If you haven’t noticed by now, I have a thing for Southern cooking. Chicken fried chicken, chicken fried steak, country fried steak, country fried chicken, breaded fried pork-chops, flaky biscuits, fluffy mashed potatoes…. everything smothered in gravy……. it’s ridiculous.

It’s obviously not a good thing for my waistline BUT HEY!.. When life gives you chicken, you fry it.

So there.

Belle and I were picking green beans in the garden and I thought to myself… you know what would go good with this green stuff? Chicken, gravy, and potatoes! A light bulb moment!! I’m not kidding. It’s called BALANCE you guys.

Green beans are one of my favorite veggies to grow and remind me of when I was little in my grandma’s garden.

It’s so cute to see Belle “snappin’ beans.” I have memories of doing this when I was close to her age.

Owen’s helping too. 🙂

So, it’s cooking time!

Start by trimming 3-4 large chicken breasts.

Then butterfly (halve) the breasts.

Next, lay a sheet of saran wrap over the chicken and flatten it with a meat mallet or flat bottomed glass. They should be about 3/4 inch thin.

Salt and pepper each side.

Now it’s time to set up your “chickin’ dippin’” station.

One bowl for the seasoned flour, one for the eggs and one for the cracker crumbs.

Whisk up the seasoned flour and then the eggs.

Now crush the crackers. You can put them in a Ziploc bag and run them over with your car.

I meant to say roll the Ziploc bag with a rolling pin.

Next have everything aligned on the counter-top. Including a large plate lined with paper towels for the chicken to rest on.

Dredge it in flour.

Then egg wash.

And lastly the cracker crumb coat. You can use Ritz or Club crackers for this.

To create crispy and great tasting chicken fried chicken –

Dredge both sides of the chicken breast in the flour
Dip both sides in the egg wash
Coat both sides HEAVILY in cracker crumbs
Fry on medium heat (350-375º F.)

Fry for 3-4 minutes on the first side, and 2-3 minutes on the second side. The cooking time will vary depending on how you flattened the chicken.

The internal temperature needs to reach 165º F.

Make a sacrificial cut into the thickest piece of chicken if you need to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly.

Let the chicken rest on a paper-towel lined plate while you make up the gravy.

To make pan gravy:

For starters, this is TOO much oil.

Remove most of the oil from the pan, but make sure to reserve ALL of the chicken “drippings” and about two tablespoons of oil so you can make GRAVY 😀

(it should look like this)

You should have 1/3-1/2 cup of seasoned flour left.

Turn the heat down to medium and begin whisking the flour into the pan, 1/4 cup at a time. I just kind of pour as I go. 🙂

It’ll look a little funny at first but continue to whisk until you get a frothy paste. We’re making something called Roux.

If you need to add more flour please do so.

Once the flour/oil has been combined into a frothy paste whisk in milk. Whole milk is best.

My ratio is 1/4 cup flour to 2 cups of milk. I always start by adding 2 cups of milk and whisking until it gets bubbling. If it looks too thick, I add more milk. In all honesty the ratio never “pans” out the same. Did you catch that? Comedic gold baby!

“That’s GOLD Jerry! Gold!” – Kenny Bania

If you accidentally make your gravy too thin, you can always whisk two tablespoons of flour into a 1/4 cup of milk and add it to the pan and this will thicken it up.

Salt and pepper the gravy to your liking.

Remember to always taste-test the food you’re cooking so you can gauge whether or not it’s missing something……..like salt. 🙂

Lastly, plate the meal.

As always, I hope you’ll give this a try. I wouldn’t spend this much time raving about it if it wasn’t deliciously fattening.

I mean deliciously “good.”

🙂

Chicken Fried Chicken with Gravy

3-4 Large Chicken Breasts
3 Eggs
1 sleeve of Crackers (such as Ritz or Club crackers)
1/2 cup- 3/4 cup Vegetable Oil (enough to fill a frying pan by 1/2-3/4 inch high)
2-3 cups Milk

Flour Mixture:

3/4 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Dry Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Parsley
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Start by trimming the chicken breast. Once done, butterfly it – aka – cut the breasts in half length wise. Now cover the chicken with a layer of Saran Wrap and using a flat bottomed object such as a meat mallet, flatten it to about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Salt and pepper both sides.

Next, set out three medium sized bowls. In bowl number one combine the the entire “flour mixture.” In bowl number two whisk together three eggs. In bowl number three crush the entire sleeve of crackers. Now begin heating the vegetable oil on medium-high heat.

Once the oil is heated (it’s ready when a pinch of flour fizzles away) create a station and get to work:

Dredge both sides of the chicken breast in the flour
Dip both sides in the egg wash
Coat both sides HEAVILY in cracker crumbs

Number 4! Place the coated chicken in the frying pan. Fry for about 3-4 minutes on the first side, and 2-3 minutes on the second side. The internal temp needs to reach 165* F. I always make a sacrificial cut into the thickest piece of the chicken to make sure there’s no pink.

Once done, place the chicken on a paper-towel lined plate.

Remove most of the oil but reserve ALL of the chicken drippings and about 2 tablespoons of oil. Reduce the heat to medium. Whisk in the remaining flour mixture until you have a Roux. Now start whisking in the milk. Rule of thumb is 1/4 cup flour to every 2 cups of milk. I always start by adding 2 cups. Get it slightly boiling (bubbling). If it looks too thick, add some more milk. Salt and pepper to taste.

Once the gravy is at the desired consistency, slather it over the chicken and plate your glorious comfort food masterpiece!

🙂 xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo