Smothered Chicken

If you’re not from the south, you might not have ever heard of this dish.  And if you’re not from the south, you might find it difficult to appreciate this dish, until you give it a try.  This is not low fat, low calorie, and definitely not low carbs.  It’s not something that you want to eat everyday.  In saying that, this is the kind of food that I was raised on.  Good down south chicken with rice and a vegetable.  Usually, for my family at least, Smothered Chicken is served with Rice and Green Beans.  I posted this recipe on a web site a few years ago, and I was sad to see people using boneless, skinless chicken breast.  And mashed potatoes.

I literally had to separate myself from this recipe in terms of how it ‘should’ be made and eaten.  When my recipes are changed, it usually doesn’t bother me at all.  Really.  But for some reason, I had to really come to terms with people making this ‘healthier’….  I’m ok with it now.  It really is ok.  I don’t know what your situation is.  Maybe you or someone you’re cooking for has to eat healthier but want’s to enjoy some southern cooking.  How can I fault anyone changing my recipes to fit their needs?

Anyway…I hope you give this a try.  And change it any way you want if you so desire.

This is one of my favorite southern dishes that I grew up with.  I hope you like it!!

Ingredients

1 stick butter

1 chicken, cut up

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 cup AP flour

1  lg onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups carrots, chopped

3 cups chicken broth

3 tbsp AP flour

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp salt

Directions

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Thoroughly mix the salt, pepper and garlic powder with the 3/4 cup of flour.  Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, and brown the chicken in the butter on all sides.  Once all the chicken is browned, remove from the pan and put in a baking dish.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Drain all but 1 tbsp of butter from the pan and add the onion, carrot, garlic and celery.  Cook until softened; about 7 minutes.  Add the flour to the vegetables and mix together.  Cook for another 5 minutes, then add the chicken stock.  Increase the heat to medium-high and cook stock and vegetables for another 5 minutes.  The stock should thicken slightly.

Pour the stock over the chicken and cover with foil.  Place in oven and cook until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear, about 35-40 minutes.

 

BBQ Rub—Kansas City Style

This is probably the best rub around.  Mind you, it’s the sweet kind, and is best on Pork or Chicken.  Not too sure if you’d want to try this on Beef.  The key to using this rub is to cook your meat low and slow.  You don’t want the sugar to burn. 

Cook low and slow, mop your meat with some bbq sauce (though any meat is very good with just the rub!) and serve.  Yummy, yummy, yummy!!

Note:  This recipe can easily be adjusted to suit your personal taste.  It’s very user friendly!!

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup paprika

1/2 tbsp salt

1/2 tbsp pepper

1/2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and keep in an air tight container.

 

Fried Chicken

Nearly everyone has their favorite Fried Chicken recipe.  This one has been very good to me for quite some time.  It’s flavorful and the coating comes out nice and crisp. 

If time permits, I soak my chicken in a brine or in buttermilk for a few hours.  But with this recipe, it’s not necessarily needed.

Ingredients

6 cups vegetable oil for frying 

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons ground white pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

3 eggs

1 frying chicken, cut up

Directions

Heat oil over medium heat in a deep cast iron skillet. Combine the flour, salt, peppers, and paprika in a bowl.

In another bowl, break eggs and beat until well blended.

Check temperature of oil by dropping a pinch of flour mixture in pan. If the oil bubbles rapidly around the flour, it will be the right temperature.

Dip each piece of chicken into eggs; then coat generously with the flour mixture. Let rest on a cookie rack for 30 minutes to let the coating adhere nicely to the chicken. Drop each piece into the hot oil and fry for 15 to 25 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through.

Drain chicken on paper towels and serve warm.

print this recipe here

 

Chicken Broth

Here is a recipe I found quite a few years ago, and have used frequently.  If you have the cookbook ‘Cucina Rustica’  penned by Viana La Place and Evan Kleiman, then you have this recipe.  It’s on page 118. 

This is a simple, versatile, and flavorful broth that can be used as a base for soups (as pictured to the left), sauces, and from time to time, for moistening braised dishes or pasta sauces.  Hint:  If you want the broth to be richly colored, leave the peel on the onion.  It will add a deep burnished-gold color to the broth.

Ingredients

  

1 medium stewing chicken

1 lb chicken backs and necks

Water

2 carrots, trimmed and peeled

3 celery stalks, washed and trimmed

3 sprigs Italian parsley with stems

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 small onion

1 bay leaf

5-10 peppercorns

Directions

 

Wash the chicken carefully, rinsing out any blood that remains in the cavity, and gently pull of any extra fat attached to the breast or tail area.  Place the whole chicken and backs and necks in a large, heavy soup pot.   Cover chicken completely with water.  Bring to a boil and skim off the scum that rises to the top.  When there is no more scum, add the remaining ingredients and lower the heat. 

Barely simmer the broth, uncovered or partly covered, for 2 hours.  Strain the broth and either use it immediately or refrigerate it for later use.  When broth is well chilled, carefully lift off the congealed chicken fat and discard.

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Madras Curry Fried Chicken

 This is a recipe I found on the web posted by ‘Foreign Cinema’.  Foreign Cinema is a restaurant in San Francisco, and was very nice to share this recipe.  Cuz this chicken is hella good!!

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tbsp, plus 1 tsp Madras Curry Powder

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1/8 tsp Red Chili Flakes

1 pinch Sugar

1 (3 lb) Chicken, cut into 8 pieces

3 tsp Kosher Salt, divided

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 tsp Black Pepper

3 cups Buttermilk

Directions

Mix together 3 tbsp curry powder, garlic powder, chili flakes and sugar.  Season the chicken with the curry mixture and 2 tsp salt.  Cover; refrigerate overnight.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, pepper, remaining 1 tsp curry powder and the remaining 1 tsp salt.

Dip the chicken in the buttermilk, and then throughly coat with the flour mixture.

In a fryer preheated to 300f, fry chicken until golden brown and cooked through.

Transfer the chicken to a sheet pan; let rest 4 minutes before serving.

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Just a side note….

 The recipe above is as written by the Foreign Cinema restaurant.  My variation is as follows… 

I don’t marinade it overnight, because by the time I would make it the next day, which would be in the evening, I think the marinade would be too strong for my liking.  I usually prepare it in the morning, and let it sit for about 8 or 9 hours.   At the 7′ish hour mark, I pour enough buttermilk to cover the chicken, and let it set for another couple hours.  I also use about 2 cups of panko, and 2 cups of flour; mixed together with about 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tbsp salt, 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tbsp red pepper.  This adds more flavor, and the panko makes for a great crunchy coating. 

These are just my preferences.    I wanted to keep the integrity of the recipe by publishing it as written by the creator. 

print this recipe here