Umm…mmm…Southern Fried Chicken! It’s crispy, golden brown on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, and bursting with flavor from the first crunchy bite to the last shred of meat next to the bone. If your family prefers a trip to Kentucky Fried Chicken or Popeye’s over sitting down to your homemade chicken dinner, you have my deepest sympathy. Truly authentic, truly delicious Southern Fried Chicken isn’t difficult to achieve, you just haven’t found the right recipe…until now.
My family recipe originated in Tennessee with great-great-granny Shoemake sometime around the Civil War and has played a starring role in every family reunion, company picnic, and church potluck supper through the generations. The real secret is in the two long soaks – first in brine, then in buttermilk. The saltwater soak makes the meat flavorful and juicy. The buttermilk tenderizes the meat and further enhances the flavor. You may adjust the seasonings in the dredge to suit your family’s taste, but never omit the two long soaks, even if you don’t happen to be a fan of buttermilk.
Granny’s Authentic Southern Fried Chicken
Preparation time:Overnight
Cooking time: About 35 min.
Yield: 4-5 servings (2 pcs. each)
4-5 lbs. chicken pieces
4 cups salt brine
1½ cups buttermilk
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. pepper (black or cayenne)
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground sage
1 cup flour for dredging
Oil or shortening to fill skillet ½ inch deep
Seasoning options: If you want to duplicate The Colonel’s 11 herbs and spices, add 1 pkg. of Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix to the dredge. If Popeye’s seasoning is more to your family’s taste, also add 1 pkg. of Campbell’s Tomato Cup-A-Soup.
Preparation and Cooking:
- Salt brine: Dissolve 1/2 cup salt in 4 cups of cold water
- Place chicken pieces in a large glass bowl, add enough salt brine to cover, protect with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to soak overnight.
- Next morning, drain off the salt brine and add 1½ cups buttermilk to the bowl. Allow the chicken to soak in the buttermilk for a couple of hours (or until ready to cook) turning the chicken several times to make sure all the pieces get a good soak.
- Dredge: Add salt, pepper, paprika and sage (plus any optional seasonings) to 1 cup of flour.
- In a very large, heavy skillet or cast iron frying pan, add vegetable oil or shortening to ½ deep, and heat over a medium flame. Too high a heat will scorch the flour. Too low a temperature will make it taste greasy. Granny tested the temperature by dropping a pinch of flour into the hot oil. If it quickly bubbled up without smoking, she knew it was right.
- Dredge each piece of the buttermilk-coated chicken in your seasoned flour and place them skin side down in the skillet. Try not to crowd the pieces in the pan to achieve the best all-over crispiness. Use two frying pans, if necessary, rather than cooking in batches, to save time.
- Cover the pan with a loose fitting lid to vent some of the steam and cook to a deep golden brown (approx. 15 min.). Turn the chicken over with tongs and cook an additional 15 min. or until deep golden brown. The juices run clear and there is no sign of pink near the bone on well-cooked chicken. Adjust your cooking time and temperature, if necessary.
- Drain the cooked chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet in a warm oven for approx. 10 min.
- Plate the chicken on a warm platter to take it to the table.
- Sit back and wait for the compliments to roll in. Your family may never want KFC or Popeye’s chicken again.
