The Recipe Thread

[wilson]

Does anyone have a good, and preferably quick and easy, recipe for cornbread biscuits or muffins?

Make it from scratch.

Mix together:
1 3/4 cups corn meal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar (optional...brown sugar is damn good in there too, if that's your thing)

In a separate bowl, whisk together:
2 cups buttermilk (my recipe calls for the real thing, but I've used low fat a bunch of times before, and you can't tell the difference)
2 eggs

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until blended.

I always make a single loaf, and I grease a 9-inch pan with lard, shortening, bacon fat, whatever (about 1 tbsp). You could easily do muffins instead and adjust accordingly. However, you must grease your pan, or your bread will stick to it and crumble. Lots of people will say that cornbread is only properly made in an old-fashioned iron skillet, and they're kind of right, but a 9-inch pie tin works quite well. I have one that I always (and just about only) use for cornbread. The above mix fits perfectly in that size vessel.

Bake at 450 for 20-25 min (usually right around 25 for me...I like it to be nice and golden brown on top). Let your bread cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve (while still warm, but not piping hot).

Nice optional add-ins:

-1 8 oz. can of corn kernels (aim for the kind described as "sweet," NOT cream style and NOT "extra crispy"...it'll mess up the texture). I almost always add corn. I vastly prefer it that way, and other people always like it too. Really, any size can between 6 and 11 ounces or so will do just fine.
-1 6 oz. can (or so) of green chilies or jalapenos

[Sue71]

Does anyone have a good, and preferably quick and easy, recipe for cornbread biscuits or muffins?

Make it from scratch.

Mix together:
1 3/4 cups corn meal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar (optional...brown sugar is damn good in there too, if that's your thing)

In a separate bowl, whisk together:
2 cups buttermilk (my recipe calls for the real thing, but I've used low fat a bunch of times before, and you can't tell the difference)
2 eggs

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until blended.

I always make a single loaf, and I grease a 9-inch pan with lard, shortening, bacon fat, whatever (about 1 tbsp). You could easily do muffins instead and adjust accordingly. However, you must grease your pan, or your bread will stick to it and crumble. Lots of people will say that cornbread is only properly made in an old-fashioned iron skillet, and they're kind of right, but a 9-inch pie tin works quite well. I have one that I always (and just about only) use for cornbread. The above mix fits perfectly in that size vessel.

Bake at 450 for 20-25 min (usually right around 25 for me...I like it to be nice and golden brown on top). Let your bread cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve (while still warm, but not piping hot).

Nice optional add-ins:

-1 8 oz. can of corn kernels (aim for the kind described as "sweet," NOT cream style and NOT "extra crispy"...it'll mess up the texture). I almost always add corn. I vastly prefer it that way, and other people always like it too. Really, any size can between 6 and 11 ounces or so will do just fine.
-1 6 oz. can (or so) of green chilies or jalapenos

Wilson, if you add the can of corn, do you need to adjust any of the other ingredients or baking temperature/time?

[wilson]

Wilson, if you add the can of corn, do you need to adjust any of the other ingredients or baking temperature/time?

Nope. Do be sure and drain the liquid from the can before you add the corn, though.

[wilson]

Another delicious corn recipe, a family favorite that's considerably older than I am.

~Mom's (and several people's before her) Creamed Corn~

-8-10 ears of corn (preferably white corn, sometimes described as "Silver Queen" or something similar in the South...yellow corn works fine too though)
-2-4 tbsp butter, cut into little chunks
-milk (6 oz, maybe?)

Stand an ear of corn upright in a big, heavy skillet (the heavier, the better) with a lid. Cut straight down the ear so that half (or so) of each kernel falls into the skillet. Then, scrape your knife downward at a 45-degree angle so that the remaining juice and some of the kernel shreds fall into the pan as well. This second step is messy ass hell...shit splatters all over your counter. Just get used to it and clean up afterward; you can't avoid it. But trust me, it's totally worth it.

