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Miss Ruth's Fried Chicken

Source of Recipe

From "My Family Table" by John Besh


Recipe Introduction

"Miss Ruth used a wet batter, just seasoned flour and milk, which made her crust so thin and crispy. Although the cast iron pan retains heat well, it's important to add one piece of chicken to the pan every couple of minutes because each time you add a big chunk of chicken, the oil cools down. A good candy thermometer really helps here; it's even more crucial with this wet batter to maintain 350° F throughout. Otherwise, you'll wind up with a mostly batter-y oil instead of crisp fried chicken. So cook in batches, no more than 4 pieces at a time."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 free-range, organic chicken, cut into 8 pieces
â—¦ Salt
â—¦ Freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 3 cups flour
â—¦ 1 tablespoon onion powder
â—¦ 1 tablespoon garlic powder
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
â—¦ 1 quart milk
â—¦ Canola oil


Recipe

Season the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper.
Mix the flour, the onion and garlic powders, the cayenne pepper, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper together and spread on a plate. Pour the milk into a bowl. Dip the chicken in the milk and dredge through the seasoned flour to coat well.

Heat 3 to 4 inches of canola oil in a cast iron pan to 350° F on a candy thermometer. (Miss Ruth liked to fry her chicken almost submerged in oil.) Drop the chicken, piece by piece, into the oil. Do this in batches of four pieces.

Fry for 10 to 12 minutes, then turn the chicken over, cover the pan, and fry for an additional 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels and salt well.

Serves 6