How many photographs of fried chicken do you think have appeared on the covers or in the pages of the various food magazines?  Thousands over the years, I would guess.  And, yet does anyone really make fried chicken anymore?  It’s just too easy to pick up a bucket at Popeye’s, Bojangles, Chick-Fil-A, KFC, or other chains or from the many local joints specializing in frying up the “holy bird.”  In New York City, for some time it has been Charles’ Southern Style Kitchen that has been the go-to spot for fried chicken.   With all the commercial fried chicken available, standing in front of a couple of hot pans of bubbling fat just doesn’t hold the same appeal to most home cooks.

For years and years I made what came to be known as the best fried chicken in the world.  It was, in fact, baked not fried, and it was moist, crispy and crunchy and not too greasy.  (The recipe follows.)  Steve’s aunt, a southern gentlewoman of a certain age, always felt that I screwed up a good thing with too much complication.  She simply did “a mess of chicken” lightly coated with flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, and fried up in a deep couple of inches of hot vegetable shortening.  No soaking, breading or coating for her.

When Steve saw me cutting up a watermelon the other day, he said “let’s picnic with some down home vittles” – little matter that “down home” was Brooklyn!  I knew that he meant fry some chicken, please!  So I cut up the chicken that I had planned to put on the grill (to save time and clean-up) and put it to soak in sour milk (made with a bit of vinegar added to whole milk as I didn’t have any fresh buttermilk nor any powdered to make my own) for a couple of hours.  I always use buttermilk or sour milk as my mom taught me that it insures moist, tender chicken.  (Don’t know if this is true but my chicken is never dry.)  Then, I put a good amount of all-purpose flour in a large resealable plastic bag with just enough salt and lots of black pepper.  Heated up a good amount of blended oil in my extra-large cast iron skillet.  Quickly pulled the chicken pieces from the milk, shook off the excess, and then put a few pieces at a time in the flour, sealed the bag, and gave a couple of tosses to coat the chicken well.  Placed all of the pieces in the pan (it was a big one) and, with medium-high heat, I quickly browned all sides and then turned down the heat and fried, turning frequently, for about 20 minutes.  The chicken had a beautiful crust – crisp, slightly salty, a bite of pepper – and the meat was deliciously moist.  We all decided that fried chicken should be on the table once a week for the rest of the summer and that one chicken isn’t enough – 2 or 3 would allow some leftovers!  Forget about those fast-food replicas – I suggest you get out the cast iron and fry up a batch of the real thing.

My Famous Not-Fried Chicken

Serves 6 to 8

Two 2½ pound frying chickens, cut up, rinsed, and patted dry

2 cups whole milk

½ cup plain yogurt

2 large eggs

4 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup fine ground cornmeal

1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon dried tarragon

1 teaspoon paprika

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 to 3 cups canola or peanut oil or vegetable shortening

Place the chicken in a large resealable plastic bag.

Combine the milk and yogurt in a mixing bowl, whisking to combine.  Whisk in the eggs to blend well.  Pour the milk over the chicken, seal the bag, and shake to coat well.  Refrigerate for at least for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, lemon zest, tarragon, paprika, and salt and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag.

Remove the chicken from the fridge and lift the chicken pieces, one at a time, from the soaking liquid, shaking to allow excess liquid to drip off.

Place a few pieces of chicken at a time into the seasoned flour, seal the bag, and shake to coat well.

As coated, place the chicken pieces on a sheet pan.  Do not crowd or the coatings will stick together and then pull off when you lift up each piece.

When all of the chicken has been coated, cover lightly, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 500ºF.

Divide the oil between two baking sheets with sides.  Place in the preheated oven until very hot.

Add the chicken pieces to the hot oil without crowding the pans.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until one side is golden and crisping.  Using tongs, turn and bake for another 20 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown and very crisp.  If chicken is getting too brown, lower the oven temperature to 350ºF.  If concerned about degree of doneness, insert an instant read thermometer into the thickest piece.  It should read 160ºF to meet most safety requirements.  Not to brag – well maybe a little bit  – I don’t use a thermometer for most meat or poultry cooking and I rarely over- or under-cook.

Remove from the oven and, using tongs, immediately transfer the chicken to multiple layers of paper towel or newspaper to drain well.

Serve hot or at room temperature.