***Note about your corn: You really want your corn to be tender. The test is easy to perform: in the store, pull back the husk and press a fingernail against a kernel. If it busts easily, it's good.

After you've performed the above task with all of your corn, add the butter and enough milk (2%, whole, skim, whatever...doesn't really matter. I use 2%.) to make the whole mixture kind of soupy (but you don't want your corn to be swimming). Stir pretty constantly and intently until the butter melts and the whole thing starts to simmer. You have to stir carefully as you're first starting; if it all gets too hot and you don't stir enough, it'll start to stick and your milk can even scorch. Once it reaches a simmer, turn down the heat to low(ish), cover and let it continue simmering for 45 min to an hour (or longer...this whole thing is a bit inexact). After you've done this, you can quit worrying so much about stirring and sticking, but do still check and stir every few minutes.

Once the liquid has cooked down (to a nice, thick, sort of stewy consistency), it's ready. If it cooks too quickly and you're not quite ready to eat, just add more milk.
Salt and pepper it to taste just before serving.

Theoretically, 8-10 ears will serve 6-8 people, but my brother and I could very easily polish off the whole recipe outlined above in one sitting.

Goes best with biscuits, fried okra (or southern-style green beans if you prefer), fresh sliced cucumbers and onions marinated in vinegar, and fresh sliced tomatoes (several of these things are very much summer items, so this was always a summer dish in my family). Throw some country ham on the plate too if you're so inclined. This is the meal we get to have for dinner every night in heaven.

[colchar]

Why not? Northern Virginia isn't exactly cornbread country. I hope it's there. It's pretty good. And very easy. If not, you'll have to finagle a trip down here and pick some up! ;) It would be pretty expensive, but I'd be happy to ship you a box if you pay for it.

or you can order it from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Natural-F ... 508&sr=8-1

I think it's a little more expensive than at Costco, but hey, if you like cornbread, it's worth it.

Unfortunately, Amazon.com doesn't ship here. In Canada, we have to order from Amazon.ca and their stock is very different.

[colchar]

Does anyone have a good, and preferably quick and easy, recipe for cornbread biscuits or muffins?

Make it from scratch.

Mix together:
1 3/4 cups corn meal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar (optional...brown sugar is damn good in there too, if that's your thing)

In a separate bowl, whisk together:
2 cups buttermilk (my recipe calls for the real thing, but I've used low fat a bunch of times before, and you can't tell the difference)
2 eggs

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until blended.

I always make a single loaf, and I grease a 9-inch pan with lard, shortening, bacon fat, whatever (about 1 tbsp). You could easily do muffins instead and adjust accordingly. However, you must grease your pan, or your bread will stick to it and crumble. Lots of people will say that cornbread is only properly made in an old-fashioned iron skillet, and they're kind of right, but a 9-inch pie tin works quite well. I have one that I always (and just about only) use for cornbread. The above mix fits perfectly in that size vessel.

Bake at 450 for 20-25 min (usually right around 25 for me...I like it to be nice and golden brown on top). Let your bread cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve (while still warm, but not piping hot).

Nice optional add-ins:

-1 8 oz. can of corn kernels (aim for the kind described as "sweet," NOT cream style and NOT "extra crispy"...it'll mess up the texture). I almost always add corn. I vastly prefer it that way, and other people always like it too. Really, any size can between 6 and 11 ounces or so will do just fine.
-1 6 oz. can (or so) of green chilies or jalapenos

Brilliant. Thank you. If I have time, I'll make some this weekend.

[wilson]

Unfortunately, Amazon.com doesn't ship here. In Canada, we have to order from Amazon.ca and their stock is very different.

Just another reason you should use my from-scratch recipe, posted above, which is really no harder than making it from mix (~30 min from start to finish). ;)

[wilson]

Unfortunately, Amazon.com doesn't ship here. In Canada, we have to order from Amazon.ca and their stock is very different.

