The Fried Chicken Experience

What a great subject to post for my very first blog ever...juicy, tender, delicious fried chicken! Man, I love a good fried chicken! I have caught myself on numerous occasions catching the golden scent of a fried chicken in the air while walking or driving around somewhere even if there is no fried chicken in direct sight. It could really exist somewhere in my vicinity, or it could just be a deep craving my imagination conjures up to encourage me to seek out this tasty, tasty treat. I recently made my first homemade fried chicken the only way it should be made...with generous scoops of pure lard liquified hot in a cast iron skillet! Lard...for the obvious reasons, you probably shouldn't cook with every day. But once in a while it's OK to indulge for a fantastic fried chicken. You've earned it! The ingredients are cheap and the results are unforgettable.

Let's get cookin'!

Fried Chicken with Diced Ham Risotto

chicken:

1 whole chicken (cut eight ways or purchased precarved by your butcher)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 eggs

2 tablespoon hot sauce

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon dry italian herb seasoning

salt and pepper

lard

directions: Put enough lard to fill about half of a cast iron skillet and begin heating it up to 350 degrees (a candy thermometer works great the monitor the lard temp). While the lard heats, sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken pieces. Whisk the eggs with the hot sauce. Mix the paprika and italian herbs with the flour. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg mix and then coat them in the flour mix. When the oil is at temperature, begin frying in batches. The chicken should not be completely submerged in the lard. Turn chicken occasionally to even browning until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Place chicken on a wire rack on a baking tray in an oven preheated to 170 degrees while you finish cooking the rest of the chicken.

risotto:

1 1/3 cup aborio rice

2 14 oz cans chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine

8 oz. diced ham

3 garlic cloves

1/2 red onion diced

1 bell pepper diced

6 oz. parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons butter

2 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

directions: Melt butter in a saucepan over med/high heat. Add garlic, onions, bell pepper, salt and pepper and saute, about 5 minutes. Add diced ham and saute, about 2 minutes. Add rice and stir to mix in pan, about two minutes. Lower heat to med/low and add white wine. Stir occasionally until most of the liquid has been absorbed into the rice. Continue stirring and adding the chicken broth one cup at a time until all of the liquid has been absobed. Add cheese and stir to combine. Enjoy!