Follow our step-by-step, photo illustrated recipe for Skillet BBQ Chicken Thighs with Potatoes Recipe.  When you need a quick and economical meal all the family will enjoy….make it chicken and potatoes.  We’re cooking it all up in one cast iron skillet so clean up is just as quick.  You can use your favorite BBQ Sauce but, we’re making one from scratch….right in the pan.

Skillet BBQ Chicken Thighs with Potatoes Recipe:

Chicken is without a doubt my favorite meat.  I like it fried, baked, grilled, about anyway it can be cooked.  I’m just your meat and potatoes kind of guy I guess.  So, this quick and easy meal for BBQ Chicken in the oven…and in one pan….just kind of hit the spot for me this week.

My mother always knew that I liked her fried chicken the best but, I guess she just wanted to change things up every once in awhile.  BBQ chicken was her second favorite way of preparing it for us I think.  If they even made BBQ Sauce when I was growing up, I wasn’t aware of it.  I don’t recall ever seeing any in the house.  OK…so I’m not so old that they didn’t actually sell it in the stores I guess….it’s just that we never bought any of it that I recall.

Daddy would make his own anytime he cooked a whole hog on his homemade pits.  That was a straight vinegar based type of sauce…without any tomatoes or ketchup.  Mama on the other hand, would make her own sauce for her chicken using ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and a few other ingredients she had on hand.

When I placed the skillet of chicken thighs in the oven the other day, it wasn’t long before the aromas started to fill my kitchen as the chicken began to bake.  I was instantly transported back in time as I remembered those same great aromas that came from the kitchen when mama was baking chicken.  Isn’t it amazing how smells can do that to us sometimes?  I could just picture her in one of her aprons, reaching in the oven with some pot holders to pull out a dish of baked BBQ Chicken and potatoes.  She would have used one of her clear glass, Pyrex type, casserole dishes because it would hold an entire chicken.  And….it would smell absolutely awesome.

I hadn’t baked BBQ Chicken in forever and, I could hardly wait long enough for it to cool before I had to sample some of the chicken and potatoes together.  One bite and I knew mama had been guiding me as I tried to recreate her recipe from my head.  Well, at least I liked thinking that maybe that was possible.  It was a pleasant thought with lots of good memories of growing up Gordon.  I do think she would have approved of the way it turned out.

I do hope you’ll give our recipe a try.  You can follow along with our simple sauce for BBQ or, you can use some of that bottled stuff you already have….if you have to.  But hey, at least give this a try once and see how you like it.   Ready?  Alright then….Let’s Get Cooking!

Skillet BBQ Chicken Thighs with Potatoes Recipe:  You’ll need these ingredients.

We’re making our own BBQ Sauce in the pan but, you could certainly use your favorite brand instead.

Begin by rinsing the chicken pieces with cool water.  Set them aside on a couple of paper towels to drain.

Add slices of butter to the cold skillet.

Place chicken thighs in skillet, skin side down.

Add all the chicken to the skillet.

Add salt to taste….just a little will do.

Add a little Black Pepper.

Sprinkle with a little Garlic Powder.  Not only will this add flavor but, it makes the kitchen smell really good once it starts to bake.

Sprinkle the Apple Cider Vinegar around the pan.

Add the yellow Mustard.

Add the Brown Sugar, just sprinkle it all over the top of the chicken thighs.

Add the ketchup.

Wash the potatoes in cool water.  Be sure to scrub them pretty good to remove any dirt that might be on them.

Slice the potatoes.  I only used two for mine.

Layer the potatoes on top of the chicken thighs.

Add a little more of the ketchup on top of the potatoes.

Add the Worcestershire Sauce.  Just sprinkle it around on top of the potatoes.

Wrap the skillet with aluminum foil.  Place in the pre-heated oven.

Bake at 350º for about 45 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the oven and take off the aluminum foil.  Careful…it’s hot.

Use some tongs if you have them and remove the thighs from the skillet.  Set them on the aluminum foil for the moment.  Spread the potatoes evenly around the bottom of the pan.  You probably should flip them over as well.

Place the chicken thighs back in the skillet, skin side UP this time.  Sprinkle the skin with Paprika.  Return the pan, uncovered, to the oven.

Bake for another 15-20 minutes…or until done.

Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh.  It should register 165º as the Internal Temperature to be cooked properly.  You want regret always testing your cooked meats with a thermometer.  They are fairly cheap and a great kitchen gadget to have on hand.  As you can see, mine was a bit over the needed temperature but, it still came out nice and juicy…and done.

Just let the chicken rest in the pan for about 5-10 minutes before serving.

If the potatoes aren’t as done as you’d like them by now, you could remove the chicken breasts and cover them with foil to keep them warm.  Then, either place the skillet back in the oven for a couple more minutes to let the potatoes cook some more or, you could just place it on top of the stove and simmer them a bit over medium heat.

You could also use the juices in the pan to make a thicker BBQ Sauce or gravy for the chicken.  I didn’t do that but, you could if you wanted.  You’d just need to remove the drippings, make a roux of some butter and flour in the skillet then, add the drippings back into the pan and simmer it a few minutes.

Either way, serve it while it’s good and warm.  Enjoy!

Follow these easy, step-by-step, photo illustrated instructions for making Chicken Pastry from scratch.  There’s just something about a big bowl of Chicken Pastry that soothes the soul, anytime of the year.  Whether you know it as Chicken Pastry, or as Chicken Dumplings, I think you’ll find it’s much easier to make from scratch than you might have thought.  We’ve also got a printable recipe to make it even easier.

Southern Chicken Pastry, made from scratch recipe.

Chicken Pastry, or Chicken Dumplings?  It may not make much difference which name you know it by, it’s just good old southern comfort food at it’s very best.  However, at my house, what you see in the picture above was always called Chicken Pastry.  Chicken Dumplings were made of thick patties of cornmeal instead of thin strips of flour dough.  Mama made both, but Chicken Pastry was my favorite.

As a very young child, I have some strange memories of mama going outside and grabbing one of the chickens walking around the yard.  Chickens pretty much roamed free throughout the day.  She’d grab one of the older hen’s and head for that big stump of a tree that already had an axe laying up along side of it.  Yes, I spent a few years “down on the farm” before we moved to the city.  Its a scary thing as a child to see a chicken running all around, flapping its wings… minus a – well, you get the picture.  Let’s move on.  It wasn’t pretty but… it was a way of life.