Just another reason you should use my from-scratch recipe, posted above, which is really no harder than making it from mix (~30 min from start to finish). ;)

My bad...didn't read carefully enough and note that you'd seen my recipe.
But at least I got two more posts out of it all.

[cl15876]

... ***Note about your corn: You really want your corn to be tender. The test is easy to perform: in the store, pull back the husk and press a fingernail against a kernel. If it busts easily, it's good. ....

Sounds like similiar training has occurred! An excellent TIP!

Do you scratch a cantelope also at it's removed stem and smell.... if you smell it (fresh, then ready for consumption), otherwise... learn the word NEXT!

[captmojo]

I highly recommend these folks...http://www.lakesidemills.com/joy_brand_products.htm
I don't know where their shipping limitations go to. Their product is great!

[bjornolf]

Awesome tips on the corn and canteloupe. I do that with the canteloupe, though my first measure is to look for bug tracks, those white scars on the melon. My dad taught me that. It works 99% of the time. As my dad says, the bugs' sense of a good melon is a heck of a lot better than ours, and the scarred melons are often the sweetest. Plus, lots of people don't want those cause they look funky, so you usually have your pick of the litter of them. This also works for watermelon and honey dew melon. I use a three fold system:

1. look for scarring
2. thump the stem area and listen for hollow sound
3. scratch and sniff (I love saying that!

I get a good melon 99.99% of the time.

[wilson]

This is a little something I just sort of concocted with what I had on hand a few months back, and I've made it several times since then. It's become something of an easy little favorite. I'm preparing it as I type this.

~wilson's London Broil with Onions and Mushrooms~

Ingredients:
- 2 medium sized Vidalia or other sweet onions
- 8-12 oz. mushrooms, sliced (I like baby Portobellos, but pretty much any will do)
- 1 average sized London Broil: Your grocer should typically carry 1.25-1.5 pound London Broils. This is the perfect size. If for some reason they don't have a London Broil, skirt steak, flank steak, or another similar cut will work.
- 2 tbsp. or so minced garlic (optional)
- 2 tbsp. or so olive oil

Bring your oil up to medium heat in a large, heavy skillet with a lid. If you're using garlic, put it in with the oil as it gets hot. Chop your onions to desired coarseness; it doesn't matter at all how big or small they are. Add them and the mushrooms to your hot oil, cover, and saute 12-20 minutes. I like mine good and brown, especially the onions--Nice toasty, caramelized Vidalias are delicious. Add your meat and sear it for about 4 minutes on each side This will cook the center of your meat to approximately medium, with some more done portions on the ends. Add a minute per side if you want it more done.

*Note about your meat: You really should marinate this meat, for as long as possible. I think an overnight marinade is ideal, but as little as an hour will do. If you don't have long to marinate, poke a few holes in your meat with a sharp knife. This will help it to take the marinade up more quickly. As for the marinade itself, use whatever you like. I personally never marinate any beef without Worcestershire Sauce. I usually also do a quick dry rub with seasoned salt, garlic powder, and paprika. Other stuff like Dale's marinade, Montreal Steak seasoning, etc. will also work quite well.

After your meat is done, let it sit for 5 minutes or so, then slice thinly across the grain of the meat, into strips. Serve with mushrooms, onions, and jus smothered on top of it. I typically have a baked potato, salad, and bread with this, but of course do whatever you like.

Perhaps the best part of this meal is the leftovers. Pile a few pieces of the meat with some of the mushrooms and onions onto a good piece of crusty bread, with a slice of good cheese on top, and bake at 300 for 10 minutes or so...best steak sandwich you've ever eaten.

[rockymtn devil]

Spicy-Citrus Pork Tenderloin:

For the rub:
The zest of a lime and an orange
2.5 teaspoons of curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
juice from half the lime and half the orange
Mix them together until you have a paste


Coat the tenderloin with a light layer of olive oil and then smother it with the paste. Don't go too heavy or else you won't get a good bark on the meat.

