"aem" > said:

> Pandora wrote:
> >
> > Thank you Carol! I look at this recipe and then I will ask you something
> > because I don't understand some ingredients!
> > Thank you very much!
>
> This recipe may produce excellent results, which is the most important
> thing, but it sounds like you want to learn about "American cooking,"
> so you should know that this recipe varies from "traditional" in
> several ways. First, brining chicken is a relatively new reaction here
> in the U.S. to low quality mass produced chickens. Some people think
> that long soaking in salted water improves it. Others think that's
> wishful thinking and useless work. Second, using egg in the coating
> process is a little unusual. It's probably done here because, third,
> using a deep fryer is also unusual. The "traditional" method uses a
> big cast iron skillet with enough fat to come more than halfway up on
> the chicken pieces. Lard is probably the original fat, and some argue
> it makes the tastiest chicken, but many people now use vegetable oil.
> Made well, fried chicken deserves its long popularity. Have fun trying
> different methods. -aem

I've only made Hag's chicken once, but I've had it cooked by the Master,
herself, two other times. It's very good. Here's how I make mine:

Combine flour, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, celery
seed, and paprika (for color).

Rinse chicken pieces well, coat with flour mixture, and place into hot oil
that's deep enough to go halfway up the side of the largest chicken pieces.
Fry until coating is crisp and chicken meat is opaque and firm. Turn
pieces over and continue frying until completely cooked.

Almost everyone I know puts a cover on the chicken as it's frying. I don't
do this, because the flour mixture always turns to paste when I do.

Carol