Southern Melodies

Double Dipped Buttermilk Southern Fried Chicken

Lets get messy!
Frying chicken is a messy endeavor and should be enjoyed. I would assume that unless you practice this art form, you don’t do it that often because you think it is a messy process. This is why most folks don’t bake much anymore…lets dispel all of that and try to keep it quick, clean and tasty!

The ingredients are simple and the way you want it to taste is your deal so I will reference seasonings by saying ’seasonings’…heh heh…

The trick is to double dip the bird, let it rest and fry it in a speedy manner while cooked all the way through.
Easy…cool.

Part II (still in edit mode)

There are many ways to fry chicken. This is my favorite, yet the one that takes the most practice. The other way is using the deep fryer, but that still takes practice. Why? Timing! It is always about timing!

Legs and thighs are the best for this method, season them well, soak in buttermilk and let sit for a few hours in the fridge.

Remember, time is your friend here so gettin your oil to the proper temp is a must.

Now I know my Grama never took the oils tempurature when she fried chicken. The oil should not smoke. But suffice it to say, too cool of heat makes for greasy chicken and too hot, well, burns it before the inside is done.

The chicken parts are going to take about 10 minutes per side so think about it, a medium heat is optimal here, your golden brown crust comes from time, not heat. Plus, burnt flour tastes like crap! Bring up the brown slowly, like a roux!
But if you are concerned here, 325 degrees…good luck with that.

Drain the parts from the milk and re-season. Then dredge them in flour, dip them again in an egg/buttermilk wash and re-coat with flour then let rest for a minute or so.

Place the parts in the skillet, this is my way, legs on the outside, thighs in the middle…heh heh…

Do not turn them until ready! Check them around 8 minutes, but I guarantee you 10 is about flip time. Do so. And yes, the black spots are to be expected and are awesome!

Many folks say that placing them on paper towels is bad, well they are half right but still, a drain screen is best. Here is my theory…
Paper will soak up the grease faster, but you need to remove it from the paper soon so it doesn’t sit in it and get soaked back up…A rack though, takes longer for the grease to escape if you didn’t have your oil hot enough…This is where practice comes in…Perfect fried chicken should never be greasy. You will get a feel for what works for you. I guarantee you your first fried chicken will not be the best you ever ate, if so…kudos!
I love Alton Brown but this is not science.

Food for thought - The chicken has been in hot oil for 20 minutes creating an airtight crust, let it sit for 30 minutes before chompin, not only to save your tongue, but to let it continue cooking the inside. Besides, room temp fried chicken is the best.

Th’ow down some baked beans and some mashed taters w/gravy and get busy!

Pretty much the same as Basic Gravy.

After your chicken is done, drain off the oil from the skillet, savin all the goodies. Add about 3 tablespoons of the oil and reheat to medium low. Th’ow in some diced onions and let them simmer for about 8 minutes while scrapin up the chunks on the bottom. Then start adding flour until you creat a nice paste, turn to low heat and cook about 5 minutes.

Slowly add room temperature milk. Once you have the amount you want bring to a boil and stir like a mother…once all is mixed, lower heat and let simmer until the thickness you want comes about.

Season

Again, very simple stuff here…

Trick is to not use too much garlic…I know it tastes great but it can ruin a good meal.

Boil up the spuds until fork ready and drain, return to hot pot to evaporate any moisture. Th’ow in butter, garlic and buttermilk, mash.

• 1 or 2 pods of garlic
• 1/2 stick butter
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 8 med taters

That is what I use. Just add the milk as needed, you can always add, but you cannot take away!

OK, now that the bellyfull has abated I will tell you how we did this…

First, get some Jeff’s Seasoning and lay it on the catfish.

Heat up your Deep Fryer and sit back with a beer or tequila for a bit. It should take about 1 beer.

If you don’t have a fryer, heat a cast iron skillet with a good amount of oil to about 400 degrees…

I have some fish fry mix that kick’s ass but you can use that Zata peoples stuff ifn ya want…Drag your fish thru that and drop it in…

Fish dont take long, 5 minutes max! But you need to have your fries happnin…yeah get them room temp before droppin your fish and them taters in the oil.

Depending on what kinda fries you use, I actually go the easy route and get me some Kroger frozens…same damn thing, anyway - it should only take about 10 minutes. You will see it, this ain’t like landing a rocket or anything, it’s just food.

Pull those fries and let them sit, then, drop em in uno mas…Give them about 2 minutes and then let em sit out for a few…

Grab a beer and watch the Rockets! Matt Bullard, Stop wearin a tie!