Fried Chicken Recipes

Growing up in the south, I was introduced to fried chicken at an early age. All of my family would come over on Sunday afternoon to enjoy a feast that included fried chicken and various side items like okra, green beans, corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, and cornbread. Not only was the food delicious but the company was great as well!

Today, I wanted to share with you some history on fried chicken and also provide you with some really good fried chicken recipes. First, let's discuss some of the history behind fried chicken...

"Fried chicken has a dual origin in the rural American South. The Scots had a tradition of deep frying chicken in fat, unlike their English counterparts who baked or boiled chicken. Later, as African slaves were introduced to households as cooks, seasonings and spices were added that are absent in traditional Scottish cuisine, improving the flavor. Since slaves were often allowed to keep only chickens, frying chicken as a special occasion spread through the African American community. After slavery, poor rural southern blacks continued the tradition since chickens were often the only animals they could afford to raise. Since fried chicken could keep for several days, it travelled well, and also gained favor during segregation when blacks normally could not find places to eat and had to carry their own food. Southern whites also continued the tradition of frying chicken. While not limited like blacks socially, poor whites were no better off economically. Therefore, fried chicken continued to dominate as "Sunday dinner" or on other special occasions."

The first recipe that I am going to share with you actually ties together an English style of cooking along with Scottish and Southern influences. I say this because the recipe is an oven fried chicken recipe. Don't worry if this is not your cup of tea! We will be sharing traditional fried chicken recipes below this one.

Oven Fried Chicken

2 1/2 - 3 lbs. chicken pieces 2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1 cup flour 2 tsp. paprika 1/2 cup oil or crisco melted

Coat chicken with combined flour, salt, paprika and pepper. Dip in oil and place skin side down in pan. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes and turn chicken and bake 30 minutes or until done.

Obviously, this is not how we usually do it down here, but it's a good recipe that I wanted to share with you. Now for the good stuff! Next, I want to share with you a good southern fried chicken recipe.

Simple Southern Fried Chicken

1 frying chicken, skin removed if you want lower fat. I leave the skin on. 3 teaspoons Lawry's Seasoned Salt 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 cup all purpose flour 1 cup vegetable oil

1. Season chicken with all seasonings.

2. Roll chicken in flour until covered. Shake off excess flour. Sprinkle additional seasoning.

3. Simply fry chicken in frying pan until golden brown. I like it crispy so I cook it a little longer than most.

You can start out with the oil very hot and then reduce it later. This seals in the moisture and flavor, then cooks it.

My hope is that you enjoy these fried chicken recipes. We will be providing more great recipes and resources so be sure to check with us real soon! In the meantime, I encourage you to check out the following resource. You'll be glad you did!