For those not blessed to be Southern, it's a common tradition to eat leafy greens and black eyed peas on New Year's Day. Neither of which Dan and I had on hand, so we picked up some fresh peas and spinach (collards are more traditional, but I was in a spinach mood). Tradition, however, does not dictate an entree. Pork is common, but not required. Not feeling all that pork-inclined, I determined I would start the new year with a new culinary experience.
I decided to make fried chicken.
I've never made fried chicken. I'm still pretty darn new to the frying thing and find it somewhat intimidating still. But I whipped out my Alton Brown and followed the directions (well, as much as I can follow directions). The end result?
Numminess!
There are a couple things I'd tweak next time, but it was good enough to ensure that there would be a next time. And even more of a bonus, now I know what I can do with the blocks of lard I got when Dad and I bought and split a pig!
Mmm, a New Year's dinner of chicken fried in lard. Notice on my previous post that weight loss is not one of my goals? (Okay, it probably should be. Especially if I keep frying things in lard for the rest of this year.)
Sounds like part of that tradition should be the family dinner at YOUR house on New Year's Day! :)
ReplyDeleteMy fried chicken would have been total worth the drive! (As long as we weren't the ones driving! Hehe!)
DeleteThat looks great, I love dark leafy greens, and I love black eyed peas too. Last week, I made fried chicken for my 9yo daughter. That didn't last long. I usually pan fry it for her.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many uses for lard, you can even use it in soap making. I tend to use the more 'exotic' carrier oils, but the next batch I've been thinking about using lard. It gives great creamy lather to soaps.
Thanks! I'm still new to the whole cooking thing, slowly becoming more and more adventurous. Sometimes, though, it means I end up with things I'm not sure what to do with! :)
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