I went out to lunch yesterday with my parents. I was so excited about a delicious sandwich that I had been anticipating for days. After a few bites, a couple made their way back to the table next to us from the buffet. Their plates held...fried chicken! Real, crispy, juicy fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and what might have been macaroni and cheese. Suddenly, my previously delectable lunch looked like something that stupid raccoon pulled out of my dumpster.
I can't make fried chicken. I've been told how to do it countless times. I have all those books by southern writers that tell me to soak the chicken in milk, put it in a paper sack with flour and spices, shake it, etc. I even have the nasty cast-iron skillet my great-aunt used to use. I still can't do it. For one thing, it makes my whole condo building smell like someone has been frying something. I have to hang my head in shame when I go to get the mail, as I am the culprit. Also, it makes a huge mess in my tiny kitchen. Grease everywhere! But that's not really the problem. If I could make delicious fried chicken, I would make the sacrifices and hand it out to the neighbors. Mine just doesn't taste right.
As with so many other things, I should have paid attention when my Nana fried her chicken. She used lard, and after she was finished she made this light brown creamy gravy that was just right for mashed potatoes or biscuits. I was busy watching tv, reading a book, or playing with a baby.
If any of you want to show me how to cook fried chicken, or really just do it for me, I'm game. Or, we can just all get our lazy selves off the couch and go to the Chick Inn. I'm up for it whenever!
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3 comments:
My sweet, sweet cousin Justin is making fried chicken for me. In my Nana's skillet. With lard. Yay!
I can show you how to make fried chicken.
Stovetop, you need a splatter guard--a little mesh circle you can put over the "nasty" skillet. (I have deep feelings for the "nasty," perfectly seasoned cast-iron skillet my grandmother gave me, so I'm choosing to overlook your disturbing description.)
My grandmother made "oven fried" chicken--incredibly easy and delicious. I make it with what she usually did, mashed potatoes, chicken gravy using the fond left behind in the pan, and a wilted lettuce salad with scallions and vinegary bacon dressing. Mmmmmm......
This is DBarb, btw.
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