Mama's Fried Chicken

I've tried many years to fry a chicken like my mother in law, who was a master of southern fried chicken. This was very, very close. I added a new seasoning I found ("Two Brothers" online only) and it was phenomenal. Not an every day meal but, a nice treat for the family. Also found a great chicken gravy recipe that I poured over creamed potatoes and we had a memorable southern supper. This recipe is a keeper. I left my chicken in buttermilk over night and this workd well for me. Thanks!!

Good Recipi. What does the covered and uncovered cooking does? Can anyone please explain.

Skirt, I think that the health stats may not be mentioned simply because so many of us "southerners" know how to add and subtract so we take it for granted that others know that as well. Perhaps you'd be much happier sticking with TV dinners.

I followed this recipe exactly until I lifted the cover from my cast iron dutch oven and saw I had BLACKENED chicken. The oil temperature was up to at least 400 degrees (that is as high as my thermometer goes) I did not even cook the last 5 to 9 minutes  because it was so overdone. The chicken temperature was internally over 200. I am not sure what I did wrong?? I have an old cast iron dutch oven maybe it retains heat too much? 

you must be doing something wrong.

Used this recipe to make chicken strips. Absolutely delicious! For a change, add some Cajun seasoning to the flour for an extra zing.

Dear Webmaster: Those of us who play by the rules and actually prepare the recipes before rating and/or posting on them need a way to report others who have not even attempted to at least prepare said recipe yet are intentionally low-rating and posting derogatory statements about the recipe. I would like a system by where someone can report these posts as "spam posts" and after a "member" has X number of "spam" reports, their ID is locked out. Just saying....... I used this recipe to prepare fried chicken for my husband (his favorite protein). It is very close to my paternal grandmother's recipe and I knew it would be delicious. Only thing my grandmother did differently is she pulled the skin off of her chicken when she was cleaning it. Husband loved it.

I'm from South Carolina and this is how my Mother made delicious fried chicken, though she used Crisco. She lived to be 99 and had fried food, cheese, biscuits (made w/Crisco), sausage biscuits, etc. almost every day of her life. So did her Mother - who lived to be 92. So, who knows why some people die young and others don't? One thing my Mother did every day was walk a dog 4 x day, regardless of weather.

Excellent! Great recipe, although I've been told that using peanut oil is better than vegetable oil. I'll be using this recipe again!

For added occasional heart attack flavor, fry like Grandma did, with lard and butter. Also makes great cream gravy.

Skirt, Reading a recipe does not obligate you to prepare it. It is simply a matter of preference. If you prefer not to enjoy Southern comfort food on a rare occasion, then DON'T. Simply read the recipe and move on. No one is forcing you to prepare and enjoy this awesome fried chicken. Go ahead, grill you a piece of boneless, skinless, seasonless chicken and enjoy. As for me and my family, we choose to enjoy this chicken on a day when we are all home together. And NO, we don't eat like this everyday. I must agree with the other reviewers, other seasonings are required for this recipe. I season my flour dredge with sea salt, black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper and a small dash of lemon pepper. This is just how I prefer to do it. As far as vegetable oil, I personally prefer Corn Oil.

Now, THIS is one spectacular fried chicken recipe! Many thanks to those who suggested adding butter to the oil; it makes all the difference in the world. YUM! (Skirt, you don't know what you're missing!)

For Skirt - please don't rate a recipe if you've never made it! The rating system is for people who actually made the recipe. My aunt who lived to be 102 yrs. old ate southern cooking every day. She outlived three of her Drs. So stressing out over the nutrition facts can cause heart disease.

Keiko - Amen. Skirt - It's FRIED CHICKEN! Made this as a 'test' before the movie night outing coming up this weekend. Everyone coming is making one of the recipes for the dinner. This is a once in a 'blue moon' dining experience. We did grilled fish and vegies last month - time to splurge! ;->

Skirt..maybe you should jump over to the "Cooking Light" section..who cares about the calorie content..It might be heart attack on a plate, but my goodness it's southern cooking....everybody knows it's the grease that give the flavor anyway...Real women don't eat wimpy skinless chicken breasts anyway, they eat the entire chicken and all it's glorious parts. Having said all this, I like the recipe but found I had to cook it for less time as it browned quickly, although I did check the oil temperature. When biting into it, it's VERY juicy and tender with a nice crispy finish. Next time will add a stick of butter. Wonder if butter flavored Crisco would work?

Hey Skirt - its "Fried Chicken"! I am a Southern Mama and, like bear's mama, I add a stick of butter to the oil when I fry chicken but we don't eat like this even once a month. Not many of us are working in the fields behind a plow anymore (yes, my husband did growing up) so we don't eat like this every day. We do know about low fat baking, broiling, salad, fish and eating healthy - but everyone in my family enjoys a splurge now and then. Southern Comfort Food = fried and smothered in cream gravy. Lighten up:)

In response to the reviewer that said they would never make this recipe, maybe they shouldn't look at the "Classic Comfort Foods" section of Southern Living. I don't know of many comfort foods that are low calorie, etc..Just saying..

To "Skirt" -- You're probably right, the calories and fat probably ARE off the charts! But if you're looking at a recipe that says "Fried Chicken," I think that's to be expected. Maybe a once-a-month splurge? (or even once every 2 months?)

anything that is breaded or fried i love and this is one of them things that falls into one of those catagories. love it to death

I followed this recipe word for word and it was amazing! My husband and friends raved. I think the issue with overcooking happens when you try to maintain the temperature of the oil after you put the chicken in. I put the chicken in immediately when the thermometer reached the right temperature and then didn't touch the heat. The temp does drop, but this is what keeps the chicken from getting too dark on the outside. I did large drumsticks and breast strips in separate dutch ovens. The drumsticks cooked in exactly the amount of time the recipe says. The strips took less time, but I expected that with white, boneless meat.

Salt Pepper and flour is just fine, but like the other reviews do add some other spices that contain some salt. Mortons is fine. Rember spices burn in hot oil. The bad thing about this recipe is the timing. If you add up all the time it is well over 30 minutes. You talk about dark tawny chicken! Wow! More liked burned! Also let the chicken rest after tossing in flour. The coating will stick better.

The recipe goes to a limit as far as being the way my momma made fried chicken; add a cube of real butter to the oil as it is heating up...then you have my moms REAL SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN. I know...all that fat, but heh if you have the oil, buttermilk and white flour whats a little butter fat if it is going to make it right! Awesome touch that helps the chicken brown and the flavor is just the right touch. This is the South Carolina version that I grew up on.

This is what I don't like about Southern Living....this recipe may be wonderful, but I won't try it simply because it doesn't give any health stats...no calories, etc. Probably because the calories are off the charts.