there is a constant refrain that cast iron is too difficult or fussy for the modern kitchen. I hear terrible stories of people preferring non-stick things skillets that require only wooden or plastic utensils, lest the coating come scrapping off into your food. Cast iron is old {I bet you have one that was your grandmother's, languishing in your cupboard} for a reason. It works.
True, you can't throw it in your dishwasher. However, you just need to throw it in some soapy dishwater, rub it out with a dishrag, or attack any crusty bits with a metal or sponge scrubby. Rise, heat on the stove until the moisture steams away, then put it away. Nothing to it. Soap won't hurt it. You might want to oil or season it, but that's what cooking does.
I cook almost exclusively in cast iron. Exceptions: boiling water, boiling gravy, boiling vegetables. You can use it for those, too, but a pot makes for a bit easier use. Still, even with all the things I use my great-grandmother's cast iron skillet for {bacon! steak! onions! stir-fry! eggs! pressed sandwiches! pancakes!} I'd never fired chicken in it. We have an electric frier for that sort of thing.
Then came our To Kill a Mockingbird Book Club southern supper meeting. It is traditional in the South to fry chicken is a cast iron skillet, turning once or twice until the chicken has a crispy crust and is done through. It is tradition, so I wanted to try. {that, and there is a pivotal and delightful scene in Justified where Ava offers to cook fried chicken for Raylan, only Boyd shows up instead...a lip-licking Timothy Olyphant is delightful and delicious. see also my "television: mad men vs. justified" post} I really wanted to try.
So I did. I broke out the cast iron, slightly modified our typical fried chicken, and fed the girls something finger lickin' good.
Skillet Fried Chicken (feeds four)
4 deboned chicken breasts, with the skin still on, butterflied (or four pieces of your choice)
2 cups whole milk
juice of 1 lemon
1 egg
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cracked pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup shortening
1 tablespoon butter
mix together the milk, egg, and lemon juice in a casserole dish, then add in the chicken pieces. Refridgerate, covered, for at least one hour, up to eight hours.
Heat up the oils in the skillet {12 inches in diameter. If your skillet is smaller, use less oil and cook the chicken in batches} until they snap back when a drop of water is added.
Mix the dry breading ingredients in a set of doubled grocery bags. Dredge the chicken in the dry ingredients, then place gently in the skillet, skin side down.
Flip each piece after fifteen minutes, then check doneness after another ten. Depending on the amount of chicken in the skillet and the heat of your oil, the total cooking time per breast will vary from twenty minutes total to nearly forty minutes. Continue to turn the chicken to keep from burning any one side. The juices will run clear when the meat is cooked.
"Be well. Do good work. Keep in touch." - Garrison Keillor
True, you can't throw it in your dishwasher. However, you just need to throw it in some soapy dishwater, rub it out with a dishrag, or attack any crusty bits with a metal or sponge scrubby. Rise, heat on the stove until the moisture steams away, then put it away. Nothing to it. Soap won't hurt it. You might want to oil or season it, but that's what cooking does.
I cook almost exclusively in cast iron. Exceptions: boiling water, boiling gravy, boiling vegetables. You can use it for those, too, but a pot makes for a bit easier use. Still, even with all the things I use my great-grandmother's cast iron skillet for {bacon! steak! onions! stir-fry! eggs! pressed sandwiches! pancakes!} I'd never fired chicken in it. We have an electric frier for that sort of thing.
Then came our To Kill a Mockingbird Book Club southern supper meeting. It is traditional in the South to fry chicken is a cast iron skillet, turning once or twice until the chicken has a crispy crust and is done through. It is tradition, so I wanted to try. {that, and there is a pivotal and delightful scene in Justified where Ava offers to cook fried chicken for Raylan, only Boyd shows up instead...a lip-licking Timothy Olyphant is delightful and delicious. see also my "television: mad men vs. justified" post} I really wanted to try.
So I did. I broke out the cast iron, slightly modified our typical fried chicken, and fed the girls something finger lickin' good.
Skillet Fried Chicken (feeds four)
4 deboned chicken breasts, with the skin still on, butterflied (or four pieces of your choice)
2 cups whole milk
juice of 1 lemon
1 egg
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cracked pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup shortening
1 tablespoon butter
mix together the milk, egg, and lemon juice in a casserole dish, then add in the chicken pieces. Refridgerate, covered, for at least one hour, up to eight hours.
Heat up the oils in the skillet {12 inches in diameter. If your skillet is smaller, use less oil and cook the chicken in batches} until they snap back when a drop of water is added.
Mix the dry breading ingredients in a set of doubled grocery bags. Dredge the chicken in the dry ingredients, then place gently in the skillet, skin side down.
Flip each piece after fifteen minutes, then check doneness after another ten. Depending on the amount of chicken in the skillet and the heat of your oil, the total cooking time per breast will vary from twenty minutes total to nearly forty minutes. Continue to turn the chicken to keep from burning any one side. The juices will run clear when the meat is cooked.
"Be well. Do good work. Keep in touch." - Garrison Keillor
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