Get the grill as hot as you can (500+) and sear both sides of the tenderloin (roughly 3 minutes a side). Then set the grill to indirect medium heat and cook the pork for another 20 minutes, or until done to your liking. Let sit for five minutes after taking off the grill.

On a board full of North Carolinians, I probably don't need to say this but, just in case, this is for a pork tenderloin and NOT a pork loin. A few years ago I was entertaining for the Final Four and made this. My roommate was in charge of the meat and, much to my surprise, brought home a 5lb loin instead of several 1lb tenderloins. She didn't know there was a difference. Needless to say dinner was late being served.

After having not made this dish for a long time, I'm doing it tonight (meat is on the grill as I type). On the side is some white rice and potatoes cooked with a dash of curry powder. I'm pairing it with a New Belgium Mothership Wit Belgian White Ale, which should be about perfect.

[wilson]

As promised to Lavabe a few minutes ago, here's my fried chicken recipe. As usual, the whole thing is a bit inexact.

Ingredients:
-4-5 lbs. chicken: I use a "cut up fryer," usually quite affordable. If you have a good meat cleaver and/or particularly like working with a cleaver, you can save still more money by buying a whole chicken and cutting it up yourself. If you particularly like working with a cleaver, stay the fuck away from me, please.

Seasoning/coating:

-1 part flour: I've used just about every kind there is. I usually use plain old All-Purpose.

The next part is a bit complicated. Half of the chicken coating should be flour, while the other half should be comprised of the following ingredients in the following proportions:

-2 parts seasoned salt
-2 parts paprika
-1 part garlic powder
-1 part parsley flakes
-1 part freshly ground black pepper

Hopefully all of that makes sense. Mix the seasoning/flour together and coat your chicken parts thoroughly. You should have a good bit of oil hot (heat it on 8 or 9 on the stovetop in a skillet or shallow pot with a lid...do this while mixing your seasoning and coating chicken, so you can avoid lag time). Add your chicken parts after coating (gently, of course...splattery oil burns are not fun) and cover...the lid will help your chicken fry more evenly and keep it moist. Fry for 8-9 min. and then check. Fry for another 8 min. or so (lid still on), then turn. Give them a final fry of 7-8 min (still with the lid on). They will be nicely balanced between crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Be sure to check the chicken regularly. If it looks like it's starting to burn (i.e., it's blackening), then it is. In that event, turn your chicken over and reduce the heat. You can cool your oil down a bit more quickly if you leave the lid off for a couple of minutes (but be prepared...you may set the smoke alarm off, particularly if it's sensitive and/or your kitchen fan is weak). Pay regular attention to your chicken as it fries, until you learn the particulars of your kitchen. There is about a four-minute window when perfect fried chicken needs to be stopped; otherwise, it's either soggy and greasy or dry and tough.
Remove them to a couple of paper towels layered on a plate and just let them sit for a little while. Fried chicken, IMO, is best served warm or room temperature, not piping hot. It of course keeps well in a well-sealed Zip-lock bag, is good cold, and reheats well.

*Tips:

