See Also: Chicken / Poultry · Cooking Club · Main Dishes
Fried Chicken with Milk Gravy
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com.
2-4 chicken breasts or thighs or drumsticks, or combination as desired
1/4 cup all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
3/4 - 1 cup dried bread or cracker crumbs
1/3 cup unsalted butter, or lard, or other oil as desired
2 tablespoons of the pan drippings (add more butter if needed)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk (warmed a bit is a good idea)
salt and pepper as needed
Wash and pat the chicken pieces dry, removing the skin if desired, but is not necessary if you want to have it old-fashioned traditional! Place flour, salt and pepper in a flat dish or deep bowl. Whisk thoroughly. Toss the chicken pieces into the flour mixture to coat completely. In another bowl whisk the egg and water. Dip each flour coated piece into the egg mixture. Then dip each into the bread crumbs and place on a rack while you coat the rest.
Heat the butter or lard (or a combination) in a heavy bottomed fry pan. (cast iron is great for this) When nice and hot but not smoking hot, slowly add the chicken pieces, do not crowd them. Brown on all sides for several minutes. Use tongs to turn them, do not puncture with a fork. When all sides are nicely browned (could take 10-12 minutes), reduce heat to medium low and cook slowly until tender, about 35-40 minutes. A lid makes them more moist and they will cook more evenly. Very small pieces can usually cook just fine without a lid. I usually use a lid for about 20 minutes, then remove it to allow excess moisture to evaporate and to make the chicken more crispy. When chicken is done, remove pieces to a platter. Now make the gravy! There should be about 2 tablespoons of pan drippings left in the pan. Add more butter if needed. Whisk the flour into the hot pan drippings, bringing up all of the browned bits in the pan. Regulate the heat just right to begin browning the flour a bit. DO NOT LET THE FLOUR BURN! Then gradually whisk in the warm milk and cook 1-2 minutes to thicken and to cook the flour. Serve with the chicken, along with mashed potatoes, or rice if desired!
Recipe created 2012-05-11.
