# ISO tnt southern fried chicken



## lulu (Mar 2, 2007)

I did a titles search but would like something TNT by one of you!


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## Uncle Bob (Mar 2, 2007)

Miss lulu...

It has been said for every true Southerner there are at least 3 TNT Southern fried chicken recipes in the family..There is mamma's, there is grandmamma's, and to play it safe there is the DW's...who got her's from her mother..etc, etc and so on. So there are literally thousands of recipes for Southern Fried Chicken. And this does not count the ones that exist on the other side of Memphis. 

I fry chicken that has been brined (time permiting) skin removed (less fat) with basic salt & pepper...tossed in flour..and deep fried with the lid on the pot. Sometimes I sprinkle my cajun/creole seasoning on as I take it up.

I am sure there will be others who will share there mom's, grandmom's and maybe even "Aunt Nellie's" recipe with you. The one I offer you is just one example of basic fried chicken. Sometimes simple/basic is best!


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## carolelaine (Mar 2, 2007)

I soak my chicken in buttermilk, lots of hot sauce, salt and thyme and sage for 8-12 hours.  Than I dip it in seasoned self-rising flour, seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then I dip it in a mixture of egg and buttermilk, then I either dip it in more flour with cayenne pepper and salt, or bread crumbs with a thyme, sage, rosemary blend.  Then I fry it in a big cast iron skillet with the oil at 350.  My mom does hers like Bobs.  There are lots and lots of ways to fry chicken here in the South.


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## mudbug (Mar 2, 2007)

My former roommate, a Louisville native, always used to throw a piece of bacon in the frying pan while the chicken was frying.


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## carolelaine (Mar 2, 2007)

I have used sliced onion in the oil when the chicken is cooking but I didn't think that added a whole lot to the dish.  Bacon sound interesting.


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## StirBlue (Mar 2, 2007)

In the warmer states, cooking fried chicken is very simple and the chicken is crispy and tender.  So So Good.  

When I moved to Illinois almost 20 years ago, I noticed that most people here buy fried chicken.  It's not because they don't know how to fry chicken.
We simply do not have the temperature climate for it.  

You can put the chicken in a skillet or an electric deep fryer.  The result is that when a cool or cold draft hits the skillet, it cools off and voilà soggy greasy battered chicken.  In using an electric deep fryer, when the cold draft overtakes the temperature, it increases the power generating more heat than is needed resulting in dry and sometimes burnt chicken.  

On a hot humid day in the summer (85-90F)....perfect fried chicken.  

Chicken skin will crisp with or without being battered.  Maybe it is a side dish we have incorporated into the main dish (aka: breading...stuffing).


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## Candocook (Mar 2, 2007)

Dredge chicken pieces in seasoned flour--salt, pepper, and paprika. Heat oil (about an inch). Put pieces in skin side down. Cover. Cook 15 minutes. Turn. Repeat.  SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN
OR marinate chicken pieces in buttermilk for an hour. Follow the above directions.
I promise that brining was not a part of "southern fried chicken".  ;o)


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## StirBlue (Mar 2, 2007)

Candocook said:
			
		

> Dredge chicken pieces in seasoned flour--salt, pepper, and paprika. Heat oil (about an inch). Put pieces in skin side down. Cover. Cook 15 minutes. Turn. Repeat. SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN
> OR marinate chicken pieces in buttermilk for an hour. Follow the above directions.
> I promise that brining was not a part of "southern fried chicken". ;o)


 
All raw chicken products bought on the market have been brined before packing & shipping.  

What does soaking in buttermilk do to achieve better southern fried chicken?
Sounds like a breeding ground for salmonella.


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## Barb L. (Mar 2, 2007)

I do mine like Candocook, but a little longer -- My favorite !


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## Constance (Mar 2, 2007)

Everyone says my fried chicken is the best they've ever tasted. Not to boast, but I think so too. 


