All of us have memories of our favorite meals that mom used to make. Mine is, unquestionably, fried chicken. Mom’s recipe was amazing.
She used to make it once, maybe twice a month, for Sunday dinner, and it was a real treat for us growing up. Now that she’s gone, every once in awhile I get the urge to make it. The other day, Mrs Tex was craving fried chicken, so I made up a batch for her. I thought, since I was making it, I’d share the recipe with y’all. For me, it’s a way to keep her memory alive through cooking!
Mom would start it on a Friday, and cook it on Sunday for dinner. Keep that in mind, should you decide to make it. Takes some time, but damn, it’s worth it!
You’ll need:
One whole chicken, cut up.
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 gallon water
1 quart buttermilk
2 cups AP flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon granulated onion
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon each, dried parsley, oregano, basil, tarragon.
Peanut oil for frying.
On Friday, make a brine with the salt, sugar, and water. Place chicken in a gallon ziplock bag, and pour the brine in. Refrigerate overnight.
On Saturday, take the chicken pieces out of the brine, rinse them, and put them in a ziplock bag. Add buttermilk to cover chicken. Seal, and refrigerate overnight.
On Sunday, mix up the spices and flour. Heat up the peanut oil in your cast iron skillet to 375°. Set your oven to 300°.
Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and dredge it in flour. Allow to sit for a bit on a rack for 10-15 mins, while the oil comes to temperature. This will allow the gluten in the flour to get a little sticky, making a better crust on the chicken. You don’t need to ‘double dredge’ in flour, I find it just retains too much oil, and the crust won’t stick as well.
Place a couple of the floured chicken pieces in the oil, get a nice ‘scald’ on each side, but don’t worry about cooking the chicken all the way through.
When it’s golden brown on each side, take it out of the oil, drain on a paper towel lined plate and drain a bit.
Place on a wire rack in the oven while you repeat the process with the rest of the chicken. This will finish cooking the chicken through.
Serve with mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and if you’re so inclined, some buttermilk biscuits.
Enjoy your Sunday, y’all!