-Be sure to open a couple of windows and/or a door before frying. Otherwise, your whole place will smell like fried chicken for about a week.
-Bread crumbs (seasoned or plain), finely crushed Ritz/other crackers, or even crispy fried onion straws (the kind you put on top of green bean casserole) can work really nicely instead of flour, but they don't coat as well. Consider grinding them more finely in a food processor before coating your chicken if you choose to go this route.
-Don't try to fry more than one "cut up fryer" at a time, unless you have a huge skillet. Your oil will burn before you have time to cook two shifts worth of chicken, and that's just a pain in the ass.
-Remember to dump your expired oil somewhere outside, not down the drain. Or, if you're so inclined, make some chicken fried steak (on low heat) or something similar before discarding your oil.
-Feel free to play with the proportions on your seasoning as you perfect your cooking technique. Different people prefer different flavors, so pay attention to what you like.
-If you have the time/patience, soak your chicken in buttermilk overnight, then cook it normally. Then tell me what a great person I am for telling you about this trick. For a real treat, chop up some blueberries and steep them in the buttermilk along with the chicken. You will not regret this.
-Don't try to fry too many pieces of chicken at once. Your oil can't stay hot enough to handle this (unless you're working with an industrial deep fryer, which I'm pretty sure most of you aren't), and you'll end up with a thick layer of nicely fried breading at the bottom of your pan and a bunch of fully cooked, but unbreaded chicken, which, while it actually doesn't taste that bad, does not have the most appealing appearance.
-Usually when you buy a whole chicken or a whole cut-up chicken, you'll get a little bag with the giblets and a neck bone. Boil the giblets for about 15 minutes and then mete them out in little morsels to your dog. He/she will love you even more than he/she already does. As for the neck bone, simmer it with the piece of back meat (this is the entirely unappealing piece with a discernible spine) for a couple of hours, and you'll have homemade chicken stock.

[colchar]

As promised to Lavabe a few minutes ago, here's my fried chicken recipe. As usual, the whole thing is a bit inexact.

Ingredients:
-4-5 lbs. chicken: I use a "cut up fryer," usually quite affordable. If you have a good meat cleaver and/or particularly like working with a cleaver, you can save still more money by buying a whole chicken and cutting it up yourself. If you particularly like working with a cleaver, stay the fuck away from me, please.

Seasoning/coating:

-1 part flour: I've used just about every kind there is. I usually use plain old All-Purpose.

The next part is a bit complicated. Half of the chicken coating should be flour, while the other half should be comprised of the following ingredients in the following proportions:

-2 parts seasoned salt
-2 parts paprika
-1 part garlic powder
-1 part parsley flakes
-1 part freshly ground black pepper

Hopefully all of that makes sense. Mix the seasoning/flour together and coat your chicken parts thoroughly. You should have a good bit of oil hot (heat it on 8 or 9 on the stovetop in a skillet or shallow pot with a lid...do this while mixing your seasoning and coating chicken, so you can avoid lag time). Add your chicken parts after coating (gently, of course...splattery oil burns are not fun) and cover...the lid will help your chicken fry more evenly and keep it moist. Fry for 8-9 min. and then check. Fry for another 8 min. or so (lid still on), then turn. Give them a final fry of 7-8 min (still with the lid on). They will be nicely balanced between crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Be sure to check the chicken regularly. If it looks like it's starting to burn (i.e., it's blackening), then it is. In that event, turn your chicken over and reduce the heat. You can cool your oil down a bit more quickly if you leave the lid off for a couple of minutes (but be prepared...you may set the smoke alarm off, particularly if it's sensitive and/or your kitchen fan is weak). Pay regular attention to your chicken as it fries, until you learn the particulars of your kitchen. There is about a four-minute window when perfect fried chicken needs to be stopped; otherwise, it's either soggy and greasy or dry and tough.
Remove them to a couple of paper towels layered on a plate and just let them sit for a little while. Fried chicken, IMO, is best served warm or room temperature, not piping hot. It of course keeps well in a well-sealed Zip-lock bag, is good cold, and reheats well.

*Tips:

