Catch a Falling Star and Oven-Fried Chicken!
The Perseid Meteor Shower was at its height on August 12th and 13th. It is said to be the best meteor shower of the summer producing at least fifty meteors per hour. That is a show I didn't want to miss.
We love to drive out to the foothills, away from city lights, with our chairs and a bottle of wine in hand! This year we decided that we could see just as much from the hills behind our house. We planned to meet friends and eat a late dinner while we gazed at the sky.
I decided to make Ina's Oven-Fried Chicken and nobody was disappointed! Her Oven-Fried Chicken recipe is featured in Barefoot Contessa Family Style. There are so many wonderful recipes inside! If you don't have it in your cookbook library, I would recommend you consider adding it.
2 chickens (3 pounds each), cut in 8 serving pieces
1 quart buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening
Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1-inch and heat to 360 degrees F on a thermometer.
Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will continue to brown in the oven). Don't crowd the pieces. Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan. Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees F before frying the next batch. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve hot.
PRINTABLE RECIPE
We weren't alone in the foothills, quite a few folks drove by looking for a place to watch the show. They all had the same question, "Have you been seeing anything?" Yes, we had! We saw tiny short meteors and then some really spectacular bright long falling stars...wow! What fun.
The chicken was perfect for our late night picnic. It is great hot or cold. It was tender and delicious. I pretty much follow any recipe exactly as written the first time but we do not like to leave the skin on chicken...who needs those calories?! So, I took the skin off of half of the chicken. I was pleased to see that the coating held equally well on either. Next time, I will add a few spices, garlic salt/powder and a little tarragon, to the flour mixture. I can hardly wait to make this one again!
We love to drive out to the foothills, away from city lights, with our chairs and a bottle of wine in hand! This year we decided that we could see just as much from the hills behind our house. We planned to meet friends and eat a late dinner while we gazed at the sky.
I decided to make Ina's Oven-Fried Chicken and nobody was disappointed! Her Oven-Fried Chicken recipe is featured in Barefoot Contessa Family Style. There are so many wonderful recipes inside! If you don't have it in your cookbook library, I would recommend you consider adding it.
Oven-Fried Chicken
Ina Garten
2 chickens (3 pounds each), cut in 8 serving pieces
1 quart buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening
Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1-inch and heat to 360 degrees F on a thermometer.
Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will continue to brown in the oven). Don't crowd the pieces. Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan. Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees F before frying the next batch. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve hot.
PRINTABLE RECIPE
We weren't alone in the foothills, quite a few folks drove by looking for a place to watch the show. They all had the same question, "Have you been seeing anything?" Yes, we had! We saw tiny short meteors and then some really spectacular bright long falling stars...wow! What fun.
The chicken was perfect for our late night picnic. It is great hot or cold. It was tender and delicious. I pretty much follow any recipe exactly as written the first time but we do not like to leave the skin on chicken...who needs those calories?! So, I took the skin off of half of the chicken. I was pleased to see that the coating held equally well on either. Next time, I will add a few spices, garlic salt/powder and a little tarragon, to the flour mixture. I can hardly wait to make this one again!
Check out the Barefoot Bloggers to see what everybody thought about this recipe!
OMGoodness! Can I just tell you how good that looks! My stomach is growling, can you hear it? It's only 9:30 in the morning here in Chicagoland and I want this!
ReplyDeleteThis looks so delicious that I'm feeling weak with hunger and not a chicken part in sight! I am, however, working on tomorrow's grocery list and we'll be feasting on this sooner rather than later. I have all of Ina's cookbooks but sometimes need to be reminded of favorite recipes.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
I'd love a piece of that right now! Looks delicious and it's such a great way to make perfect fried chicken for a crowd.
ReplyDeleteI use Ina's recipes for just about everything. I use skinless, boneless thighs and there is never any left!
ReplyDeleteCarol
The chicken looks so scrumptious! I love Ina too.
ReplyDeleteIna's recipes always please. I've not made this one, but you've got my attention, so now I'll have to pull out my book and give it try.
ReplyDeleteStar watching is always fun and munching on this gorgeous fried chicken only could make it better.
Sam
I made this too! Yuumy...I think the half fry, half bake method is the way to go!!
ReplyDeleteI just made this last night. It was great. I did skinless chicken thighs as you did. It was easy. Yours looks delish!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful evening! We have wandered out into the gorge for meteor showers a time or two. I've never felt showered but even seeing a few meteors is a thrill. Add to that some warm night air, if you can get it, and some Fried Chicken and it sounds like heaven!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous looking chicken and lovely story to go with it!!
ReplyDelete