Recipe: Granny Mae's Fried Chicken

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One of the techniques I learned very early from my granny Mae (my dad’s mother) was how to fry chicken. Her Fried Chicken recipe was a pinch of this and a dab of that. The skill really came from just watching her cook. I went through the steps and came up with these measurements. Its close but no one will ever be able to fry chicken like granny Mae!

Serves 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time:

Ingredients:

• 1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into eight pieces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cracker crumbs
• 1 egg, cracked and beat into ½ cup milk
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Instructions:

  • Mix the flour and crumbs together, add a little salt and pepper.
  • Place flour into a brown paper bag
  • Dip the chicken into the egg mixture. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Granny always used more pepper than salt
  • Add the chicken to the bag and gently shake to coat
  • Add 1/2 to 3/4 inch oil to a large, heavy skillet. Heat to approximately 365 degrees F
  • Place chicken pieces in hot oil and allow to brown on one side.
  • Turn the chicken over, turn down the heat to medium approximately 350 degrees F and cover with a lid.
  • Fry until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Drain on paper towels.

    Terri’s Tips:

  • Use a fryer or broiler chicken, they are the youngest and most tender
  • Breast and thighs will take longer to cook than wings and legs so cook them together in batches
  • Don’t crowd the chicken pieces and don’t touch until they are well browned on the bottom side. Then turn them over only once. This helps chicken to cook inside before burning on the outside.
  • Remove lid and continue to cook until juices run clear about five more minutes”
  • Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees
  • Granny didn’t use paper towels, she used dish towels

    Cooking Wiser:

  • Buying a whole fryer will save money. It will take a little more time to cut it up so you decide which is most important to you, time or money
  • To cut down on calories, remove the skin