I miss my grandmother. I miss the simplicity of my grandparents life. They kept a routine. It was simple and it was stable.
My grandfather would get up and have coffee with my grandmother. They would talk about things like bills, business that needed to be attended to, and then chit chat. That was the start to every single day.
My grandfather would then go outside to his toolshed or he would go and do the yard work and my grandmother would get ready to prepare the evening meal. She would make trips outside to their freezer or to grab a jar of something she had canned from the gardens wares from previous years.
She would plan on cooking and serving at least three vegetables, along with fried cornbread and potatoes that came automatically with every single meal. Believe me there were no complaints.
My grandparents always had a garden. When I was a little girl, they ate supper around five o'clock and then after the evening news my grandfather would go and weed it and bring in fresh produce from it.
I remember Maw spreading newspapers on the floor and there seemed to be tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and purple hull peas as far as the eye could see, so to speak. We ate from that garden for sometime.
There was always fresh vegetables on the table from Maw and Big Daddy's garden. Rich red tomato slices, cucumbers, and onions were plated and graced almost every meal. A typical dinner would consist of fried chicken, homemade cream corn, black eyed or purple hull peas, fried cornbread, fried potatoes ( my grandfather had to have them every meal), fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and sweet onion cut into wedges.
I have NEVER had fried chicken as good as my grandmothers. Maw did not like for you to be 'under' her in the kitchen and many of my grandmother's recipes live on in my mother's mind, but few do I have memories of. The reason I am writing this post today is to pick Momma's brain and try to capture and keep some of the treasured recipes of my grandmother, which includes this incredible fried chicken recipe!
I have tried all types of recipes and none compare to Maw's! As close as I have gotten has been fried chicken from Brookshire Brothers, but alas, it is not the same.
When I first asked my mother how to do it 'Maw's way', I was expecting something much more complicated. Surely there was a secret ingredient thrown in like nutmeg or something! When my mother told me the recipe, it seemed too simple. Surely nothing this good could be this simple and easy! As always, Momma was right. I hope you give it a try and enjoy it as much as my family has!
Maw's Fried Chicken
1 fryer, cut up
4 cups flour (or more for coating the chicken)
salt and pepper
vegetable oil (enough to fry the chicken in your skillet...I use a cast iron, but any skillet will do...I fill mine almost 3/4 of the way to the top.)
Spread wax paper on your countertop...it should be big enough to spread the flour on. Place your chicken pieces on another piece of wax paper and salt and pepper it to taste. Let the chicken sit at room temperature for fifteen minutes or until the salt is melted. Don't let it sit longer than 20 minutes because it can spoil easily!! After the salt has melted, ROLL each chicken piece in the flour until all sides are coated. You may have to roll it more than once. ROLLING instead of dredging creates a different type of 'batter' consistency that is to die for! Have your burner set on medium high while you roll the chicken. Put it to the side and let your oil get hot. Drop each flour coated piece into the hot oil CAREFULLY! You may gently shake any of the excess flour off but keep it to a minimum or you will end up losing it all. Fry the chicken on each side until it is done on the inside and golden brown on the outside. Do NOT put a lid on your pan while frying. You know your chicken is done when you pierce it with a fork and the juices run clear.
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