Oh Yeah, That’s Good!

What it is about Southern Food Day that makes me crave fried chicken. I know, there’s more to Southern Cooking than just fried chicken. Yet it ranks right up there among my favorite things to eat.

Growing up, Dad’s fried Chicken was a Sunday supper stable. I can remember many a rainy Sunday afternoon gathered round the table with extended family and giving thanks for Dad’s fried chicken. Just as I recall summer days when we ate our chicken supper at a big picnic table under the shade of a big back yard tree. The best part of summer suppers had to be our home-grown corn.

When I was a kid my favorite was the breast meat. It had nice flavor without the gamey taste of dark meat. These days I pass on the breast meat. I really don’t know what has happened to chickens, but the taste seems to hae been bred right out of them. White meat is flavorless, and dark meat not nearly as gamey. If I could get Hubby to travel less, I’d like to raise our own chickens. Although I’d want them strictly for the eggs like when I was a kid, and not for their meat. I’m not sure I could wring their necks or watch them run about with their heads chopped off. And then there are all those feathers to deal with. Na, the more I think about it, the more I’d rather not raise chickens.

Back to cooking – if you are frying chicken, that big cast iron skillet is a must. Nearly half my skillets are cast iron. Maybe it’s a throw back from childhood, but I can’t imagine making chicken in anything else.

Oh, and one final note, this recipe was intended for 8 bone-in thighs. When checking the freezer, Hubby discovered we only had one package of thighs remaining, and several packages of legs. Rather than buy more thighs, we simple used a combination of legs and thighs. Delicious!

Perfect Cast-Iron Chicken
3 Chicken Thighs with skin
4 Chicken Legs
2 tablespoons Mesquite Seasoning
Kosher Salt to taste
Fresh Black Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Heat oven to 475-degrees. Place Mesquite Seasoning into a small bowl. Add salt and pepper, stir to mix seasonings together.

Gently pull skin back on the legs and thighs, exposing the meat while keeping the skin attached. Season chicken all over with the seasoning mix. Pull skin back into place, season with remaining spices.

Heat oil in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat until hot but not yet smoking. Nestle chicken in the skillet, skin side down, and cook 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, continue to cook skin side down, occasionally rearrange the chicken and rotating the pan to maintain even heat distribution and render the fat, about 12 minutes.

Transfer skillet to the heated oven, cook about 12 minutes longer. Flip chicken, skin side up, and continue to oven fry until thighs are cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Let rest for 5 minutes. For a rustic presentation, serve straight from the skillet.

Perfect with Classic Mashed Potatoes, Chicken Stock Gravy and Buttery Corn.

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You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.