I can still see her spreading flour across our kitchen table and rolling out her dough into one big sheet that seemed to almost cover the entire table.  Then, she’d take a knife and make quick work of slicing it up into big squares while the chicken stock, along with that old hen, boiled away on the electric stove right behind her.

Mama moved on to buying chickens at the grocery store a few years later, once we landed in the city.  Still, she continued to make really big pots of Chicken Pastry a couple of times a month.  Sunday dinners around the big oval table, surrounded with family, were just that much better when mama sat that big bowl of Chicken Pastry in the middle.  We usually had the preacher and his family over after church and it was always a favorite with all of them.

I must also admit that in her later years, Mama would give in and buy the frozen dough strips as opposed to making her own.   Anne’s Dumplings and those flat pastry strips became a part of our family, and like Colonel Saunders, they showed up more and more at our yearly family reunion dinners.  Anne’s makes a great pastry, we used it in the restaurants.  Still, nothing takes me back like seeing that big sheet of dough, sliced up and waiting for the big pot.  I think you’ll agree once you give our recipe a try.  Are you up for it?  Alright then… Let’s Get Cooking!

Chicken Pastry Recipe:  You’ll need these ingredients plus some chicken broth.  You don’t need the butter, it just wanted to get in the picture and I said it would be OK… this time.

You’ll need some cooked chicken.  You could certainly use some from a can, but we’re making this from scratch… remember?

Begin by opening your package of chicken.  Look inside the chicken and remove the neck bone and giblet pieces that are tucked up in there.  Set those aside for now but we’ll add them into the pot once we start cooking the chicken.

Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold running water.

You’ll need to cutup the chicken.  I’ll have to save that process for another post.  Just use a sharp knife and… Be Careful.

Place the chicken in a good sized stock pot and cover it with about 4 inches of water.  Don’t forget to toss in those giblet pieces.  Place it on your stove top over Medium heat.

Cover the pot with a lid.

Let the chicken cook on a slow boil until it’s done.  This will take about 45-55 minutes or so.

Check the chicken periodically as it cooks.  Add more water as needed if the fluid starts getting low.  Keep the chicken covered in liquid as it boils.

Using tongs, remove the chicken from the water when it is done and spread it out in a pan to cool a little.  You can turn the burner off under the stock pot while the chicken cools, this will help any fat in the pot to rise to the top.

When it’s cooled enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones.  I’m only going to use half the meat in the Chicken Pastry, I’m saving the other half for another recipe.

Now that the pot has cooled a bit, use a spoon and skim as much fat as you can from the stock that is left in the pot.  Just discard the fat.

RESERVE 3/4 cup of the broth by removing it from the pot and setting it aside.  We need it to make the dough.

Place all the bones and scrap pieces back in the pot with the liquid.  Add more water if needed, to cover the bone pieces with about 2 inches of water. Place the lid back on the pot and bring this up to a low boil, letting it simmer while you make the pastry dough.  Adding the skin and bone pieces back to the pot just adds more flavor.  We’ll remove them before we add the pastry strips.

Measure out the flour into a sifter.  Add the salt.

Sift the ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

Use your fingers and make a well in the middle of the flour.

Pour in the reserved chicken broth you removed from the pot earlier.

Using your fingertips, start make a small circular motion in the middle of the liquid.  Keep going around and around in circles, incorporating a little more of the flour from the edges of the bowl as you go.  Continue doing this until you’ve worked the flour into the dough ball that is forming.  Lift the dough and flip it over, turning it until you can form the dough into a ball.  Don’t over work it, just get it to the point to where it sticks together.

Sprinkle some flour over the top of your counter or cutting board.  Cover a large area with it as we’ll be rolling the dough out over this space.  Place the ball of dough right in the middle.

Rub some flour on your rolling pin.

Gently roll the dough out, working it first in one direction….

then in the other direction.  Continue to roll it out in this pattern until you’ve stretched the dough out to at least 1/4″ thick or a little thinner.

It’s not necessary to roll it out in a perfect circle.  Just work it out as evenly as possible.

Use a knife, or even a pizza cutter, and slice the dough into strips about 1 inch wide.  Mama always made hers larger though.

Cut across the strips, making pieces about 2 inches long.

Once it’s all cut, just let the dough rest where its at and lets work on getting that chicken stock fixed.

Use a slotted spoon and scoop out all of the bones, skin and other pieces from the pot.  Make sure you get ALL the bone pieces as it’s not any fun to bite down onto a bone when eating Chicken Pastry.  Next, use your chicken granules and start adding a little of the base into the stock you’ve already got.  Chances are, the stock will not have enough flavor as it is to make a good pastry.  I’m adding some granules and will keep taste testing it as I go to get the desired taste.  You could also add ready made chicken broth, like from a carton, if you happen to have that.  Just add it slowly and taste it often to get a good taste.  It will be a bit salty so be careful.  If you should add too much, add in a little warm water to bring the salt taste back down to where you’d like it to be.

Mama would always pick up several pieces of the pastry dough and drape it across her hand as she moved it from the table to the pot.  As I mentioned, her pieces were much larger than what I’ve got here.  It was just the way she made hers.  Once you’ve got the stock to tasting like you want it too, start dropping the strips of dough into the pot.  DO NOT STIR.

Make sure you don’t stir the strips while you’re adding them.  Keep them separated as you drop them in so they can cook just a little on their own.  This will prevent them from sticking together so much.  As you add more into the pot, look for openings that you can drop the next piece into.  The dough strips will sink to the bottom at first but then they pop right back up.

Let the pastry strips cook for a few minutes after you get it all in the pot.  Then, add in the pieces of chicken that you’ve pulled from the bones.  Don’t forget, even though I started with a whole chicken, I’m only using half of that in my Chicken Pastry.  I’m going to make some homemade Chicken Salad with the rest.

You can gently stir the chicken pieces into the stock and pastry now.  Just get the chicken submerged into the liquid enough to keep most of it under the liquid.  Do not cover the pot.  Let it continue to simmer on Medium-Low heat for about 10-15 more minutes.  You can test a piece of the pastry itself to be sure its done.  Some folks like it a bit tough and others like it very tender.  It’s like pasta, cook it to the degree that you prefer it at.

If your stock isn’t as thick and creamy as you’d prefer, thicken it up with a little mixture of flour and water, or cornstarch and water.  Just take about two Tablespoons of flour or cornstarch and mix enough water into it to make a slurry.  Slowly add a little of this into your pastry, stirring gently, until you have the liquid in the pastry to the way you like it.  It will of course thicken some on its own so be very careful if you add anything else to thicken it up.  Add a little black pepper to taste and you’re good to go.  You could even add some of that butter that sneaked in the picture up top if you’d like to do so.

