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A little bit of southern fried

Paramed and I decided to start the New Year with a traditional Southern breakfast: country fried chicken, biscuits, and gravy. (It was a bit of a "last hoorah" before reverting back to a healthy diet.)

Paramed is the biscuit maker in our house. This go round he used a Paula Deen recipe. In his hands, he needed a little more flour (perhaps because we measure flour by weight instead of volume?), but we were out by that point. For this reason, they turned into drop biscuits, which were still quite tasty.

I always have gravy duty, as I began training for this task as a kid and have mastered its intricacies. I also took on the chicken, which turned out to be pretty friggin' awesome. Hence I will share here.

Reagents
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk (or substitute, see note at beginning of protocol)
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 thin cut chicken breast cutlets (I filet a standard boneless, skinless chicken breast through the plane)
  • Canola oil

Protocol
  • Traditionally one would use buttermilk for country fried anything. We never have buttermilk in our fridge. On this occasion, I used a 1:1 mixture of nonfat plain Greek yogurt and low-fat milk whisked together until smooth. You can also substitute 1 tablespoon lemon juice plus milk to 1 cup final volume; allow to sit for 5 to 10 min before use.
  • In a dish, whisk together the flour, salt, and pepper.
  • Coat cutlets in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in buttermilk (or alternative). Then coat in flour again, shaking off excess. Set aside.
  • Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium to medium high-heat. There should be enough oil to completely cover the bottom of the skillet with a thick layer (1/8 to 1/4 inch). 
  • Carefully place chicken in skillet. Fry on each side until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.
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