Directions: |
Directions:Sharpen your knife on a crock or use a knife sharpener, if needed. Place the chicken on its back, legs up and using the knife cut the thigh away from the body of the chicken, cutting at the joint, then at the joint cut the leg from the thigh. Do both sides then where the wing attaches to the body cut it from the body, also. Then cut the body down each side, cut the breast along the back bone, throw the breast bone away, take the back and fry or cut into from side to side. (OR the easy way is ask the computer, it knows how to do everything, right). Heat the oil in a pan; while it is heating, put your flour in a bag or on a plate, then season with salt and pepper. Add the pieces of the chicken and make sure it is covered with flour and seasonings. Then place the chicken in the hot oil, then turn the oil down a little, careful not to let it splatter all over you. As soon as the chicken is browned on one side, turn it over. As soon as the chicken is browned, place all the pieces back in the pan, cover with lid, turn the stove down and let the chicken finish cooking. In the meantime, fix potatoes, vegetables, a salad and rolls or bread. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: When I was a kid, you bought whole chickens, they didn't come in pieces on a Styrofoam tray, wrapped and labeled. Watching Mama fix her chicken was ok, but eating it still brings back memories. I've tried, but as hard or even as often as I try, I haven't succeeded!! Mama is a hard act to follow. It helps that our spouses and children had the privilege of growing up, eating it when visiting, only having it when visiting, they don't realize we, the cooks, didn't quite make it right. Mama fixed with it either mashed potatoes, if we ate at home, or potato salad if we were going fishing, or on a picnic. Mama worked with chickens as a child, and developed a major lung problem, that corrected itself but left scars. One year I decided I wanted to kill and butcher chickens for my family, so I bought 12 live chickens, took them to Mama's where Bobby, my husband killed the chickens and we plucked them, cleaned them up and wrapped, to freeze, them. None of this was fun! Mama told me she couldn't do this again, it set her lungs off. I told her, don't worry, I won't ask again and gave her the wrapped chickens. After killing, plucking, cleaning, wrapping and freezing them, I didn't want them. Fresh chickens are tough, like a wild bird. Don't understand how the stores put easy chickens to cook out. Maybe it is a mind thing, all I can say is I tried!! Mama and Daddy encouraged me to try anything I wanted. They, for being raised in hard families, Mama with her Mama dying when she was 5, her Dad wasn't an easy man, but when you're left with 8 children ranging in age from 15 to 2 years, you, as a dad, are almost overwhelmed. Mama's oldest sister, Lee, became Mama and did a fantastic job. Daddy was raised by a very religious man that felt most things Daddy did deserved a beating almost daily and his Mama held the door shut so Daddy couldn't get away. He left home at 15, returned for short stays but never came back. In fact, when Daddy returned from WWII, his parents had been told he was missing in action, the news he was ok didn't get to them before he did. When he knocked on their door, his Mom was completely white headed and all she could do was cry and say, "My baby, My baby is not dead." First time Daddy knew he was loved. But we all knew we were loved, valued and appreciated, allowed to be seen and heard and encouraged to be all God made us to be. Sometimes the encouragement took the form of a spanking, but never a beating!! As the oldest of us 5, I was allowed to be a kid all my childhood and never expected to be Mama to my sisters and brother. God richly blessed us with wonderful parents!!!
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