Place the Chicken and Pastry in a big old bowl and call the family.  Serve it warm and ENJOY!

Follow step-by-step, photo illustrated instructions for making our Southern Fried Chicken in a cast iron skillet, just like mama used to do it.  I’ll even share our families secret recipe of “herbs and spices,” so you can make this delicious old southern classic at home for you and your family to enjoy. Printable recipe included.

Southern Fried Chicken Recipe:

I’ve been asked numerous times over the past years, for a recipe on Southern Fried Chicken.  I think I’ve just been putting it off, because I must be honest, I can’t fry chicken the way my mother did.  Yes, I’ve tried, but it just never seems to be what I remember eating sitting at her table.

As I’ve mentioned before, we always had 11-15 people at our house for Sunday Dinner, each and every Sunday.  My older brother and sister had married and had children of their own, years before I ever did. Mama always expected ALL of us to be at her house on Sunday.  And, if that wasn’t enough, 9 times out of 10, she invited the pastor and his family.  But, all was well and good.  She always had plenty of food.

Mama would get up early on Sunday and start cooking, before she got ready for church.  What she didn’t finish by church time, she finished just as soon as she got home, and could get more comfortable shoes and her apron on.  She always had the apron.

Sometimes chicken would be frying away and she’d just cut the burner off, cover the pan, and go to church.  When she got back, she’d turn the burner back on and continue right where she left off.

Of course, back then, once everyone ate, Mama would just throw a big white cloth over the table after all the dirty dishes were removed.  The remaining food would sit right on the table, chicken and all, until supper time when we’d dig into it again.  Ahhh, those were the days.

I totally LOVED Mama’s fried chicken.  Always a drumstick or thigh, seldom the breast part.  Or, maybe I’d get lucky and find the wishbone. You know, I still can’t cut up a chicken to where it has a wishbone.  I’m not very adept at carving up a whole chicken anyway.  I get by, but that’s about it.

Mama fried chicken in her cast iron skillet during the week, but Sundays required the bigger, Electric Frying Pan that she acquired later on. Just so you’ll know, the skillet you’ll see pictured below IS the exact same skillet.  It’s my most treasured piece of cooking equipment.

I’ve often wondered why I can’t seem to fry chicken up the same way she did.  She always used Lard.  I use Lard.  As for that family secret of “herbs and spices,” Mama only used TWO… Salt and Black Pepper.  Tell that to the Colonel. Still, her chicken came out fabulously.  And, it wasn’t just me, most everyone else raved about how good it was.

I’ve read that the reason chicken doesn’t taste like it use to, is because of the way chickens are raised these days.  It appears the best way to even get close to the chicken of days gone by, is to buy organic and farm raised chickens.  I’m going to do that one day just to see if it makes a difference.  I’m just too quick to grab one at the big mart when I’m ready to fry up my own.

I will however, do my best to show you the process.  It’s the way Mama cooked hers, and the way I cook it myself, minus her special touch of course.  I hope you’ll try it in a big old cast iron skillet of your own, and come back and let me know how you like it.

Ready to give it a try?  Alright then, heat up some Lard and Let’s Get Cooking!

Skillet Fried Chicken:  You’ll need these ingredients.

I realized after I placed the pictures from the camera onto my computer, that the bucket of Lard wasn’t saying LARD but Manteca.  But, that was a good thing, because if you can’t find Lard in your grocery store, check one of the Hispanic stores.  Chances are they will have it under the name of Manteca. One side of this bucket says Lard, the other says Manteca… same thing.

I realize we could get into lots of discussion over using Lard, but let’s just enjoy the memories… OK?

Most whole chickens come packed with a packet of giblets inside the chicken cavity.  The neck bone will either be still attached, or also inside the bird.  You’ll want to be sure to remove the packet of giblets and save them for later.  You can use them to make gravy for your fried chicken, or freeze them for later, maybe to make your own chicken stock.

Give the bird a good bath, inside and out.  Rinse it under cold running water inside the sink.

Cut up the chicken.  Now, that’s a whole step-by-step story within itself that we’ll save for another day. Maybe after I get a bit better at it myself.  Just saying.

Be sure to save the back, neck and giblet pieces.  We can use those in another recipe later.  It will make great stock or soup, so freeze it all together if you don’t have plans to use it within a day or so.

Lay the chicken out on a sheet pan and add just a little bit of salt to taste.

Give it some Black Pepper, also to taste.  Basically whatever you think you can get away with for your family.

Turn all the pieces over, right there in the pan, and season the other side with Salt and Black Pepper.

Place about 2 cups of flour in a medium size bowl.  Use a fork to break up any large lumps that might be in it.

One piece at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour.  Just drop a piece in, turn it over a time or two, and coat all the sides and edges.

Gently shake off any excess flour.

If you have a piece of chicken where the skin has pulled loose from the meat, just fold it back down on the meat.  Don’t try to flour underneath the skin.  The flour will not brown once it’s in the hot oil, and you aren’t really going to like the outcome.  You can thank me later.

Just spread the loose skin back out on the chicken piece and coat the top with flour.  Continue this with each piece, placing it back on the sheet pan after shaking off any excess flour.

Discard any leftover flour.  I know it seems wasteful, but it’s better to toss it than cross contaminate some other food later.

Once you’ve coated all the chicken pieces, just let it set on the sheet pan and rest a bit.  This will allow the coating to dry and hold to the chicken better.  We’ll just let it sit out for the length of time it takes to heat up the cooking oil.

Place some lard in your cast iron skillet.  You’ll need enough lard, once it’s melted, to measure about 3/4 of an inch deep inside the skillet.

Once the lard has melted and started to warm up, CAREFULLY add the Butter.  A Tablespoon full of Bacon Grease would also be really good, if you have that.  The butter will of course brown in the Lard but that’s the point.  It helps give the first pieces of chicken cooked in the Lard a nice brown color.  It also helps to add some flavor.

I say carefully, because the cold Butter going into the hot Lard, will start to bubble and splatter.  Just be sure you don’t let it splatter out on yourself.  A splatter screen comes in pretty handy for frying chicken. One day, I think I’ll actually buy myself one.  Sadly, I just look at it as another item that has to be washed after the meal is over.

