Country Fried Chicken

     Country Fried Chicken is a delicious meal to make at home.  I had never made this recipe before, and I had no problems with it.

     I started by cutting off the wings with my kitchen shears.  At first, cutting was kind of tricky because I had to dislocate the bones before I started to cut the meat off.  But after I got a hang of it, it became easier.  I then cut off both of the thighs using the same technique.  The last step of cutting the chicken was to cut off the breasts.  I first separated the back from the breasts and set it aside.  After that, I cut straight down the middle of the breasts to make them easier to cook.

    After I got all of my chicken cut up, I started on the brine.  First, I got out the dry buttermilk and added water to it, mixing until all of the lumps were blended.  I then measured out the correct amounts of thyme (oregano), salt, and pepper and added them to the buttermilk.  Once everything was well mixed, I added my chicken to the brine.  Because we had a limited time, we covered the chicken and put it in the fridge to marinate.

    The next day, it was time to cook the chicken.  The first thing I did was put the oil in the electric skillet and preheat it to 350 degrees.  I also preheated the oven to 350 degrees as well.  While I was waiting for the oil to heat up, I started on the coating.  I combined the flour, salt, Cajun seasoning, and pepper in a large bowl.  Once it was blended and the oil was heated, I started to coat my chicken.  I made sure every part of the chicken was well covered because the coating helps give it flavor.  To avoid splatter, I used tongs to gently set the chicken in the hot oil.  After a few minutes or until the chicken was golden brown, I flipped them over. 

    When all of the chicken was done, I set them on a cooling rack that was placed on a cookie sheet.  I then put the chicken in the oven to finish cooking.  After about 30 minutes, I checked the chicken's temperature.  When the internal temperature was at 165 degrees, I took the chicken out to cool.

   After the chicken was cooled, I got my first taste of it.  It was delicious!  I absolutely loved how juicy and moist the chicken was.  It was heaven compared to the dry, disgusting chicken they serve at school.  I also really enjoyed the coating, it was crispy, just the way I like it.  The one thing I didn't like was the skin.  I am not a fan of fat on my meat, so I just picked it off.

This recipe was fun and not too challenging to cook.  I may just try to make it for supper at home!