  Mamma Connie's Fried Chicken and gravy

Cut whole chicken into individual pieces. I don't recommend pre-cut chickens because the back is included in with the breast meat, making a piece too large to fry properly.

Season chicken pieces liberally with salt and pepper. Prepare a shallow pan of flour (3-4 cups), well-seasoned with more salt and pepper. Prepare a shallow bowl of beaten eggs (about 3) thinned with milk or water to the consistency of heavy cream.
Pour canola oil into an electric skillet to the depth of 1-1/4" and preheat to 375 degrees. When light goes off, indicating temperature has been reached, coat chicken pieces one at a time, first in flour, then in egg mixture, then in flour again, and place in hot oil.
DO NOT TURN chicken until first side is nicely browned. Then turn, and put lid on ker-slaunch-wise, so chicken will continue browning, but also steam a little. When browned on both sides, remove and let drain on paper towels. Do not stack Chicken. I usually use more paper toweling to blot the top. 

Turn down heat and pour most of the grease out of skillet, leaving about a quarter cup and all the little brown bits in pan. Stir in about 1/2 cups of flour remaining from coating, a little at a time, till a smooth roux is formed. Slowly stir in milk (about 2-3 cups, mixture should be thin), smoothing out any lumps, then turn heat back up to 350 degrees. Cook, stirring, till gravy is of desired consistency. Taste, re-season with salt and pepper and about 1 tsp sugar.

If you follow these directions, your chicken will be crisp, juicy and tender, without being greasy. Salt and pepper is enough for us, but if you want it spicier, add a whatever seasonings you prefer.


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## Constance (Mar 2, 2007)

mudbug said:
			
		

> My former roommate, a Louisville native, always used to throw a piece of bacon in the frying pan while the chicken was frying.



Bug, your friend knows what's going on. I like to add a couple tablespoons of bacon grease to the canola oil, if I have it. It really does make it taste better.


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## Uncle Bob (Mar 2, 2007)

Constance said:
			
		

> Everyone says my fried chicken is the best they've ever tasted. Not to boast, but I think so too.
> 
> 
> Mamma Connie's Fried Chicken and gravy
> ...


 
Another TNT method of Southern Fried Chicken and Grraaaaaaaavy!!!!

Miss Connie you can be my  "mamma" anytime!!!


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## Katie H (Mar 2, 2007)

Omigosh, Connie, this is _exactly_ how I fry my chicken.  The only difference is I soak my chicken pieces in buttermilk for about a hour before I coat them with flour, etc.

I've never used an electric skillet.  I prefer to use my big cast-iron "chicken frying" skillet.  It's a beaut.  About 100-years-old.  I've often wondered how many pieces of chicken have been fried in it.

Oh, man, there's nothing better than fried chicken and cream gravy.  Makes me want to slap my mamma!  Just pour the gravy over bread, mashed 'taters or buttermilk biscuits.  Fine, fine eats that is!!!


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## Uncle Bob (Mar 2, 2007)

Ah ok..Mamma Connie, Mamma Mudbug, Mamma Katie..y'all have said enough now!! Don't give away All of the secrets..there's two or three more but y'all Hush now!!! Ya here?????? Not another word!!


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## Candocook (Mar 2, 2007)

_All raw chicken products bought on the market have been brined before packing & shipping. 

What does soaking in buttermilk do to achieve better southern fried chicken?
Sounds like a breeding ground for salmonella._

No, not all chickens are brined.  It is probable that frozen boneless breasts--and other chicken products that have labels such as "__% saline solution added" have been injected with a salt solution.

Soaking/marinating in buttermilk tenderizes the chicken. Why would it be any more a breeding ground for ANYthing.  I have never gotten a salmonella infection from chicken--or anything else.

And finally, the reason I said that brining was not a southern fried chicken method/tradition is that brining poultry has really just become _de rigeur_ in the past X (say even 10) years.  Folks have been frying good chicken in the South--and lots of other places a LOT longer than that.  I have never known anyone in my family or DH's family that knew about brining.  And I personally do not care for what brining does to poultry in any case.