If you take just a pinch of flour, and drop it in the hot Lard, it will start to dance and sizzle if the Lard is hot enough to start frying the chicken in.  As you can see here, it just wasn’t quite hot enough at this point.  A thermometer would be even better if you have that.  The Lard needs to get up to 350º to properly fry the chicken.  I’ve learned that placing my largest burner on just a little below Medium heat, works perfect for frying.  With a little practice, you’ll learn what works best for you.

Place the chicken, skin side down, in the skillet. That grease is hot, be careful lowering the chicken so it doesn’t splatter back on you.

Don’t overcrowd the pan when adding the other pieces.  I’m cooking wings, thigh and legs in the first batch.  The breasts will cook a little quicker, so I’ll add them in the second batch.

I like to call the next steps, the 7-7-7 Method.  I’ve just found it to be an easy way to remember the steps involved. We’re going to fry the chicken 7 minutes with the lid OFF, then 7 minutes with the lid ON. Turn it, cover it, then fry 7 more minutes with the lid ON.  From now on, you’ll always remember the 7-7-7’s. Take a look.

After 7 minutes the bottom edges will start turning a little brown. Overtime, you’ll learn to listen to your frying pan as you cook. If it’s bubbling really fast and furious, you’re probably cooking too hot and need to turn the heat down a bit. If it’s not sounding very active when the chicken gets to going, you might need to increase the heat some. Also, once the chicken is done, the sizzle will slow down a considerable amount to let you know its done. Takes a little practice, but overtime it becomes second nature.

Place the lid over the chicken and let it fry 7 more minutes with the lid ON. The lid forces heat down inside the chicken so it cooks more evenly on the inside and around the bone.

Use some tongs and turn each piece.  You could also re-position the pieces in the pan if you see one area is cooking a bit hotter than the other.  You’d know this by seeing burned spots.

Place the lid back on the chicken once again.  We’ll let it cook for 7 more minutes on the second side with the lid ON the pan.

Carefully remove the lid once again.  The chicken has cooked pretty well on both sides by now.  At this point, you could use a meat thermometer to see what the internal temperature of the chicken is.  It needs to cook until that temperature reaches 165º inside to be safe.  It just depends on how hot your pan is at this point. Make sure your thermometer is not touching a bone when you check the temp.

In order to keep the fried chicken good and crispy, remove it from the pan and let it drain on a piece of brown paper bag, or on a wire rack.  It’s best to not place it on paper towels unless you like a softer touch to the skin.  Experiment with it and find which you like best.  Placing the fried chicken in a bowl and covering with a towel will soften up the exterior, but still give a tender and moist fried chicken experience.

Go ahead and cook the second batch.  Since we saved the breast pieces until last, they will cook a bit faster.  I still used the 7 minutes with the lid off, 7 minutes with the lid on – then turn, and cover and cook about 7 more minutes. When you remove the lid, check the internal temperature of the breast pieces.  It will probably be done and should be removed.  Thicker pieces of course will take longer to cook than the thinner sections.  You’ll just have to monitor it during the final minutes of cooking so as to not over cook it.  It takes a little practice, but you can do it.

Pan fried chicken is best if allowed to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.  You don’t want anyone biting into super hot pieces of chicken.

Enjoy!

UPDATED -05-30-2019:  The USDA now says its best not to rinse store bought chicken before cooking. According to them, it increases the chances of contamination from raw chicken and could cause sickness. It’s kind of hard to cutup a whole chicken at home without splattering a little juice from the chicken around in the sink. Just use caution and be sure to sanitize your sink and surrounding counter areas anytime you’re working with poultry. Restaurants use a bit of chlorine bleach mixed in with water to spray and clean all of their work tables, sinks and cooking areas. You might want to do the same. Thanks for listening.

Follow step-by-step, photo illustrated instructions for creating this old southern favorite of Fried Chicken with Gravy.  We’ll show you how to fry the chicken in your cast iron skillet. Once the chicken is complete, we’ll use the brown bits remaining in the skillet to make our country gravy, just like your Mother and Grandmother probably did. Printable recipe included.

Fried Chicken with Gravy Recipe:

Of all the things my mother cooked when I was growing up, her Fried Chicken was right at the top among my favorites. The only thing I probably loved more, was her Buttermilk Biscuits, and maybe her Chocolate Layer Cake. Wait… there’s the Spaghetti, the Potato Salad, the… oh well, you probably get the picture. It was Mama, and it was ALL good.

Mama cooked her chicken in the very cast iron skillet that is pictured below. I wish I didn’t have it.  If I didn’t have, that would probably mean she was still with us and still cooking her delicious fried chicken. But, since she’s no longer with us, I’m deeply honored to have this skillet in my kitchen. It stays out on my stove top and I use it almost daily. It fries up some great eggs.

I’m not going to try and convince you that I can cook chicken as well as she did.  Try as I might, that always seems to elude me, but I think I get close sometimes. I’ve just not had all the years of experience with it that she had.

Somewhere along the line, Mama acquired a large electric skillet with a glass top. Afterwards, she pretty much used that to fry her chicken, simply because she could cook more at one time. It still tasted great and we all looked forward to it being on the table just about every Sunday.

Frying chicken may be another one of those dishes you just haven’t conquered. You’ve tried it and the chicken ends up being raw on the inside, or overcooked and dry.  It happens to all of us. I suspect even Mama failed a time or two while she was learning.

I use a little system I call 8-8-8-8.  It’s pretty simple really.  You prepare the chicken and place it in the skillet, cover it and let it cook 8 minutes. Next, you uncover it and cook it 8 more minutes.  Then, you flip the chicken over, cover it and let it cook 8 more minutes. Uncover it and let it cook until it’s done.  If in doubt, cook it the final 8 minutes and you’ll have chicken that’s typically done and not pink inside.

I’ll show you the steps in the photos below.  It’s an easy way to learn to fry chicken in a pan, but it’s not a steadfast rule.  You may find that 7 minutes, 6 minutes, or maybe 9 minutes work best for you. That’s the fun and joy of cooking, it varies from house to house, stove to stove, person to person.  You just need to get started and learn what works for you.

The recipe is very basic. You will not find any secret recipe of multiple herbs and spices here.  We only use Salt and Pepper, like Mama did. Learn the basics first, then spice it up the way you like it.

