GRANDMA'S FRIED CHICKEN Pat Copeland, Billings, OK
"Many families probably have a great fried chicken cooker; in our family it was my grandmother, Laurine Ponton Osborn, of Billings. One of my fondest memories is of family gatherings at her and my grandfather's house; families arriving to the unmistakable aroma and the crackling sound of frying chicken. And there was Grandma at the stove with fork in hand, overseeing the chicken. The ingredients were simple; her secrets were in the technique. She used lots of pepper and she put the cooked chicken in an aluminum bun warmer to wait until the rest of the chicken was cooked. I think that was critical and when I got married, getting a bun warmer seemed essential to my being able to fry chicken. My bun warmer is important to approximating her fried chicken, but no one can make it as well as she did."
fryer
salt and pepper
flour
shortening
Cut chicken into parts and place in a bowl of salted water. Cover and set in refrigerator at least an hour. Pat chicken parts dry. Put flour, salt and lots of pepper in a clean paper bag. Shake to mix. In a heavy skillet, melt shortening. Put a few pieces of chicken at a time into paper bag and shake to cover the pieces completely. Place chicken in hot fat and turn fire to medium. Brown both sides, then cover skillet until chicken is done. Add more pepper while cooking, if needed. After removing chicken from skillet, place in a bun warmer which has a paper towel on the bottom and cover it until the rest of the chicken is cooked. Serve immediately.