-Be sure to open a couple of windows and/or a door before frying. Otherwise, your whole place will smell like fried chicken for about a week.
-Bread crumbs (seasoned or plain), finely crushed Ritz/other crackers, or even crispy fried onion straws (the kind you put on top of green bean casserole) can work really nicely instead of flour, but they don't coat as well. Consider grinding them more finely in a food processor before coating your chicken if you choose to go this route.
-Don't try to fry more than one "cut up fryer" at a time, unless you have a huge skillet. Your oil will burn before you have time to cook two shifts worth of chicken, and that's just a pain in the ass.
-Remember to dump your expired oil somewhere outside, not down the drain. Or, if you're so inclined, make some chicken fried steak (on low heat) or something similar before discarding your oil.
-Feel free to play with the proportions on your seasoning as you perfect your cooking technique. Different people prefer different flavors, so pay attention to what you like.
-If you have the time/patience, soak your chicken in buttermilk overnight, then cook it normally. Then tell me what a great person I am for telling you about this trick. For a real treat, chop up some blueberries and steep them in the buttermilk along with the chicken. You will not regret this.
-Don't try to fry too many pieces of chicken at once. Your oil can't stay hot enough to handle this (unless you're working with an industrial deep fryer, which I'm pretty sure most of you aren't), and you'll end up with a thick layer of nicely fried breading at the bottom of your pan and a bunch of fully cooked, but unbreaded chicken, which, while it actually doesn't taste that bad, does not have the most appealing appearance.
-Usually when you buy a whole chicken or a whole cut-up chicken, you'll get a little bag with the giblets and a neck bone. Boil the giblets for about 15 minutes and then mete them out in little morsels to your dog. He/she will love you even more than he/she already does. As for the neck bone, simmer it with the piece of back meat (this is the entirely unappealing piece with a discernible spine) for a couple of hours, and you'll have homemade chicken stock.

Sounds fucking delicious. Too bad we realized today that the chicken we bought earlier in the week had a best before date of yesterday. We'll have to buy some more this week and try this out. The cornbread would be great with this.

[bjornolf]

You use a cleaver? Wuss. Where's yer cutlass?!

[bjornolf]

I fry shrimp by dipping them in an egg/milk/lemon juice (just a spritz of the lemon) mixture, then coating with a mix of all-purpose flour with some fresh ground pepper, a little creole seasoning, and garlic powder. Then I skillet fry it in about 1/4" oil about 30 seconds on a side. It's pretty darn good. I use the big frozen raw shrimp from Costco (21-25 per pound). They're a good size and they're pretty cheap for shrimp. Depending on my mood, I'll de-tail or not after I thaw them and before I "treat" them. It's pretty good. My mother-in-law, who LOVES fried shrimp, likes this recipe even better than the ones she gets at restaurants. Her biggest complaint is that restaurants usually bread it too heavily, but she likes this one cause the breading is light and tasty.

[bjornolf]

As promised to Lavabe a few minutes ago, here's my fried chicken recipe. As usual, the whole thing is a bit inexact.

Ingredients:
-4-5 lbs. chicken: I use a "cut up fryer," usually quite affordable. If you have a good meat cleaver and/or particularly like working with a cleaver, you can save still more money by buying a whole chicken and cutting it up yourself. If you particularly like working with a cleaver, stay the fuck away from me, please.

Seasoning/coating:

-1 part flour: I've used just about every kind there is. I usually use plain old All-Purpose.

The next part is a bit complicated. Half of the chicken coating should be flour, while the other half should be comprised of the following ingredients in the following proportions:

-2 parts seasoned salt
-2 parts paprika
-1 part garlic powder
-1 part parsley flakes
-1 part freshly ground black pepper

Hopefully all of that makes sense. Mix the seasoning/flour together and coat your chicken parts thoroughly. You should have a good bit of oil hot (heat it on 8 or 9 on the stovetop in a skillet or shallow pot with a lid...do this while mixing your seasoning and coating chicken, so you can avoid lag time). Add your chicken parts after coating (gently, of course...splattery oil burns are not fun) and cover...the lid will help your chicken fry more evenly and keep it moist. Fry for 8-9 min. and then check. Fry for another 8 min. or so (lid still on), then turn. Give them a final fry of 7-8 min (still with the lid on). They will be nicely balanced between crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Be sure to check the chicken regularly. If it looks like it's starting to burn (i.e., it's blackening), then it is. In that event, turn your chicken over and reduce the heat. You can cool your oil down a bit more quickly if you leave the lid off for a couple of minutes (but be prepared...you may set the smoke alarm off, particularly if it's sensitive and/or your kitchen fan is weak). Pay regular attention to your chicken as it fries, until you learn the particulars of your kitchen. There is about a four-minute window when perfect fried chicken needs to be stopped; otherwise, it's either soggy and greasy or dry and tough.
Remove them to a couple of paper towels layered on a plate and just let them sit for a little while. Fried chicken, IMO, is best served warm or room temperature, not piping hot. It of course keeps well in a well-sealed Zip-lock bag, is good cold, and reheats well.

