Fried rabbit and fried squirrel are cooked nearly the same; just handled
a little bit differently. Fried frog’s legs are another matter because
they jump around in the pan during cooking. It is best to see them fried
before trying to do so. *Fry fresh fish about the same /except/ dredge
them in seasoned cornmeal. Wash your fryers and cut them up. Dredge with
seasoned flour and let set awhile to dry on a cookie rack. Some folks
like to soak their chicken in buttermilk and then flour it, but I don’t.
When chicken is about dry and the flour is sticking to it, drop by
pieces into /hot/ lard or /hot/ bacon fat. Bacon fat can be mixed with
some vegetable oil (maybe 1/3 oil to 2/3 grease), if you wish, as that
will not drastically alter the flavor. The oil/grease has to be fairly
deep in the iron or stainless skillet. Don’t crowd the pan. Cook a batch
of chicken and keep warm while you cook the next batch if you have more
chicken than pan. One cut up fryer will fit into one 10” cast iron
frying pan without crowding too much. When chicken is brown on one side
turn it over and cook in the other side. If the fat is deep enough in
the pan, this can be done in fifteen or so minutes. An older chicken
takes longer to cook, and can be less tender. Remove the chicken from
the pan. Pour off the grease if there is too much to make cream gravy.
Brown your flour in the chicken fat drippings. Add canned milk and thin
a bit with water if necessary. Season well with salt and pepper. Serve
immediately over rice. A good dinner is fried chicken, rice, gravy,
potato salad, green beans or butter beans, sliced tomatoes and sliced
cukes. Biscuits or cornbread. Some folks make a salad of sliced fresh
tomatoes, cukes and mayo, seasoned with salt and pepper.
 
*You should never let grease smoke as the food will taste funny. Hot is
called for, not smoking unless so stated.







Back to Grandma's Cooking Corner

Back to Duplin County Page