Amy Thielen's recipe Click here for PDF

FRIED CHICKEN AND GRAVY

Missy may know a lot about cars, but she sure can't cook.
In Sherri's Christian romance Fried Chicken and Gravy,
her character Missy Stuart tries to make fried chicken and gravy just like her mother used to.

Cookbook Author: Amy Thielen Serves: 4 to 5

INGREDIENTS

  • • 1 x 4- to 4½-pound chicken, cut into 10 pieces
  • • 3 cloves garlic, smashed
  • • about 2 cups lard or canola oil, for frying
  • • Mashed potatoes, for serving
Marinade:
  • • 1 cup buttermilk
  • • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • • 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
  • • 4 garlic cloves, smashed
Chicken Coating:
  • • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • • 1 cup finely ground buttery crackers, such as Ritz or Club
    (about 1 sleeve)
  • • 1 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • • 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
For the Gravy:
  • • 1 small bunch fresh sage
  • • 5 teaspoons flour
  • • 2 1/2 cups chicken stock, low-sodium store-bought or homemade

INSTRUCTIONS

  • 1. Put the chicken pieces in a large bowl, and add the buttermilk, salt, pepper, the thyme, and 4 of the garlic cloves. Marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature or, refrigerated, overnight.
  • 2. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and set a baking sheet fitted with a rack on the middle shelf.
  • 3. Meanwhile, prepare the chicken coating: Combine the 1½ cups flour, the ground crackers, 1¾ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and the paprika in a large bowl. One at a time, take the chicken pieces from the buttermilk and dunk them in the flour dredge, pressing hard to make the coating adhere to every spot. Set aside on a plate
  • 4.In a large, high-sided cast-iron pan, add lard or oil to a depth of 1 inch. Heat over medium-high heat until a droplet of water sprinkled on the surface sizzles loudly.
  • 5. Give the chicken pieces a fresh roll in the flour mixture if they’ve absorbed it, and add as many pieces of the dark meat (thighs, wings, and drumsticks) as will fit comfortably in the pan. Fry, turning as needed, until all sides turn dark golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the cooked chicken to the baking sheet in the oven. Continue frying the rest, saving the white breast meat until last, and being careful not to burn the residue forming at the bottom of the pan; that’s your gravy base. When it is browned, add the chicken to the baking sheet. (Ideally the dark meat should bake in the oven for about 20 minutes and the light meat for about 10 minutes, until cooked through.)
  • 6. For the Gravy:  Pour the fat in the pan into an empty saucepan (a safe place to let it cool down), and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the brown sludge at the bottom of the pan. (If any of it looks burnt, discard that as well.) Let the pan cool down for a minute. Then add the remaining 3 garlic cloves and the sage, and fry for 1 minute. Add the remaining 5 teaspoons flour and cook, stirring, until the mixture is smooth and light brown, about 2 minutes. Add the stock and whisk until smooth. Cook the gravy over low heat until it thickens softly, about 5 minutes.
  • 7. Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste, remove the garlic and sage, and pour it into a spouted pitcher to pass behind the hot chicken and the mashed potatoes.

For the full PDF:

Click here for a full PDF of the recipe and Amy's Quick Homemade Stock Recipe.

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