Fried chicken is something we always ate and LOVED growing up…but it was Kentucky Fried Chicken. Fried chicken was something my mother just didn’t make…it was messy and always better store bought. I have to agree that a bucket of The Colonel’s Recipe is pretty divine. There is a story about Mother trying to impress my dad on a picnic when they were dating. She said she would pack homemade fried chicken. Well, she did…but she didn’t make it. She conned her step-sister into making it for her and hid her little secret for years. I think that chicken won my dad’s heart (fried chicken is one of his faves), so it was a good thing she kept it to herself. I think this is one of the reasons I have NEVER considered making it in my kitchen. I had these visions of grease fires, burns on my hands, and flour all over the kitchen. Well, I conquered my fear today. I’m happy to say that I made my first batch of fried chicken and it didn’t turn out half bad. I think I was more surprised that it was actually pretty tasty :). I looked through recipes and most of them called for soaking the chicken in buttermilk overnight. Problem for me was that I didn’t have buttermilk or overnight! I had a hungry husband and three chicken breasts. Kept looking for a “quick” recipe and stumbled on one from Olivia Sipes from the Food Network. I made my own changes, and here is what I came up with..
Ingredients
3 chicken breasts/bone in
3 cups flour
3 Tbs Cayenne Pepper (adjust to taste)
3 Tbs Paprika (adjust to taste)
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup Crisco Solid Vegetable Oil
Directions
Toss the flour, paprika, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl
Rinse chicken breasts
Coat each breast with flour mixture and shake off extra flour
Place each breast in very hot grease and cover for 5-7 minutes
Turn each and salt/pepper–cover and cook other side for 5-7 minutes
Remove lid and turn–salt and pepper second side
Continue turning often until desired golden brown color
Allow to cool on a wire rack lined with a paper towel for 7 minutes
YUMMY!!