We’ll use the pan drippings and browned bits from frying the chicken to make some gravy to go on top. My brother often tells me how much he loved Mama’s Fried Chicken with Gravy. I don’t remember it as well as he seems to, but once I placed some on this chicken and took a bite, I was transported right back to Mama’s table for Sunday dinner.  It’s amazing what memories something as simple as this can recall for you.

Knowing that actress Ava Gardner was to be featured on the cover of the March 2014 issue of Our State Magazine, I ran an Internet search to see if I might find out what her favorite foods were.  Sure enough, I found two of them.  Whether it’s true or not, Coconut Cake and Fried Chicken were listed as her two top favorites.  I guess we’ll never know for certain, but since she was born around Smithfield, North Carolina, the chances are pretty good that she did indeed enjoy them both.

So, if you’re ready to get in the kitchen, let’s fry up a batch of chicken, and make a little gravy to go along with it.  I’ve got the chicken and gravy covered, you just bring the Mashed Potatoes.  Ready to get started?  Alright then, Let’s Get Cooking!

Fried Chicken with Gravy:  You’ll need these ingredients. I’m using Light Cream, simply because I didn’t have any fresh Milk.

I like to work with chicken in the sink.  You’ll want to be sure the sink is good and clean before starting and that you clean and sanitize it after you’ve finished. More on that later.

When you open the packaged fryer, you’ll probably find a packet inside the cavity of the bird.  You’ll need to remove this and set it aside.  The packet contents may vary, but will usually contain the chicken gizzard, liver, heart and neck.  You can use these to make a giblet gravy if desired, but I just normally save them for making stock.

Give the chicken a good bath, inside and out.  You will also want to check the skin of the chicken for any small pin feathers that might be left attached. You can easily remove those with your fingers and discard them should you find any.

Whole fryers are normally a little cheaper to purchase. Cutting them up is a process within itself, and one we’ll save for a later time, probably after I get much better at it myself.  I do know that you MUST have a very sharp knife to do it with.  Dull knives cause many more kitchen accidents than sharp ones. It’s always good to practice your “cutting-up-a-fryer skills” whenever possible, so I buy whole fryers most of the time. Cut the chicken as desired. Be sure to save the back, giblets, and any other pieces to use in making stock later.

Raise your hand if you know what this cut is.  Growing up, this was probably my favorite part of the chicken. If you know what it is, you’ll understand why. You aren’t going to find this at the “Colonel’s” place, or probably any other fast food restaurant.  For some reason, folks pretty much don’t cut their chickens this way any longer.  I’ll be waiting for your answer in the Comments Section below.

Once the chicken is cut up, sprinkle on a little salt.  It will not take much, so go a little easy.

Go ahead and sprinkle on some Black Pepper.  Flip the chicken pieces over and salt and pepper the other side. I always like to add salt and pepper directly to the chicken as opposed to mixing it into the flour.  It’s also super easy to do with the chicken still in the sink, so don’t hate me for my technique today.  Once I’m finished, I’ll wash out the sink with hot soapy water and then spray the sink down with the same stuff restaurants use to clean their work surfaces – a special chlorine solution.

Place some flour in a shallow bowl, then dip each piece of the chicken into the flour.  Turn it all around and coat all sides with flour.

Shake off any excess flour, then place the coated chicken on a baking sheet or wire rack.

The coated chicken needs to rest and dry out a bit before frying. I typically leave it on the counter while I’m heating up the oil, but you could place the whole pan in the refrigerator while you do that if you’re worried about it getting too warm.

Yep, it’s Lard. We ARE making Southern Fried Chicken… right?  You could use shortening, or a liquid oil, like Peanut Oil, but I’ll stick with the Lard. I probably have about two cups here, and I added a bit more once it had melted down in the cast iron skillet.  You need enough liquid oil to measure about 3/4 of an inch deep.  Place the skillet over Medium heat and let it come up to 350ºF.

When the Lard has melted and is getting close to frying temperature, carefully add the Butter.

Be careful adding the Butter.  It’s going to spit and spatter as it starts to melt.  You could use a spoonful of Bacon grease if you have that, instead of the Butter. It’s going to add a little flavor to the Lard and will also help to brown the chicken a bit.

The older cooks often dropped a pinch of flour into the hot oil. If it dances around on top, the oil is ready to start frying. If it just sinks to the bottom with very little sizzle, you have to let the oil continue to heat up. When you start seeing little whiffs of smoke, you’re getting too hot already. An open pan of hot oil can be a dangerous thing. Keep small children away from the stove at all times. Keep a lid close by so you could place it over the skillet if it happens to get too hot and catch fire. Always use caution.

When the grease is at 350ºF, start adding the chicken.  Carefully lower a piece of the chicken into the pan – skin side down.

Don’t overcrowd the skillet with chicken. If you’re frying the entire chicken, you’re going to have to do it in two batches anyway. I generally fry up the legs and wings first, leaving the breast and thighs for the next go round. That mystery piece is what you see in the middle.

Once you get the first batch into the skillet, cover it with a good fitting lid and start the timing process.  I found that the lid from my enamel canning pot works great as a lid for my skillet. And, like the skillet, it gets very hot, so always be careful when removing any lid. When the lid is on, start the first 8 minute time segment. The chicken will cook 8 minutes with the lid ON. It’s also important to “listen” to the chicken as it’s frying. You can hear if it sounds like its bubbling really fast, and it will at first. Learning to recognize how it “talks” to you will help you fry better chicken.

Next, remove the lid and start the second 8 minute frying segment. You’ll hear a difference in how fast the chicken is cooking by now, as it starts to get done on the one side.  We’ll leave the lid off and cook the chicken for 8 more minutes before we turn it.

As you can see here, the wing is starting to brown on the bottom pretty well.  You can see where the browned part is even above the oil line in the skillet. If you’re worried about it burning, use some tongs to gently lift the chicken and take a look at the bottom.  It’s OK to lift it to look, just don’t turn it if it’s not burning. Most pans will have a hot spot in them I suspect. What I like to do is just twist the whole pan around on the burner so it’s not cooking in the same position all the time.

At the end of the 8 minutes, use some tongs and turn the chicken pieces over. Try not to turn the chicken with a fork as piercing the skin and meat will cause the juices to drain out. The chicken has now cooked 16 minutes.

Place the cover back on the skillet.  We’ll let it cook 8 more minutes with the cover on.

