L ifestyle /C ulture
Southern Fried Chicken and Carrot Slaw
F OO D
green salad and some carrot
slaw. The carrots were oh-so-
I HAD A HANKERING for fresh, having been bought that
fried chicken last week. This day at the farmers market, and
happens about once a year.

the slaw complemented the
The chicken is delicious but chicken nicely.

— like all fried food — is best
enjoyed in small doses and on SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN
rare occasions.

Serves 2-4
Oftentimes, a fried chicken
dinner is accompanied by The traditional version of this
biscuits, gravy,
mashed recipe uses buttermilk as the
potatoes, onion rings — all marinade, but for kosher and
of which are delicious indul- kosher-style diners, this is
gences. But on top of the a problem. Instead, you can
fried chicken, these heavy, substitute a nondairy milk,
dense dishes leave me feeling mayonnaise mixed with water
somewhere between stuffed or oil.

and ill.

The technique I used to
I managed to avoid that finish cooking the chicken in
fate on the Sunday in question the oven was a cinch; one of the
when I concocted the idea of challenges with frying chicken
serving the chicken with a is ensuring that it is cooked
KERI WHITE | JE FOOD COLUMNIST
through without cutting it
open or piercing it with a meat
thermometer. If it’s done, you
have let some of the flavor and
juice escape; if it’s not, you are
putting a cut piece back into
the sizzling fat. Neither is a
great option.

I used two large bone-in
breasts, which I cut into three
pieces each for a total of six
pieces. This served two of us
generously with two pieces
left for lunch the next day.

Quantities can be adjusted for
your crowd as needed, and you
can substitute the cuts that
you prefer, such as drumsticks,
wings, etc. The cooking time
may slightly vary if the pieces
are thinner and smaller.

For the chicken:
2 large bone-in chicken
breasts, cut in 2 or 3
Southern fried chicken
pieces, each about the
size of a woman’s fist
½ cup mayonnaise mixed
with ½ cup water to
achieve a milk-like
consistency 1 onion, sliced
mvp64 / iStock / Getty Images Plus
½ jalapeno pepper, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
For the coating:
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
For the frying:
6-8 cups canola oil or solid
vegetable shortening
such as Crisco; it should
be about 1½ inches deep
in the pan
In a large zip-seal bag, mix
all the marinade ingredients
and place the chicken in the
bag to coat. Marinate it for 2-24
hours. About 2 hours before
cooking, remove the bag from
the refrigerator and allow it to
come to room temperature.

Mix the coating ingredients
in another large zip-seal bag
and shake the bag to mix.

Place a wire rack on a
baking tray and, one piece at
a time, shake off the marinade
and place the chicken in the
flour mixture, shake it to coat,
remove it and place on the rack.

Heat your oven to 275
degrees F. Heat the oil in a large
cast-iron skillet or similarly
heavy pan with a lid. When the
oil reaches 350 degrees F (use
a candy thermometer) place
See Chicken, Page 22
16 NOVEMBER 4, 2021
JEWISH EXPONENT
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM