By John Lindsay, 1907 Meat Company

As I write this, my family is stuck under 19 inches of snow, and so that means we have time to make foods that we would not make on any other day . Our favorite started out as my Grandmother’s fried chicken recipe and over the years all the cooks have added something or have found a better way of doing it.  This is, of course, what I would encourage you to do.  Start basic and then add as your skill or taste demands. In our family, the recipe became the base of some awesome sandwiches, so we could feed all of our family, even the picky ones.  

I use boneless chicken thighs. You can find them at the store, or ask your butcher to cut them or you can do them yourself with a boning knife (not a chef’s knife) by just following and removing the bone.  That will help it to cook evenly and reduces cooking time.  Learning to break down a chicken is a great skill to have in a kitchen.  We will be teaching how to break down chicken as part of our series at 1907 Meat Company.

You will also need a high sided pan or a Dutch oven, which is preferred to cook in so that you can reduce splatter.  Make sure you have a lid that fits correctly on the pot just in case of flair up. For the cooking medium I would suggest lard or shortening.  I, like grandma, prefer lard as it has taste and no trans fat. You need to take you time when adding and cooking the shortening because it expands as it heats and can cause a DISASTER if you are not attentive.  Please be attentive.

If you want, you can add buttermilk for the chicken to soaking for 4-12 hours.

In one bowl: 4 large eggs, 1 cup milk, hot sauce to taste, mix and combine.

In the dry bowl: add 3 cups flour, Tbls paprika (or cayenne), Tbls black pepper, mix and combine.

When the oil is 350 degrees, start dredging the 12 thighs (deboned); dredging and cooking in batches.

Cook for 15 min or until an instant-read thermostat reads 160 when you check them.

When done put chicken on a cooling rack in an oven on warm.

Now the fun part.  You get to decide what your final product can be.

Chicken Parmesan: mozzarella, tomato sauce, parmesan cheese.

Southern style: coleslaw, or white bbq sauce.