At the end of the third 8 minute segment, remove the cover.  It’s possible the chicken would be totally done at this point, depending on the heat of the oil.  It’s best if you can test the internal temperature with a thermometer, but if you don’t have one, cut into one of the chicken pieces with a sharp knife.  If the juices that run out are still red, or pink, the chicken is NOT done and needs to cook a little longer. Depending on the size of the chicken, the legs and wings may need to cook for another full 8 minutes. That would make a total of 32 minutes, and a pretty safe bet that all the chicken would be done.

According to the US Dept. of Agriculture, (USDA) chicken is fully cooked and safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. If you don’t already have one, I highly suggest you pick up a thermometer on your next shopping trip. They’re extremely handy in the kitchen.

When it’s done, remove the chicken from the skillet and place it on a wire rack or a brown paper bag to drain and cool. Paper towels will soften the crispy skin you’ve tried to create. A brown paper bag placed on a plate is a good way to drain the chicken. Now, I know you’re saying that looks like a lot of grease, and you’d be right.  Just remember, it’s going into the paper and NOT staying in the chicken.  (Smile)

Repeat the cooking process with the remaining batch of chicken. If cooking boneless breasts, they will probably cook quicker than the other pieces.  Keep a close watch on them after they have cooked a bit so you don’t overcook them. It’s a learning process, but you can do it. I know you can.

Remove the remaining pieces of chicken when done, and let them drain as well.  If you’ll be serving very soon, the chicken can just drain and cool a bit on the rack or paper. You could also keep it warm in the oven for a short period of time.  Set the oven temperature to around 200° and place the meat, uncovered, in the oven. Unlike some other meats, chicken doesn’t need to “rest” once it’s cooked, it just needs to get cool enough from frying so as not to burn your mouth.  Ouch!

Now, let’s make the gravy. Start by draining most of the grease out of the skillet.  Typically, I’ll just pour this hot grease into a metal can that I keep for such purposes, or I’ll pour it into a small sauce pot to let it cool.  KEEP about 4 Tablespoons of the oil in the skillet along with the browned bits.  Those bits are full of flavor that we’ll be looking for in the gravy.

It’s best to have your flour, milk and water measured out before you start working on the gravy.  It will pretty much need your undivided attention while you’re making it. Return the skillet to the stove top over heat just a notch or so below Medium heat.  Add the butter and let it melt completely.  Be careful that it doesn’t cook too fast and start burning right away.

Once the butter is melted, sprinkle the flour all around inside the skillet.

Working quickly, stir the flour into the butter and remaining oil.  We’re going to make a roux to begin with and it will require you to just keep stirring, so it doesn’t stick or burn.  REDUCE the heat down to about Medium-Low and let the flour cook for a minute or so.  The roux needs to cook so the “flour taste” cooks out of the roux.  This will only take a minute or two and the longer it cooks, the darker it gets. Just keep stirring and you’ll be good to go.

OK, you’ve got a fairly warm mixture in the skillet.  Now, we’ll add the milk, a little at a time.  The milk should be cool, but not real cold when you start adding it.  Just continue to stir the roux as you gradually add the milk.  You’ll probably start seeing some lumps, but that’s OK.  Just continue to stir and work them out as you go.

I was using Light Cream instead of Milk and as you can see, it thickened up pretty quick.  I was concerned it was getting away from me because I was trying to get the pictures at the same time.  (Try that while adding milk and stirring.) I continued to stir it quickly and added all the cream into the roux.

Do the same thing with the water.  Add it gradually and just keep stirring. The water also needs to be cool.

With a little work, I think I recovered the gravy pretty good by constant stirring. Add a little Black Pepper at this point.

Stir the pepper into the gravy, then taste it.  Need more pepper?  Maybe a little salt?

Salt should be added last if needed.  You’ve got salt and pepper in those brown bits and probably some salt from the butter. You may not even need to add any more, it just depends on your personal taste. The gravy may need to simmer a few minutes to reach the desired consistency.  If it’s too thick, add a little more milk and water.  If it’s too thin, let it simmer a little longer. When it’s to your liking, pour it into a gravy boat or small bowl.  Some folks will place the chicken back in the skillet and let it simmer a bit with the gravy.  I prefer to serve the gravy “on the side” and add it to the chicken once it’s in my plate.  Good stuff!

Serve the chicken warm, top it with some gravy and… Enjoy!

Follow our step-by-step, photo illustrated recipe for making one of our favorite, Southern classic comfort foods. It doesn’t have to be cold and snowy outside to enjoy this warm and filling dish, but it certainly helps. Only a few ingredients are needed to make this timeless classic. It’s truly something all the family can enjoy. Printable recipe included.

Southern Chicken and Rice recipe:

I am honored to have recently been selected to test and review cookware, from the new line of cookware, produced by OXO Manufacturing Company.

If you’re not familiar with them, OXO makes over 800 innovative products covering every room of the home, featuring their Award Winning Cooking Tools and Accessories. They are based out of New York City.

OXO has just introduced a couple of new lines of cookware, including their Non-Stick, Non-Stick Pro, and 3 ply Stainless Steel PRO sets of cookware. I’ll give you a link in just a minute so you can take a look for yourself.

I was given the opportunity to select a piece of cookware that I’d like to try and review, and was asked to provide a recipe that I’d like to prepare in that particular piece of cookware.

I saw no need to hold back, and I went for the biggest and brightest piece of cookware in the entire set. I selected the OXO Stainless Steel PRO 5 Qt. Casserole + Cover piece, and said that I’d like to prepare one of my favorite comfort food dishes that Mama use to prepare – Chicken and Rice.

With all the cold weather, freezing rain, ice, and even some snow we’ve had here in the South recently, I figured a big pot of Chicken and Rice would warm up the day, and would be a great way to test out the 5 Qt. Casserole + Cover piece from the 3 Ply Stainless Steel Collection.

I’ll provide you with the full step-by-step, photo illustrated recipe for making Chicken and Rice in the steps below, and I’ll give you a good look at this new piece of cookware from OXO, along with some of my personal thoughts and comments on how it performed. Keep reading.

Straight out of the box, I was impressed with the overall “feel and quality,” of the cookware that I was now holding in my hands. I was eager to get started, and I hope you are as well.

So, if you’re ready for another great Southern Classic, that is good any time of the year, not just for cold weather, then let’s get in the kitchen, and… Let’s Get Cooking!

Full Disclosure: This recipe post is sponsored by OXO and their Award Winning Cooking Tools.

More about that in a minute. Let’s get started with the recipe.

Chicken and Rice: You’ll need these ingredients.

