Let me tell ya about fried chicken. Fried chicken was always comfort food at my house when I was growing up. We would have fried chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, and English peas. I am not talking about those fat ugly peas, I am talking about the can of those tiny little LeSeur Peas made by Del Monte. We would make a "bird's nest" by putting our mashed potatoes on the plate. We would then make a dent in the middle with the back of the spoon. That was made so we could put in the peas. Then we would cover the whole thing with gravy that was made from the grease that the chicken was fried up in. This was excellent food.
No my mother did not always make the perfect fried chicken. Often times she would be in a hurry and the fried chicken would be very dark on the outside and very pink on the inside. The peas often got left on the stove "cooking" while she was busy on a very important telephone call. And the gravy was sometimes a little too brown because the timing had to be perfect when you added the milk and the water. No matter how this turned out, we always appreciated the fact that my mother took the time and effort to cook us this meal.
When I became a young bride I would try this wonderful meal for my now ex-husband. He was never happy with the meal. I never made it right. Everything about it was horrible. I finally learned that if I wanted fried chicken, my best bet was to get the fried Pilgrim's Pride precooked chicken strips from Wal Mart and pop them in the oven. It finally got to the point that I just would not cook chicken any more.
I'm not going to say anymore about that. He is now an ex. Go figure.
I want to say that life changed when I met my wonderful husband that I am married to now. When we moved in together, he asked where my electric skillet was. I told him that I did not have one. I was never really allowed to fry food. Well that changed fast. An electric skillet was one of the very first items that he brought into our home. I asked what his favorite foods were. He said one was fried chicken. I cringed, knowing that I could not cook it worth a flying flip. He told me that he would teach me.
He said that the first step was to lay the chicken in a shallow pan and coat it with salt and pepper. Don't be shy when you do this. This is what makes the chicken really good. I added Old Bay seasoning to the mix, just because I like the way it makes things taste. Make sure that the grease is hot in the electric skillet. I use Crisco oil. Then put lots of flour into a stainless steel mixing bowl. Dredge the chicken piece at a time and put it into the grease. Turn the chicken often so it will not burn. Don't walk away from it. Give it lots of love and attention. The high setting on the electric skillet is the perfect temperature for the perfect chicken. Cook it forever and then the inside will not be pink. When the chicken is done, drain the grease all but the little bit that goes along with the fried chicken crumbs. Add some of that left over flour and mix it with your fork you were turning the chicken with. Keep stiring and add about a cup of milk. Then add some water to get it to the desired thickness. Then add about a teaspoon of sugar to give it that added touch that no one can really put their finger on, but that makes it mom's gravy that you can't ever really get right.
I now make awesome fried chicken. Maybe it is because I now have a husband that shows me all the love and support a woman could ever ask for.
That makes all the difference in the world.
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