Yet another addition to the flour dredging mixture is just a bit of baking powder also.


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## Corey123 (Mar 6, 2007)

Soaking the chicken in buttermilk also enhances the flavor of it.

KFC soaks their chicken in brine. Which is why I don't eat it. Too much blasted salt!! 

Salmonella is in raw chicken anyway, but it's killed when the chicken is cooked to a temp of about 165 degress.


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## Robo410 (Mar 6, 2007)

yup, that's it alright.

Now, what methods of grease splatter control does everyone use?


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## kitchenelf (Mar 6, 2007)

Robo410 said:
			
		

> Now, what methods of grease splatter control does everyone use?



Now there's a good question!!!!!  THAT is why I don't fry ANYTHING more than I do.  Chicken livers are the worst!  lol

I also soak in buttermilk, egg, flour, egg flour - garlic powder, fried chicken seasoning, thyme, kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne in the flour for seasoning.  Fried like Candocook mentioned.  I put cornstarch in my flour sometimes.


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## Katie H (Mar 6, 2007)

Robo410 said:
			
		

> Now, what methods of grease splatter control does everyone use?



Pretty much a good cleaning with hot soapy water after frying.  I've never found any method that did an effective job without being inconvenient during the frying process.  I just suck it up and do a good cleaning after.  Thankfully my stove is very, very easy to clean.  It's gas and all the units are sealed.


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## Robo410 (Mar 6, 2007)

I lay sheet pans over the other burners ... covered with paper for draining the chicken, so it is multi purpose, and I have great ventilation. but ... still gotta wipe with 409 and shine it all up.


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## mudbug (Mar 6, 2007)

Katie E said:
			
		

> I've never found any method that did an effective job without being inconvenient during the frying process.


 
We have a splatter guard thingie we never remember to use.  And a bacon press that HH used a couple of weeks ago that is still sitting next to the stove - uncleaned - that I refuse to clean for him.


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## Uncle Bob (Mar 6, 2007)

I use a deep pot...and keep a lid on to hold down spatter. No matter what you do you gotta cleana da stova.
However sometimes I fry it outside on the patio using a fish cooker. That is the only method I have found that does not spatter the stove....


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## Corey123 (Mar 6, 2007)

A good tight-fitting lid helps, but leave the lid cracked a little for the steam to escape, or else you could end up with a soggy crust on the chicken.

Also, a splatterproof screen cover helps. 

But like Katie E says, just suck it up and do some cleaning. 

For freasly-splattered grease, Dawn helps. If the grease has hardened to the point where it became sticky, yucky all over the stove and just won't come off, then Greased Lightening will get it off.

But I usually clean up right after the frying.

I also own a wide pot, which helps to reduce grease splatter, as well as an electric deep fryer.


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## Constance (Mar 6, 2007)

That's one of the great things about the electric skillet...you can put the cover on ker-slaunch-wise, and it still gets enough air to get crisp without splattering grease all over. 
Another benefit is that there is enough room to spread the chicken out, so each piece cooks separately. I have one that is large enough to hold the whole chicken...the prime 8 pieces + 2 backs, the liver and giblets. Two inches of grease does the job.

I have eaten some WONDERFUL chicken that was fried in an iron skillet, but...and trust me about this...the chicken you cook in an electric skillet is less greasy, because you can keep the grease a constant 375 degrees. 

I don't care for deep-fried chicken. I find it dry and hard.

*Note: When it gets right down to it, by the time you do the breading and frying, you may as well plan on a mess. It's kinda like chicken and dumplings...you're gonna get flour on your belly. My best advice is to clean up as you go along.


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## Corey123 (Mar 7, 2007)

I own a 13" Rival, but you know what? I've never used it more than once or twice.

So maybe the next time I fry some chicken, I'll use it. I don't eat it that often for health reasons. Usually only once every six months.


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