After opening your package of chicken, you might need to remove any pieces that are sometimes packed inside the cavity of the bird. They aren’t always included, but you’ll want to check before proceeding. If you find them, set the parts aside for the moment. We’ll use them later down the recipe.

These parts are usually the neck bone, liver, gizzard and sometimes the heart. Some companies include them with the purchase of a whole chicken and others might remove them. They’re good for making gravy, but we’ll be including them in the boiling process of the whole chicken to add flavor to the broth.

Rinse the chicken under cold running water. Give it a gentle scrubbing with your hands, both inside and out. Also, check for any pin feathers that might still be attached to the skin. Remove them if you see them.

This is the new “Stainless Steel PRO 5 Qt. Casserole + Cover” from OXO. Isn’t it all shiny and neat looking?

I wanted to use this for the entire recipe, but I was afraid it wasn’t quite deep enough to hold the chicken and the extra water I wanted to add to make the stock. It’s a really AWESOME cooking utensil though, and I’ll tell you more about it in just a moment, but first, we need to get the chicken on the stove and start it cooking.

Place the chicken in a large stock pot. Add the neck and other parts that were removed. I used a 16 quart stock pot for this particular part of the recipe. It was really too large for what I needed, but we’ll work with it.

Add cold water, enough to cover the chicken by about one inch.

Remove the outer skin from your onion, then split the onion in half.

Toss both halves of the onion into the stockpot with the chicken and water.

Add the Salt.

Add the Black Pepper.

Place the pot on your stove top. Start out on Medium-High heat to quickly bring the water up to a low boil.

After the pot begins to boil, place a cover on top of the stock pot and REDUCE the heat to Medium-Low.

The chicken will need to simmer for about one hour, or until the chicken is fall off the bone done.

When the chicken is done, turn off the heat, and let the chicken sit in the broth for another 30 minutes.

OK, let’s tell you a bit more about that new OXO Stainless Steel Pro 5 Qt. Casserole while the chicken is cooking.

Here’s another look at the OXO Stainless Steel 5 Qt. Casserole + Cover pot.

OXO lists the dimensions for this piece at: 13.8″ x 10.2″ x 6.1″

Weight is listed at: 5.2lbs.

I really liked the sturdy, well built “feel” of this pot as I held it in my hand. I’d easily call this the “fanciest” piece of cookware that I’ve ever owned. I love my black cast iron skillet, but it can’t do everything in the kitchen. I’ve got some older pieces of cookware, but nothing like this, so I’m excited to be adding it to my kitchen here at Taste of Southern.

This is a 3-ply piece of cookware, meaning it has a “heat radiant aluminum core, fused between 2 layers of stainless steel which ensures even cooking from every side,” according to OXO.

It’s a very attractive piece of cookware, and I can see it becoming a staple piece that I’d pretty much just leave out on my stove top all the time. It’d be great for making pasta, some favorite sauces, and lots of other things.

You aren’t going to find any flimsy handles with screws that work loose on this OXO cookware.

If you’re like me, you’ve reached for a screwdriver more than one time to try and tighten up the handle or the knob on the lid to a cook pot. That’s not going to EVER happen with this stuff.

The handles are designed to stay “cool to the touch”and offer a very comfortable grip. You can just feel the strength in them when you lift up a full pot from the stove top. Those heavy brads will hold the handles on for as long as the pot exist. Nice!

The same type of brads are used on the lid handle as well. Handles on both the lid and the pot are very sleek looking, with a gentle curve that is easy on the hands.

Here’s a little closer look at the lid handle. Very stylish, don’t you think?

I like the little logo on the lid.

The lid itself is made of clear tempered glass. I like glass lids. That way, you can see what’s happening inside the pot without losing the heat.

You’ll find a stainless steel rim around the outer edge of the lid. It’s built so that it fits nice and neatly inside the pot.

Looking straight down inside the pot you’ll see the slightly angled sidewalls, well, maybe you can tell from the picture. Trust me, they are there. The rounded bottoms on the inside make it easier to stir ingredients inside the pot.

OXO says the pot is made of scratch resistant materials and is oven safe up to 430F degrees.

All of the OXO Stainless Steel Pro Cookware is Dishwasher safe, works on all types of stove tops, including the induction types, and comes with a LIFETIME WARRANTY. What more could you ask for?

OK, I think our chicken is done, let’s get back to the recipe.

We let the chicken cook at a low simmer for just about an hour. I used a pair of tongs to lift the bird from the water, then scooped out the onion. Just leave all the broth in the pot for the time being, we’ll need it shortly.

It was still fairly warm, but not too hot to go ahead and pull the meat off the bones. You could chop the onion up and save it for the finished dish, or just discard it, choice is yours.

Carefully pick the meat away from the bones, removing and discarding the bones and the skin.

Remove all the meat and skin from the bones. Be sure to pick through it carefully, removing any small bones, gristle, or unsightly dark pieces that you might find. Nothing is worse than biting down onto a small bone in your Chicken and Rice. Trust me on this one. Discard the bones, skins and other pieces you don’t want in your dish.

I really liked the measurement markings inside the new OXO Stainless Steel 5 Qt cooker. The lettering is printed in black on the inside of the pot, and very easy to read. It has both quart and liter measurements.

Time to put this piece of cookware to work… and to the test.

Instead of dragging out the measuring cup to measure out 8 cups of stock, I just easily filled the OXO 5 Qt. cooker up to the 2 Qt. mark that was on the inside of the pot.

Can you sort of see that rolled edge on the top of the pot? It will make it easy to pour liquids out of the pot with drip free ease. I think OXO pretty much thought of everything I needed with this one.

Place the stock on your stove top over Medium-High heat. Bring the stock up to a low boil.

Add the totally bone free, and gristle free, pulled chicken pieces to the stock.

I added the entire box of Uncle Ben’s Rice to the pot. It was just a little bit over the 2 cups that the recipe calls for.

Gently stir the rice and chicken together.

Cover the pot, REDUCE the heat, and let the pot simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the rice is done.

This photo will give you a better look at the rim around the tempered glass on the lid, and the really neat handles. Sharp huh?

We can keep a close watch on the rice with this clear glass lid as well. (I’m liking it more and more as I go.)

Check the rice after 15 minutes to see if it’s cooked to your liking.

Add the butter.

Note the remaining liquid in the chicken and rice. I like it a little “juicy,” but the rice is going to keep absorbing liquid even after it’s removed from the stove top. Keep the remaining stock from where you boiled the chicken close at hand, so you can add more if needed.

