Country Fried Chicken

Country Fried Chicken, Farmers Wife Original

Hey y'all! I want to say I'm sorry if I seem absent lately, I'm working on potty training the little sous chef (he's finally starting to get it!) but it is taking a huge chunk of my time and bathroom floors are not blogging conducive... haha! But I am here, and hoping to have more posts for you this week. So for today, I'm sharing this Country Classic!

A few weeks back I had an identity crisis. Ok not really, but I felt like I was. There was little to no food in my house and I was HUNGRY! I wanted to cook, but nothing too difficult and was having a hard time trying to figure out what I could make when all I had was a few chicken tenderloins, flour, 2 potatoes, and chicken stock. Finally it clicked, Country Fried Chicken, with all the fixens! Yes I realize this is a much more labor intensive meal than I had originally planned on making, but it really was worth it. And not to mention how much fun it was to surprise my Hubby with this meal, I don't cook like this very often as it is a lot of work and more fat than I think we really need. It was so good though... lol! I don't remember eating Country Fried Chicken much before, but I know my Hubby likes it so I figured it must be good. I mean what's not to love, fried chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes and Jordan rolls? Mmmm.. ;-)

Ingredients:
6 Chicken Breast Tenderloins
2 Cups Buttermilk
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Paprika
1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Vegetable Oil

Gravy:
4 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Flour
2-3 Cups Chicken Stock
Pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning

Directions:
Pour the buttermilk into a bowl, and add the chicken tenders, let sit for about 30 minutes. In a shallow dish combine flour and spices. Using paper towels, pat the chicken dry and dredge in the flour mixture, then back into the buttermilk and then one last dredge in the flour. Place the coated chicken pieces on a plate, then in a large skillet heat about 1/2 inch of oil. Once the oil has reached 350F degrees, add your chicken pieces being sure not to overcrowd the pan. Cook about 5-8 minutes per side until the chicken is golden and the inside temperature reaches 165F degrees. Once the chicken is fully cooked, turn your oven on warm and cover a baking sheet with foil and place the chicken on top, let it stay warm in the oven while you make the gravy. For the gravy, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Once melted add the flour and whisk into a ball (this is called forming a roux). On medium heat, let this brown slightly, then add the chicken stock and seasonings. Whisk until the gravy is smooth, stirring occasionally, cook the gravy until thick and bubbly about 10-15 minutes. Taste test and add more spices if needed. Serve over the chicken and potatoes.

Review:
This chicken was incredibly moist, which is rare for me and fried chicken. I tend to dry it out. lol! The soaking in buttermilk helps SO much with this! We really enjoyed this meal, and my boys both devoured their food. So overall I'd give this a 4.5 because even though we loved it I won't make it all that often for 2 reasons, one the level of difficulty and it's a higher calorie and fat meal than I like on a regular basis.

Happy Cooking!