*Tips:

-Be sure to open a couple of windows and/or a door before frying. Otherwise, your whole place will smell like fried chicken for about a week.
-Bread crumbs (seasoned or plain), finely crushed Ritz/other crackers, or even crispy fried onion straws (the kind you put on top of green bean casserole) can work really nicely instead of flour, but they don't coat as well. Consider grinding them more finely in a food processor before coating your chicken if you choose to go this route.
-Don't try to fry more than one "cut up fryer" at a time, unless you have a huge skillet. Your oil will burn before you have time to cook two shifts worth of chicken, and that's just a pain in the ass.
-Remember to dump your expired oil somewhere outside, not down the drain. Or, if you're so inclined, make some chicken fried steak (on low heat) or something similar before discarding your oil.
-Feel free to play with the proportions on your seasoning as you perfect your cooking technique. Different people prefer different flavors, so pay attention to what you like.
-If you have the time/patience, soak your chicken in buttermilk overnight, then cook it normally. Then tell me what a great person I am for telling you about this trick. For a real treat, chop up some blueberries and steep them in the buttermilk along with the chicken. You will not regret this.
-Don't try to fry too many pieces of chicken at once. Your oil can't stay hot enough to handle this (unless you're working with an industrial deep fryer, which I'm pretty sure most of you aren't), and you'll end up with a thick layer of nicely fried breading at the bottom of your pan and a bunch of fully cooked, but unbreaded chicken, which, while it actually doesn't taste that bad, does not have the most appealing appearance.
-Usually when you buy a whole chicken or a whole cut-up chicken, you'll get a little bag with the giblets and a neck bone. Boil the giblets for about 15 minutes and then mete them out in little morsels to your dog. He/she will love you even more than he/she already does. As for the neck bone, simmer it with the piece of back meat (this is the entirely unappealing piece with a discernible spine) for a couple of hours, and you'll have homemade chicken stock.

Interesting, I usually fry chicken in a big pot for about 20 minutes. You obviously prefer the skillet frying method. I'm just curious as to why? It seems to me that pot frying/fry daddy frying would be easier and less likely to burn you. Do you get a better taste from the shallow pan frying?

[wilson]

Interesting, I usually fry chicken in a big pot for about 20 minutes. You obviously prefer the skillet frying method. I'm just curious as to why? It seems to me that pot frying/fry daddy frying would be easier and less likely to burn you. Do you get a better taste from the shallow pan frying?

I just find it easier to get my oil to the right temperature in my skillet, and to manage everything once I get the oil hot. I have a nice, relatively deep, wide skillet with a lid that works perfectly for frying chicken (as it should, since I asked my mother a couple of years ago for "a big, heavy skillet with a lid...the kind I could fry some chicken in." for Christmas). To each his own...if you've got your frying technique honed to a process that works for you, then great; the really important part of fried chicken is your seasoning, and I strongly stand by my above recipe.

[cl15876]

As promised to Lavabe a few minutes ago, here's my fried chicken recipe. As usual, the whole thing is a bit inexact.
....

Sounds fucking delicious. Too bad we realized today that the chicken we bought earlier in the week had a best before date of yesterday. We'll have to buy some more this week and try this out. The cornbread would be great with this.

I concur! I am might have to try this tonight for dinner! I like the sound of the fried shrimp also! I made some shrimp cakes and bacon wrapped scallops on the side for my girl and her son yesterday and I will be posting the shrimp cake recipe later on before CB&B jumps all over me for not sharing it!