Picnic Fried Chicken - Meemaw Eats

My husband is amazing. It’s almost 90 degrees today, and the humidity is off the charts. (My glasses fogged up when I walked out of the grocery store…You get the picture…)

So where is Fred?

He’s across the street…painting the neighbor’s house!

I’m watching him from the comfort of our air-conditioned living room. And I’m sipping an iced tea (wine later!) and I’ve decided to surprise him with some indoor picnic foods for dinner.

FRIED CHICKEN
I thawed some chicken pieces and I’ve got them soaking in buttermilk, salt, and lots of fresh ground black pepper. (I try to let the chicken pieces soak for at least several hours to allow the buttermilk to tenderize the chicken.) And I made a big bowl of my potato salad. (It’s MUCH too hot for any other kind of spud.) FYI…my potato salad recipe is already posted under SALADS on my blog.

About an hour before dinner, I coated the buttermilk soaked chicken in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper, and I added a dash of paprika too. I heated about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in the skillet. You can’t beat a cast iron skillet for frying chicken…it holds the heat and allows the chicken to cook evenly. I cooked the chicken over medium/high heat, turning pieces often to allow even cooking. COOKING TIP: Start cooking dark meat pieces first…they take longer than white meat. And overcooked chicken breasts are NOT a good thing.

When all the chicken pieces are cooked, place them on several layers of paper towel to absorb any excess grease, or place them on a cookie cooling rack on a sheet pan and place in a 200 degree oven until dinnertime…or until hubby gets out of the shower!

We started our meal with a cool salad…

And then the “PICNIC” fare…in air-conditioned comfort…

You know the old saying, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”…?
Well…I don’t buy it.

A welcome home, cool down, home cooked dinner is least I can do for a worker-bee like Fred…even when it’s hotter than H outside! (But it DOES help to have an air-conditioned kitchen…)

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