Southern Fried Chicken

I have never been able to do Fried Chicken. It was the one thing on my Southern Girl passport that was not checked off and it bugged me greatly. My grandma was a helluva chicken fryer. My Momma has made some mean fried chicken too, but I mostly remember my grandma's fried chicken thighs and biscuits. She would always have those around it seemed. So it has been one of my great disappointments that I couldn't fry chicken.

I finally conquered it. Thanks to a little obscure tip I pulled out of a SouthernLiving magazine in the Dr.'s office. (See something good DID come out of those copays!) And Yes, I'm one of those that swipes pages and magazines out of the waiting room...but rest assured, its only if there's a damn good recipe in it.

Southern Fried Chicken

Ingredients:
Buttermilk
One Whole Cut up Chicken with skin and bones
3 cups flour in a bag with salt and pepper
Oil

Directions:
Rinse and dry chicken pieces. Place in a large bowl and cover completely with buttermilk. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in refridgerator for atleast 2 hours but up to overnight (8-12 hours).
Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil to about 275-350 degrees in large skillet. You want about 1/4-1/2 inche of oil in pan.
Take two pieces of chicken at a time and place in flour bag and shake until chicken is coated. Place pieces in hot oil and cook about 5 minutes on each side until Crispy and golden brown. Place pieces on a baking sheet (one with sides) and repeat until all pieces have been cooked.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes to finish cooking chicken.

This gives you perfectly crispy fried chicken that is cooked all the way through and tender and juicy. For real southern flair serve it up with Paula's Cheesy Garlic Grits. Pure Southern Heaven.