You know I like my chicken fried....

This week, I finished reading Julie and Julia. I love that both Julie Powell and Julia Child spared no expense in getting their ingredients, and would run all over the city finding the exact ingredients they needed. I really have been wanting to try "Man-catching Fried Chicken" from the PICU cookbook, courtesy again of my friend Cailla, and so I set out to channel my inner Julia Child and find just what I needed for this recipe!

Many times I don't like to make trips to multiple grocery stores, but this was an exception. I needed a whole chicken, but I had seen whole chickens already cut up at Whole Foods for a great price (and I trust their quality), so that was my first stop.

Other key ingredients for my recipes for this meal were bread flour and pecans. I also stopped by our local farmer's market to grab something green to go with our meal.

Fried chicken is about as southern as you can get, but I was nervous to try it! Jess and Kathleen were willing to join me in this experiment though- and it turned out well! No men were in attendance though, so I won't vouch for the title ;/ I also made biscuits with this meal, my goal has been to master biscuits before leaving Charlottesville. This was not the night for mastered biscuits....but the chicken and the company were good!

"Man- Catching" Fried Chicken

- 4.5 lb chicken pieces (breast, drumsticks, thighs)
- 2 C buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- vegetable oil
- 2 C self-rising flour
- 1 Tbs salt
- 1/2 tsp ground red pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 C butter
- 1/4 C honey
- 1/2 C pecans

1. Place chicken pieces in a large baking dish. Whisk buttermilk and egg until blended and pour over chicken. Cover and chill 1-8 hours, turning chicken every 30 minutes.

2. Pour vegetable oil to depth of 1.5" into a cast-iron dutch oven; heat over medium heat to 340*.

3. Whisk together flour, salt, red pepper, garlic powder, and black pepper in a shallow dish.

4. Dredge the chicken in mixture, shaking off excess. 

5. Fry chicken in batches, in hot oil, 20-22 minutes or until done, turning occasionally.

6. Drain on a wire rack over paper towels and keep warm in a 200* oven. 

I forgot to take pictures of the real gem of this recipe- the sauce!

- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; whisk in honey until blended. Toast pecans for 5 minutes in a 350* oven, then add to mixture. Bring to a boil, whisking often. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Drizzle over chicken and serve immediately.

This was really not as hard or scary as I thought it would be, and it's definitely good enough to make again! I'll put this in the success pile :)