Fried chicken

[tenngun]

This month on the Townsend colander is an eighteenth century fried chicken from England. Just tried it tonight and it was pretty tasty. However it's just as messy to make as sothren fried chicken. Should you not have a Townsend colander the recipe is on you tube Townsend channel.

 

[satx78247]

Fwiw, The TWU Sesquicentennial Cookbook, published in 1986, included well over 300 19th century recipes for EARLY Mexico/Texas recipes from the 1820-1880 era.
(One of those recipes was for fried poultry that is believed to be from the 1836-1845 Republic period.)

That recipe called for a "thin dipping batter" of 1.5 or more cups buttermilk, one raw egg beaten, a cup of wheat flour, a teaspoon of salt & enough melted lard to be 1/2" deep in the frying pan.
The dry & wet ingredients were stirred together until "smooth", then the chicken or other "serving size" pieces of other poultry were simply dipped into the thin batter, dropped into the "almost smoking hot" lard & fried until done throughout.

I've tried the recipe & it's REALLY TASTY, imo.

yours, satx

 

[tenngun]

Sounds good,luv dem old recipes

 

[Vaino]

Fried or sautéed chicken thighs formerly were my favorites but remembering back to when I spent my summers on my Gparent's survival farm in northern Minnesota and the free ranging old hens that failed to produce their quota of eggs and landed in the pot and were so tasty.

Modern mass produced chicken thighs are a big disappointment in that no matter what is used to "bread" them, they don't taste like chicken....just some nondescript meat which just tastes like the seasoned breading.

And chicken thighs as described above aren't the only gripe asre modern methods of producing meat. Always loved the taste of a good pot roast w/ veggies cooked in one of my cast iron Dutch ovens, but for many years now, the chuck roasts aren't tasty and they're tough...not the "fork tender" meat of years ago.

Sometimes when elk hunting, a herd of steers is seen in our hunting area at 10,000 feet elevation in the Rockies and the terrain is steep and they're constantly climbing. At roundup, these steers are shipped to feedlots for a period of time to "fatten up" and although this might be an economical way to produce beef, it certainly doesn't produce tasty, tender meat.

My solution? We're eating more pork, lamb, highly seasoned creations w/ lean ground beef, Perdue brand Cornish Game hens and venison.

"They" say that a person's taste buds deteriorate w/ aging and seeing I'm 85, this might be a factor, but there's nothing wrong w/ my teeth......sorry for the long "gripe"......Fred

 

[SgtErv]

Although I don't have the age to compare tastes from very long ago, I have within the past year moved into a neighborhood where the folks here produce a significant amount of food. I fully concur with Fred. The eggs are especially illustrative.

Early spring last year, the eggs were pretty darn good. Fast forward to the summer when the hens were eating hordes of cicadas, rich in protein, and the eggs were fantastic. Occasionally the neighbor would be running low and I'd get some from the store. The difference was remarkable.

Ive incorporated a lot of venison into my diet. It just tastes real, like the eggs. Ive dug up some of the yard and getting a garden in this year to grow what my neighbor doesn't.

 

[BillinOregon]

Fred, you cannot beat the deep and complex flavors of a stewing hen vs. a young chicken.

 

[crockett]

The real secret to Southern fried chicken is...
THE CHICKEN! Must be a young tender bird, free running, well fed, with a layer of fat under the skin. And fried in lard not oil- makes it more crispy.

 

[Vaino]

I agree....but where do you get such chickens?.....Fred

 

[satx78247]

Farmer's markets & (believe it or not) at many flea markets.
(I long ago lost count of the number of "kill & dress to order" chickens/ducks/keets/turkeys that I've bought from the so-called "Mexican Market"
on the Poteet Highway. -One of the vendors/Ms. Ellie DeVala even takes "custom orders" for home delivery of birds "in quantity" & ready for the pot/freezer. = "In quantity" being more than 5 birds.)

"Ethnic enclaves" in many areas of the USA have such "fresh-dressed & "free range" poultry/animals for sale.

yours, satx

 

[Loyalist Dave]

but where do you get such chickens?....

I know of two "sources". The first is a good Amish market. There are two less than an hour from my house. I can also get duck and rabbit from them, as well as young capon [tastes just like chicken - LOL]

I might have to ask for an older bird, so I'd check with the poultry man, and if he couldn't then I'd check with the egg man and ask for a fattened up laying hen that's done laying....

The other source is to ask at one of the Hispanic markets, either a young bird that has had a very good diet and lots of exercise to infuse the proper flavor within, OR again an old laying hen that they were going to eat themselves.

Now when it comes to one of these Chickens I would order it already killed and dressed and plucked...

LD

 

[satx78247]

EXACTLY SO. - For example, within a 1/2 hour car ride from Washington, DC there are TWO farmer's markets that sell freshly dressed, free-range, chickens/ducks/BBQ pigs/goats/lamb for sale.

yours, satx

 

[sidelock]

Have no idea how the cooking was done but about 30 years ago my Wife's family held a reunion. These were all real country/farm raised folk and knew what GOOD food was. The best fried chicken I have ever tasted was free range done by my wife's aunt. Everyone else thought it was just "OK". I suppose I just didn't know better!!!!!!!

 

[sidelock]

Recently my Wife has found some small chickens (around 1 1/2 lbs) in the store and they are really good. My brother was for dinner and said it was the best fried chicken he had ever had. Look for them. I agree, those pre packaged chick parts ain't worth eatin.

 

[satx78247]

Sounds like Cornish Game Hens or SMALL broilers.

yours, satx

 

[coloradoclyde]

Best chicken I ever had was an organic Amish bird cooked in my Dutch oven on a bed of onions, potatoes and carrots. with a little white wine or beer....cooked using charcoal.....That chicken disappeared faster than one of David Copperfield's assistants..... :grin:

 

[satx78247]

UNDERSTOOD.

When I lived near an Amish/Mennonite/River Baptist community, I got GREAT pork, chicken, duck & keets, dressed to order.


yours, satx

 

[Loyalist Dave]

NO DOUBT!

There are two Amish Markets within driving distance of me, and yes the poultry is amazing, as are the pork products, not to mention the bread, pies, and soft pretzels.

That's where I can get a Rabbit if I want one that I didn't shoot, and duck or turkey ..., AND I can get capon too. Tastes just like chicken! :haha:

LD

 

[satx78247]

I used to get WONDERFUL whole shoats for the BBQ from my late friend, Christian Yoder, as well as GREAT baked goods made by his wife/eldest daughter.
(Daughter Beatrice made the BEST Mincemeat Cake that I've ever had anyplace. = It's sole problem was that I ate WAY too much of it.)

Note: Christian also built my "fancy" Meadowbrook cart for me of solid GOLDEN OAK, with a pair of 54" wheels that his 1st cousin made to my specs.
(He thought that my fast-trotting 1300# blood-bay harness mare was "plain", which is a compliment among his people.)

yours, satx

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Hearing you folks rave about the Amish poultry is sort of funny. I grew up around Lancaster County, Pa. And have dealt with them all my life. The poultry is purchased at livestock auctions. You never know what the animals were fed. Oh you can tell age and fat or lean, but not whether free range or cage raised, or diet. The old Greek woman next door claims she can tell by the blush of the skin once plucked. Hers always have a reddish blush.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Sometimes when elk hunting, a herd of steers is seen in our hunting area at 10,000 feet elevation in the Rockies and the terrain is steep and they're constantly climbing. At roundup, these steers are shipped to feedlots for a period of time to "fatten up" and although this might be an economical way to produce beef, it certainly doesn't produce tasty, tender meat.

Fred...Find yourself a Wagyu, Kobe, or Mashima steak.....