Recipe for southern fried chicken

[Bilby]

I know thee was a thread here for Southern food but can't seem to find from looking to hard!
We have a show here called Food Safari ( http://www.sbs.com.au/food/foodsafari ) Last night they did American food and southern fried chicken but in the recipe, it calls for Creole seasoning does anyone know what is in this as I've not seen it here.
Also does anyone here do a fried chicken recipe that is finger licken good?

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Here's a recipe for Creole seasoning:

* 2 tablespoons onion powder
* 2 tablespoons garlic powder
* 2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
* 2 tablespoons dried sweet basil
* 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
* 1 tablespoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon white pepper
* 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
* 1 tablespoon celery seed
* 5 tablespoons sweet paprika


The best fried chicken recipe that I've found is from Alton Brown on the Foodnetwork:


Ingredients

* 1 broiler/fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces
* 2 cups low fat buttermilk
* 2 tablespoons kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* Flour, for dredging
* Vegetable shortening, for frying

Directions

Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.

Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Place chicken skin side down into the pan. Put thighs in the center, and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)

Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Don't drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags. If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it's a gas oven.

[Bilby]

Cool going to give it a try this weekend. Thanks DeBora I like when I have a recipe that some one has tried themselves.
She didn't explain why, but what's with the butter milk?

Was funny she was interviewing Americans that have lived over here for quite some years that have American themed restaurants in Au, the people she spoke to still have the US accents but they'd say phrases with very Aussie inflections, was sweet!

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Buttermilk makes the chicken more tender and juicier.

I should tell you that cast iron is the best thing to fry chicken in.

It seems common for people to pick up phrases from where they live. The Yankees (People from the NorthEastern part of the US) come to my area, it isn't long before they are saying, "fixin" and "ya'll." lol They'll call home and say they are fixin to do something and that they'll talk to "ya'll" later. It is hilarious when they catch themselves saying these things or their families point it out. lol

[Bilby]

Hmmm don't have a cast iron pan only a pot/casserole dish, but will go for my heaviest bottomed pan, I'm planning on sat night for dinner but I have to find/remember butter milk first.

Was also funny cause the Aussie phrases they used were with a very Aussie accent then it slipped back to the American finishing their sentence.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Kathy, a heavy bottomed pan might work fine. A frying pan works great.

Yeah, I've seen the cultures come together over hear too. Each picks up a little of the other's accents, phrases, and such. It can be quite entertaining. lol

[Coll]

I have been looking everywhere for a really good fried chicken recipe. Can't wait to try thr ones posted here.

[Bilby]

I remembered the butter milk but then I was told 2 people won't be home for dinner tonight so it will be sunday.
Wow butter milk is dear twice the price of the normal stuff and I can't for the life of me find it powdered/dried.

In some muffin recipes it's calls for soured milk (lemon or vinegar in reg milk) do you think soured milk would work as well as butter milk?

Tell me what a good southern saying would be for "I'm done it's good"!

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Kathy, do you mean as in when dinner is over and you want to say that the dinner was good but you are finished?

When we are so full of food that we can't eat any more, we say, "I can't eat any more; I'm about to pop (or explode)." "Fixin" is a very important Southern word that mean "about" or soon. Instead of "I'm full or finished eating," in the South we say, "I'm fixin to pop and can't eat another thang." When talking to more than one person, we say "ya'll" quite a bit.

When someone is talking about something bad happening such as having a bad day or that someone died in their family or anything else that would be considered to be having a bad day, a Southerner would say, "Well, bless your heart!" It's like saying, "You poor thing for going through so much."

I hope I answered your questions.

[cat lover]

Let us know how the fried chicken turns out! There are so many different recipes for it and everyone has their favorites. The one DeBora gave you sounds like a really good one. Do you want others too? This could be an endless task! LOL

[Bilby]

Tonight monday is the day/night I forgot the other day to soak the chicken!
I'm here now to copy the spices that DeBora has listed to make that up.
We are having with roast tatoes, sweet tatoes, green beans and carrots.

Yes DeBora your answered my question, :)

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Any amount of time you can get that chicken soaking in that buttermilk is better than nothing. It makes it so juicy.

Another saying us Southerners have when we are shocked at what someone else is saying instead of, "WHAT!?! You've GOT to be kidding." We would say, "Well, shut my mouth!"

I looked it up to see if it there was a better explanation somewhere and here's a link to some other Southern sayings (http://www.quotemountain.com/sayings/southern_sayings/).

[RobertaD]

I don't buy buttermilk for recipes instead add a bit of vinegar to sour the milk and use that.

The recipe sounds good I'll have to try it.

Roberta

[dallasalice1]

Paula Deane & her sons are my fave cooks for southern food. Scour the yard sales for a deep cast iron pan. Dont like lifting them but sure are great to cook in!

[Chef Mark]

Buttermilk is definitely great for fried chicken. Another option is to simply soak the chicken in a brine, a mixture of salt and water. It will also make the chicken very juicy but will not add the flavor that buttermilk does. However, you can augment the flavor of a brine by adding herbs/spices to the salt water.

[Bilby]

I was wondering if the soured mile with lemon juice would do the same for chicken as the buttermilk would, as that is what I usually do instead of buttermilk.

Ok now the chicken was juicy and tender but the salt was to much for me in the seasoning, I'd halve it next time, also just said flour so was unsure of how much to dilute the spices by. I used a cup of flour and I didn't taste much of the seasonings but for the salt ..... over all good but just needed something else to give it a kick.

ChefMark, That is another thing I don't get, brining a chicken, I've heard of it but don't know a soul who has done it, do you have a favourite way to do this ....... I'm getting experimental in my old age LOL
I do like pickled pork and corned beef so I'm guessing it's along those lines?

[dallasalice1]

Does the brine make your food overly salty? Hubby has high blood pressure. I was tempted to brine my turkey this year & I chickened out.

[Chef Mark]

Brining is a direct way to make meat juicier. It is used for turkey, chicken, pork and shrimp. Brining is the process of soaking meat in a salt-water solution. Brining works via the processes of osmosis and the tendency for adjacent mediums to equalize their level of salinity. In a nutshell, the meat will absorb some of the water and consequently will be moister. Use two cups of kosher salt, or one cup of table salt for every 2 gallons of water. After brining, rinse the meat, and then pat it dry before cooking. Sugar and/or herbs are also sometimes added to the brine to accentuate flavor. The larger the pieces of meat the longer it should stay in the brine. Individual chicken parts only need a few hours.

It will add a little bit of salt to the meat but not as much as you'd think. If salt is an issue for you, just refrain from salting the meat prior to or after cooking and rely only on the little bit of salt it will pick up from the brine.

The thinking on salt is changing however. It does not appear to be as associated with high blood pressure as once thought. Please see my article on salt right here on moms' menu:

http://www.momsmenu.com/food_for_thought/fftsalt.shtml

[sky_40]

I love fried chicken. I have to try your recipes.

[Bilby]

Thanks for the article Mark, I don't cook with salt in veg, but I can't have a hot potato chip without it! LOL

.... 4.4 litres to 1 gallon and ..... must do a cup to tablespoon conversion but may give it a go on my next chicken adventure.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Kathy, I heard another Southern saying that has been a LONG time since I heard. It's more of a Soul Food saying (African-American southerners), but it still counts. You say, "That was so good it makes me want to smack my mama!" ROTFL