Email to Cat      

Real Southern Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Source of Recipe

From "Fried Chicken" by Jessica Lang


Recipe Introduction

"This is the vision many people have when they think of Southern food, and what a vision it is! Depending on where in the South the chicken is fried, it may be dressed up with tomato gravy. It's optional, but awfully good. You can use a little lard from the fried chicken to start the gravy in style."

List of Ingredients

◦ 1 � cups buttermilk
◦ 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons salt
◦ 1 � teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
◦ 1 chicken (about 2 pounds, 8 ounces), cut into 10 pieces
◦ 6 cups Southern all-purpose flour, such as White Lily
◦ Lard, for frying
◦ Tomato Gravy (recipe follows), optional


Recipe

To make the marinade, in a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, 2 teaspoons of the salt, and � teaspoon of the pepper. Place the chicken pieces in a large zip-top bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 12 hours.

Shake together the flour and the remaining 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper in a large paper grocery bag.

In a large heavy skillet, heat the lard over medium heat to 350� F. It should be 1 � inches deep when melted. Prepare two rimmed baking sheets with a wire rack on each pan (one will be for the floured chicken and one will be for the fried chicken).

Remove the chicken pieces from zip-top bag and drop them in the bag with the flour. Gather the open end of the bag to close and shake vigorously to coat all the pieces with flour. Transfer the chicken from the bag to one of the prepared baking sheets. Discard the marinade.

Carefully place half of the pieces in the hot lard. Fry, turning often, for 14 to 15 minutes, or until brown and juices run clear. Maintain a frying temperature of 325� to 340� F. Drain the chicken on the clean wire rack. Repeat with the remaining pieces. Serve with the gravy.

Serves 4






❧ Tomato Gravy:

◦ 2 tablespoons lard from fried chicken
◦ 1 cup finely chopped sweet onion
◦ 2 tablespoons Southern all-purpose flour, such as White Lily
◦ 2 cups peeled, seeded, and finely chopped tomato
◦ � teaspoon salt
◦ 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
◦ � teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
◦ � cup milk

Heat the lard in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the tomato, salt, thyme, and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the milk, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring often, for 2 more minutes, adding more milk if the gravy gets too thick.

Makes 1 � cups