We're back! Have some fried chicken!

We've been back from the trip for a few weeks now.  I am just trying to work up the motivation to blog the holiday tales and photos!  In short: it was a spectacular trip, we all had a ball.  Photos will come soon, as will some more tips and advice based on our experience.

In the meantime, here is a quick recipe for Buttermilk Pan Fried Chicken, just because!

Marinate chicken parts (on bone, with skin - either a whole cut up chicken, or a bunch of thighs and drumsticks) overnight in buttermilk.  About 600ml with a good dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Prepare a spice mixture - I use roughly 2 tablespoons salt flakes, 2 tablespoons smoked paprika, a teaspoon of garlic powder, a heaped teaspoon of cayenne pepper, half a teaspoon of pepper, a teaspoon of dried parsley, and a tablespoon or so of mixed herbs (dried thyme, sage, rosemary).

Remove chicken pieces from the buttermilk and lightly shake them off.  Sprinkle liberally with the seasoning mixture - it's better to apply directly to the chicken, rather than mix into the flour, as some of the spices burn if they hit the hot oil right away.

Dredge chicken pieces thoroughly in self raising flour, shaking gently to remove the excess, then sit on a wire rack for ten minutes or so, to allow the crust to set.

Heat a large cast iron skillet (for preference, as it retains heat very well), or a large frying pan or enamel cast iron pan, and add enough shortening (such as Crisco) or oil (canola, peanut or coconut), or lard (from free range pork) to come about 2cm deep.  Organic, rendered lard would be my first choice, followed by Crisco (as it is highly refined, you don't really get an oil taste from it - advice from Alton Brown, and I would never argue with AB!), followed by the other oils.  Adding a good amount of saved bacon fat is a good idea, too, for flavour.

When frying, to minimise mess, use a mesh splatter shield, and if you can be bothered (it's certainly quicker than cleaning up oil from everywhere) shield your cooking surfaces with tin foil, and cling film on the splash back - see a photo below.

Bring the oil to 160 degrees celcius, then add the chicken pieces.  You'll probably need to do this in a couple of batches, but don't worry about keeping them warm - the cooked pieces will stay nicely hot for a good 15 minutes or so!  Besides, most fried chicken connoisseurs swear that it is best at room temperature, anyway (hence its popularity as a picnic food in America).

Don't raise the heat to compensate for the drop in temperature when you add the chicken - the pan should hold enough heat.  Cook on the first side for about 10 - 12 minutes, then turn and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until both sides are deeply golden and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 74 degrees celcius (breast pieces, and pieces without bone, will cook faster, so remove them first).

Drain on a wire rack (or pull out your oven rack and use that on the bench if you don't have enough wire racks) - never on paper towels.  This allows the grease to drain away, and your chicken will stay crispy.

A word about fat - fried chicken is not fatty and unhealthy.  When foods are fried correctly (meaning that the internal temperature sits above boiling, so the liquid in the food forces its way out as steam, preventing oil from entering the food), fried foods absorb very little oil, particularly foods with a high moisture content (such as chicken, zucchini, fish etc).  Check out Good Eats: Fry Hard for really brilliant information about frying food in general.

Serve with buttery mashed potatoes, flakey buttermilk biscuits, peppery greens, cornbread, milk gravy or any combination.  Be sure to cook enough to stash some leftovers in the fridge!

Buttermilk marinade, seasoning mixture, flour and chicken:

Seasoned chicken pieces:

Dredged pieces, resting before frying:

My gorgeous 100+ year old Griswold #10 cast iron skillet, freshly seasoned:

Fried chicken and mash:

Crunch.