baking soda, pepper, salt, basil, Old Bay and oregano; set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  • On the stovetop, in a large skillet, heat the Crisco until it is very hot, about 375° (Your chicken should really crackle and sizzle when it goes into the oil -- if not, then the oil is too cold!).
  • "Drench" each piece of chicken in the buttermilk/egg mix, allow it to mostly drip off, and then "dredge" it in the flour mix until it is evenly coated. As each piece is coated, place it into the hot oil. DO NOT CROWD THE CHICKEN! You may have to make two or three batches, depending upon your skillet size, so don't drench and dredge until you are ready to fry each piece.
  • Fry the chicken to a golden brown on each side, turning it once. As the chicken comes out of the skillet, place each piece on a baking sheet (make sure that it has sides -- some grease will drain off the chicken as it bakes).
  • When all the chicken has been fried up and placed on the baking sheet, place it into the pre-heated 375° oven UNCOVERED for 40 minutes.
  • After the chicken comes out of the oven, allow it to "rest" for 10-15 minutes and then serve.

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Reviews

  1. I made this on 12/17/08 for mine and my SO's dinner.Instead of using a frying chicken, I used the same weight of boneless skinless chicken breasts.Other than that, I followed the recipe pretty much as written.Since I used the boneless chicken, Step 1 was skipped.After doing Steps #3 and #4 I fried a small piece of the chicken to see if the seasonings needed to be adjusted.And I did adjust the seasonings as follows,I added 1/2 teaspoon more of the Old Bay Seasoning, and added about 1/2 teaspoon more of ground black pepper. And I left the amount of oregano the same. Since the type of chicken was changed,the step about placing it in the oven was skipped.This recipe was served with corn and mashed potatoes. And in the South, there's an unwritten law when you have fried chicken and mashed potatoes you have to have gravy with it. :)So I took some of the chicken "drippings" and some of the seasoned flour and made a gravy to serve over the potatoes. And I have to tell you, my SO and I both enjoyed the flavor of the this recipe.This will be made again. Thanks for taking the time to post this recipe and, "Keep Smiling :)"
     
  2. Very Good!
     
  3. We loved this one! Crispy on the outside and succulent and tender on the inside. Outstanding recipe for taste, texture and appearance!
     
  4. I've never fried chix before and this was a great introduction. I did not bake the chix after, I microwaved it for 5 min. (about 3 pieces per batch). Same results and not as hot in the kitchen. I will try it next time, with the hot sauce marinade. I like a spicier chix and I think that will do the trick - maybe more Old Bay, too. Thaks for the posting, good stuff!!
     
  5. This was really, really good. The only instruction I deviated on was before step 2, where I soaked the chicken in buttermilk and 1/4 cup of hot sauce for a few hours before I dried them off and dredged them. Other than that I followed it to the letter. Baking the pieces after being fried solved a big issue with me and fried chicken...over cooked on the outside, raw on the inside. Thanks for a great recipe. This is definately one of my keepers.
     
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Tweaks

  1. I made this on 12/17/08 for mine and my SO's dinner.Instead of using a frying chicken, I used the same weight of boneless skinless chicken breasts.Other than that, I followed the recipe pretty much as written.Since I used the boneless chicken, Step 1 was skipped.After doing Steps #3 and #4 I fried a small piece of the chicken to see if the seasonings needed to be adjusted.And I did adjust the seasonings as follows,I added 1/2 teaspoon more of the Old Bay Seasoning, and added about 1/2 teaspoon more of ground black pepper. And I left the amount of oregano the same. Since the type of chicken was changed,the step about placing it in the oven was skipped.This recipe was served with corn and mashed potatoes. And in the South, there's an unwritten law when you have fried chicken and mashed potatoes you have to have gravy with it. :)So I took some of the chicken "drippings" and some of the seasoned flour and made a gravy to serve over the potatoes. And I have to tell you, my SO and I both enjoyed the flavor of the this recipe.This will be made again. Thanks for taking the time to post this recipe and, "Keep Smiling :)"
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I am a retired State Park Resort Manager/Ranger. <br /><br />Anyway, as to my years in the State Park System (retired now), I was responsible for 4 restaurants/dining rooms on my park and my boss at Central Headquarters said I should spend less time in my kitchens and more time tending to my park budget. I spent 25 years in those kitchens and worked with some really great chefs over those years, (and some really awful ones too!) <br /><br />I spent THOUSANDS of hours on every inch of that park and adjacent state forest (60,000 acres) and sometimes I miss it. But mostly I miss being in that big beautiful resort lodge kitchen. I miss my little marina restaurant down on the Ohio River too. I served the best Reuben Sandwich (my own recipe -- posted on 'Zaar as The Shawnee Marina Reuben Sandwich) in both the State of Ohio and the Commonwealth of Kentucky down there and sold it for $2.95. Best deal on the river! <br /><br />They (friends and neighbors) call my kitchen The Ospidillo Cafe. Don't ask me why because it takes about a case of beer, time-wise, to explain the name. Anyway, it's a small galley kitchen with a Mexican motif (until my wife catches me gone for a week or so), and it's a very BUSY kitchen as well. We cook at all hours of the day and night. You are as likely to see one of my neighbors munching down over here as you are my wife or daughter. I do a lot of recipe experimentation and development. It has become a really fun post-retirement hobby -- and, yes, I wash my own dishes. <br /><br />Also, I'm the Cincinnati Chili Emperor around here, or so they say. (Check out my Ospidillo Cafe Cincinnati Chili recipe). SKYLINE CHILI is one of my four favorite chilis, and the others include: Gold Star Chili, Empress Chili and, my VERY favorite, Dixie. All in and around Cincinnati. Great stuff for cheap and I make it at home too. <br /><br />I also collect menus and keep them in my kitchen -- I have about a hundred or so. People go through them and when they see something that they want, I make it the next day. That presents some real challenges! <br /><br />http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/parks/shawnee.htm</p>
 
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