Last Night's Dinner

So last night was chicken night at my house. I can pound a chicken breast into submission for things like Chicken Parm or just a breaded and baked chicken, or even grilled chicken.

Yesterday I decided to do something different.

I had never fried chicken before, I've put it in a sauté pan to brown but I've never actually cooked it in oil.

So I searched the net for something called Chicken Fried Chicken. I found this recipe:

Chicken Fried Chicken Recipe

Chicken Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy

This is essentially Texas-style chicken fried steak, but made with chicken breasts. Be sure to make this with cream gravy.

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1/2 cup milk
  
• 1 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• cooking oil or melted Crisco
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  

Beat together the egg and milk and set aside. Mix together the salt, black pepper, paprika and white pepper and sprinkle on both sides of chicken breasts.

Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, shaking off the excess. Then dip each piece in the egg/milk mixture, and then back in the flour. (You are going to get your hands messy here, so take your rings off.) Set chicken pieces aside on a piece of waxed paper.

Heat the cooking oil in a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Oil should be about a half-inch deep in the pan. Check the temperature with a drop of water; if it pops and spits back at you, it is ready.

With a long-handled fork, carefully place each chicken breast into the hot oil. Protect yourself (and your kitchen) from the popping grease that results. Fry chicken breasts on both sides, turning once, until golden brown. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 15 to 18 minutes until chicken pieces cook through. Drain on paper towels.

Cream Gravy
Remove the chicken from the pan; pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of oil, keeping as many as possible of the browned bits in the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat until hot.

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour (use the left-over flour from the chicken fried chicken recipe (waste not -- want not) in the hot oil. Stir with a wooden spoon, quickly, to brown the flour.

Gradually stir in 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup water, mixed together, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon and mashing out any lumps. Lower heat and gravy will begin to thicken. Continue cooking and stirring a few minutes until gravy reaches desired consistency. Check seasonings and add more salt and pepper according to your taste.

Note to persons new to Cream Gravy: Gravy-making is an inexact science. Cream gravy is supposed to be thick, but if you think it's too thick, add more liquid until you're satisfied with it.

I only did 2 chicken breasts, and they cooked for maybe about 11 minutes on high heat once they browned on both sides. I pulled the pan from the stove once3 I turned down the heat so I could cool the pan a little quicker. The chicken was crispy and golden brown on the outside, not bad for a first time fryer, it was juicy and cooked through on the inside. The only thing was I didn't like how you season the chicken and then do the dredging, I think I should (if I try this recipe again) season the flour with some salt, pepper, maybe a little Old Bay or Garlic powder, paprika, oregano, basil and or Italian seasoning, Col Sanders secret recipe, etc. I thought the breading on the outside was rather bland, so seasoning the flour I think is the way to go.

This gravy recipe thickened REALLY fast for me. Therefore, I need to make sure if I do this again that I have the milk and water ready before the gravy goes on the stove. I added a lot of salt and pepper to flavor the gravy up, I also added some garlic powder, and once I added that I did not add additional salt. I think seasoning the flour would help here as it would add additional flavors to the flour in the gravy and maybe I wouldn't have to add more.