My mother made the best fried chicken ever. Here's how she did it:

2 fryers, cut into pieces (she could get 11 pieces out of 1 chicken)

Lard

Cast-iron skillet

Soak the chicken over night in salted water (plenty of salt). Drain well. Put a bunch of flour and pepper (no salt) in a big brown paper bag, add a few pieces of chicken at a time and shake. Meanwhile, heat about 2" of oil in the skillet; don't crowd. Fry on one side til brown. Turn and brown the other side. When all is golden, reduce heat to med. or med.-low, put a lid on for 15-20 minutes. (Depends on the size of the pieces.) Remove lid and turn up the heat again to crisp it all up, turning once.

The result is crispy chicken without being crunchy, if you know what I mean. The lard makes it absolutely delicious, even though it is unhealthy. I can almost smell it! Then remove some of the grease and sprinkle flour over it and cook until it gets a little color. Add milk, salt and pepper and stir--keep adding until it isn't like wallpaper paste and you have the best gravy!

Got this recipe here years ago and it's the one I use now:

Leila's Crispy Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Makes approximately 8 servings

This wonderful fried chicken was prepared for my family by Leila - an amazing woman who worked for us and practically raised my brother and I up from pups. It is full of delicious flavor and has the kind of crispy coating that you'll never forget. It is also fried chicken, so nowadays it's something that is served for special occasions only!

3-4 pounds cut-up frying chicken
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups self-rising flour
Ground black pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Vegetable oil for frying (I use lard w/a little butter)

Step 1 - Cut your chicken into parts and wash well. Place in a large bowl and pour buttermilk over. Allow to sit for at least an hour.

Step 2 - Mix and sift together flour, black pepper, paprika and garlic powder.

Step 3 - Pour enough oil in a large, cast iron skillet to fill it about an inch deep. Heat to 375 degrees. Use a thermometer to carefully regulate the temperature and prevent the oil from burning.

Step 4 - Remove each piece of chicken from the buttermilk and shake to remove the excess. Dredge in the seasoned flour.

Step 5 - Drop pieces in the hot oil, four at a time. Do not crowd, as this will reduce the temperature of the oil and cause the chicken to absorb more grease. I like starting with dark meat pieces first and saving the white meat for the last. Cook each piece six minutes per side. Turn when the underside is nice and brown. To ensure doneness, cut a small hole in the thickest part - the juices should run clear.

Step 6 - Serve and enjoy - either hot from the pan or room temperature! Despite some of the nutritional counts of this recipe, it is practically unbeatable for bringing back the taste (and smell) of home.

My mother made superb fried chicken--she often soaked it in buttermilk for an hour or two. Her cooking method was like patti43's mother.

I think the key is lard, and an iron skillet. Unfortunately, it's not very healthy. But it sure tastes great!

Since we're cooking for so many people, we're going to be using a commercial deep fryer that we have at the Post. Think that will work almost as good as those great old skillets?

Oh man.. this is SO UP MY ALLEY! This is legit, country down home dixie style fried chicken.

**DISCLAIMER** I'm not sayin' it's better'n anyones, I'm only sayin' it'sa nice'un! (Throwin' the big time southern Twang in)

This is amazingly E-Z/Wonderful at the same time. I don't know who did this in the past but they gave the recipe to some sweetheart in Hawaii I think and she said it rocked her lil' island livin' world! (I think..again Gosh, therefor I AM!)

Anyway, cut your chickens up (or buy a cut up chicken from the store if your prone to hurt yourself). Season it how you like it (lil' salt, lotsa pepper and a few herbs....don't hold back)

THE TRICK:
Pour a lot of flour in a paper bag and throw your chicken pieces in it. Use WAY MORE flour than would ever be needed to coat the chicken. Churn the bird(s) around and let it sit at room temp (I didn't say it was USDA approved, I just saidit was good). After awhile (an hour or a few hours/whatever) the pieces will probably be stuck together in a big clump. Unclump'em and do it again, tear them aparnt and churn them up again in the flour! Let them sit again for a little while.

At this point you should have a very nicely "battered" pile of chicken (without the batter).

Shake the pieces off and DEEP fry them.

Listen; if the chicken is at room temp you can fry them off at around 350 (I'm guessing, I don't use a thermometer) in a matter of minutes. Just don't crowd the pot and once they get the idea to float, get them out!
Rule #1 DON'T BE AFRAID OF MOIST CHICKEN!

Botulism birds are best ain't they? :D

No! lol Ain't nobody, no time, nowhere, ever been served any tainted poultry from me. Of course if Andrew Zimmern ever showed up I would try my best to make it happen.... I'd toss in that fruit he hates so much too!

Answer me this, why does Zimmern want to heft when he eats durian (I think it's also called jack fruit?) and Anthony Bourdain says it tastes like a delicious French cheese?

You are fun Sparky! I never laughed so hard reading a recipe in my life. Dad gum!! funnee stuff. When cynic added her thing about botulism birds I was a gonner. Well, I am gone to take a breather. BB