FRIED CHICKEN - Sunday Dinner

Fried Chicken in a cast iron skillet

(in the background you can see the sheet pan w/rack)

Swiss Chard Fries

FRIED CHICKEN - I have developed this recipe pulling from many sources. Mostly from my grandmother, Nick's Mom. She doesn't do this first step, but she might start if I tell her how much it helps to penetrate and flavor the chicken.

I prep the chicken the night before. In a bowl I salt all the pieces, cover and refrigerate.

About an hour before I want to begin cooking, I remove the bowl from the refrigerator. After 30 minutes, I add in 2 eggs whisked with 1/2 C of milk (preferable whole milk), stir to coat all the chicken. While this sits I make the flour mixture in a large pyrex dish - 1 part bread crumbs to 2 parts flour, salt & pepper to taste (quite a bit of seasoning is needed - when you dip your finger in the flour mixture and taste, it should be salty). I dredge each piece in the flour mixture and place on a sheet pan with rack (I will use this same rack to drain the chicken after it's fried...There is no fear of cross-contamination as the whole sheet pan will go into the oven for 10-15 minutes at 350F). The chicken should sit on the rack for at least 15 minutes before you begin to fry - this helps the crust to set and it shouldn't separate from the skin and meat during cooking (Nick's mom does not do this consciously, rather she is slow and methodical in her cooking it just happened organically). The other thing that should prevent the crust from separating is bringing the chicken to room temperature.

I shallow fry in a cast iron skillet with peanut oil about 1/2 way up the side of the pan. Turn when brown, remove when brown to your liking on both sides. The chicken will continue to cook - both from residual heat and when you finish it off in the oven. When all the chicken is fried, place in a 350F oven for 10-15 minutes (depending on your patience!).

While I had the fry station set up, I decided to try a recipe I had read in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook for Swiss Chard Fries - process is the similar - put the stems (only) into the egg, then flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Let the crust set for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Shallow fry until brown. The stems can be a little earthy in flavor, but it's a great way to use something that would normally be trash or compost.

We ate this with rice, sliced cucumbers and Fuji apples...This was the perfect Summer meal with EII Sauvignon Blanc.