Beast's Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Fried chicken, collard greens, mac salad, glazed carrots.. what better way for a southern boy to make his belly happy? Franklin had a blast helping me make the chicken, and it was good to cook with him.

Ingredients

1 (3 1/2 pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 cups buttermilk
Salt
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon Lawry's seasoning salt

Toss the chicken, buttermilk and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate, 1 hour.

Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360.

Mix the flour, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the garlic powder in a shallow bowl. Remove the dark meat from the buttermilk, shake off the excess and roll in the flour mixture. Shake off the excess flour, place in the hot oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes (adjust the heat as needed). Drain on paper towels.

Beast's Buttermilk Fried Pork Chops

Beast's Buttermilk Fried Pork Chops

Who doesn't like a fresh, crispy fried outter shell over a moist, delicious inner pork chop?? The secret here is the soak. You MUST let them sit in the buttermilk. The acidity in the buttermilk helps break down the connective tissue in the chop, for a tender, wonderful chunk of meat!

INGREDIENTS 

6 center-cut pork chops (standard cut approx 1/2 inch thick)
1 cup buttermilk (out of buttermilk? Click HERE for some great news)
2 cups flour
cooking oil
Lawry's seasoning salt
black pepper


DIRECTIONS
Sprinkle both sides of pork chops lightly with seasoning salt. I like Lawry's, but Garlic & Pepper Seasoning salt is good, so is Old Bay.

Place chops into a ziplock bag and pour in the buttermilk. Squeeze air out of the bag before you close it, and mush it around a little to make sure that all chops are coated with the buttermilk. Let it soak for at least an hour, or it can soak in the fridge for several hours.

In a pie plate, mix together flour, 1/8 tsp black pepper, and 1/2 tsp seasoning salt. Add more or less seasoning to your taste. I season the hell out of it. I like Lawry's It's the Southern in me.

Heat oil in a large heavy frying pan to medium high heat. Cas iron is your friend, here. Oil should reach slightly less than 1/2 inch deep in the pan.

Drain the extra buttermilk from the chops. Dip buttermilk coated chops in flour mixture making sure that it is completely coated. Repeat with all chops.

When oil is hot, add chops and let cook uncovered for about 2 minutes. Turn down heat to medium low and let cook uncovered until bottoms are browned and red juices start to accumulate over the bones.

Turn over with tongs, cover pan with a lid, then turn down heat slightly and let cook until browned on the bottoms.

Transfer to a sheet of crinkled foil. Wrap foil loosely around chops and let rest for about 5 minutes.

I like to serve mine with fried potatoes n onions, and a garden salad.

Nom.

Making a Substitute for Buttermilk

How many times have you found yourself in desperate need of pancakes, but without the requisite buttermilk in the fridge? Or there's the other scenario: You want to make a recipe, but you're reluctant to buy an entire carton of buttermilk when you only need a half-cup. For either situation, I have a solution: It's easy to make a very quick buttermilk substitute in less than 10 minutes.

Why Do We Need Buttermilk Anyway?
Whether we're talking pancakes or quick breads, the role of buttermilk in almost any baking recipe is to add tenderness and lighten the batter. Once the acids in the buttermilk get in contact with the baking soda or baking powder in the batter, a giant fizz-fest takes place. The reaction with the baking soda (or powder) cancels out the sourness of the buttermilk, leaving our baked goods airy, tender, and tasty beyond reckoning.

Making a Substitute for Buttermilk
If we don't have buttermilk in the fridge, the closest substitute would be another dairy product with a little acidity added — milk with a spoonful of lemon juice or white vinegar does the job quite nicely. This mixture won't get as thick and creamy as buttermilk, but it will perform its role in the batter just as well. Incidentally, yogurt or sour cream thinned with milk (or plain water, in a pinch) also work well as buttermilk substitutes.

Thank goodness for buttermilk substitutes, because a good pancake craving should never go unsatisfied.

Measure 1 scant cup of milk. Stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar.

Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. When it is ready, the milk will be slightly thickened.

You will also see small curdled bits. This substitute will not become as thick as regular buttermilk; you will also not notice the curdled bits in your finished recipe. Use this substitute as you would buttermilk in your recipe.

Other Buttermilk Substitutes:
Yogurt: Mix 3/4 cup plain yogurt with 1/4 cup water to thin. Use as you would buttermilk.
Sour cream: Mix 3/4 cup sour cream with 1/4 cup plain water to thin. Use as you would buttermilk.
Kefir: Thin kefir as needed with milk or plain water until it reaches the consistency of buttermilk. Use as you would buttermilk.
Cream of tartar: Mix 1 cup of milk with 1 3/4 teaspoons cream of tartar. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes until slightly thickened and curdled.