Stir the butter into the chicken and rice, until it’s fully melted.

Now is the time to taste the recipe to see if it needs more salt, or perhaps more black pepper.

I suggest you add seasonings lightly, if at all. It’s easy to add more to taste once you serve it to your family or guests.

Serve it up while it’s still warm.

You can probably see how it’s already soaked up most of the liquid that was still in the pot.

I probably added about 2 more cups of the stock from where I boiled the chicken. This required me to add a bit more salt and a bit more black pepper.

I didn’t use it here, but you might want to add some chicken bouillon to the stock if it doesn’t have a lot of taste to it. Mama would have cooked this with and old hen instead of a small frying chicken like this. The older hen’s seemed to have added more flavor to the stock. Don’t be afraid to adjust the taste with some chicken granules, cubes, or bouillon of some sort if desired. Make it your own.

Enjoy!

A very special THANK YOU to OXO for providing me with this beautiful Stainless Steel PRO 5Qt. Casserole cooker with the tempered glass lid. I’m honored that you selected me to test it out, and very happy with the results I received from working with it.

I found that the handles were a bit warm after cooking the Chicken and Rice dish, but not too hot that I couldn’t easily pick it up from the stove top and place it on the counter next to the sink. Tender hands might still need to use a pot holder.

OK, maybe, just maybe, I don’t have those rugged hard working hands of most men. Perhaps that’s why I thought the handles were just a tad warm to the touch. I’ve had a few callouses in my day, but admittedly, not very many. Just saying. (Smile)

In Summary:

I found the OXO cooker to be very, very well made. It would be hard to imagine it ever coming apart on you. The pot just has a good firm feel when you pick it up, like it’s going to do the job you’re about to place in front of it.

It was super easy to clean up afterwards. Just a light rinse was about all that was needed, but I did wash it out well. Don’t forget that it’s dishwasher safe, so you can just place it in with the rest of your dishes for quick and easy clean up.

At first, I questioned the lack of a vent in the lid, not really sure whether it actually needed one or not. The lid fits inside the pot pretty snug, but not so much so that steam from the simmering rice couldn’t escape a bit.

There was just an ever so slight bit of tarnishing inside the pot from where it sat on my burners. I could just lightly see the rings from the burner, but I assume that’s pretty typical with pots such as these. Don’t forget, I use that black cast iron skillet for most of my cooking, so cooking with stainless steel is sort of a new experience.

I’d still give it a great big A+ for cooking with.

The one very minor drawback for ME, was the light reflections from cooking with it in my kitchen and trying to take photos of my work. For that reason, and that one reason only, given the choice, I would probably purchase the Non-Stick PRO line of OXO cookware over this stainless steel.

Oh I’d love to have this stainless steel set for cooking with family and friends, it just presented some odd images when trying to line up a shot a time or two.

I hope you’ll click this link, and check out all of the great line of OXO’s Award Winning Cooking Tools and Accessories.

You can take a look at the complete 13 piece set of Stainless Steel OXO Cookware by clicking here.

Disclaimer: Now for the required stuff. OXO provided me with this OXO Stainless Steel, 3 ply Casserole Cooker plus Cover, to use in the Taste of Southern kitchen. They invited me to submit a recipe idea, and select the piece of cookware from their collection that I would most like to work with. They have not offered any payment for my review and comments on their cookware, and all the comments posted herein are totally mine. Other bloggers participated in similar reviews, but I do not have any knowledge as to who they are or what recipes they will prepare with their chosen pieces of cookware. Thank you again to all the fine folks at OXO for allowing me to participate in this program. #OXOcookware 

Follow our easy, step-by-step, photo illustrated recipe for making this deliciously simple Roast Chicken. Preparation is quick, and you can sit back and relax as it roasts in the oven. Your family will love this, and love you for making it for them. Printable recipe included.

Easy Roast Chicken Recipe

I love pretty much any recipe that includes chicken. How about you?

This Roast Chicken is super easy to make, and if you monitor the temperature as it’s roasting, it will turn out very moist and tender for you. You can thank me later. Smile.

Mama most often just fried chicken for us. Sometimes, she would place a little barbecue sauce on some chicken pieces and roast it up in the oven. I liked that too, but her fried chicken was always best.

I’ve written many times about Mama cooking Sunday dinner for about 12-15 family and friends each week. She’d get started before church, then finish once she got back home.

I have vivid memories of sitting around that large oval dining room table, filled with bowls of beans, potatoes and greens, and a large platter of fried chicken. And, let’s not forget those Buttermilk Biscuits.

Roasted chicken, or baked chicken as it’s sometimes called, just wasn’t one of those dishes she would prepare very often, for whatever the reason, but it was always mighty tasty when she did.

So, is it roasted, or is it baked? I had to look it up to see what the difference might be.

It seems that any food that has “solid structure,” like any type of meat or vegetable, is roasted. Other things that do not have that “solid structure” starting out, but will once cooked, are considered to be baked. This would include things like cakes, bread and casseroles. Who knew?

This then, is roasted chicken. Easy roasted chicken.

In order to keep it simple, I didn’t include roasting the chicken with vegetables in the printed recipe. It wouldn’t have added much more to it, but you can certainly just roast the chicken by itself if that’s all you need. You might prefer some other type of side dishes with your chicken instead.

As it would happen, I had a few vegetables on hand that I decided to toss into the roasting pan while the chicken was in the oven. It makes for a quick and easy meal, so do consider it at least.

Once the chicken is done, you could easily use the pan drippings to make gravy, but again, I didn’t include that in the recipe itself.

You’ll need a chicken that weighs about 3-4 pounds. The one that I found turned out to weigh in at a little over 6 pounds, but that just meant leftovers, and leftovers mean chicken sandwiches. How good is that?

So, if you’re ready for a really quick and easy chicken dish, one that you can place in the oven then sit back and relax while it’s roasting, then let’s head for the kitchen and… Let’s Get Cooking!

Easy Roast Chicken: You’ll need these ingredients.

NOTE: Your chicken needs to be about room temperature before it goes into the oven. You can let it reach this temp by letting it sit out for about an hour before you start preparing it, or you can let it sit out a bit once it’s prepared, before placing it in the oven. Thank you for listening. Smile

Open up your packaged chicken, and remove any giblets that might be stuffed in the cavity of the bird. Some will have the giblets, some will not. It just depends on the company you buy your chicken from. I also like to trim away any excess fat that might be around the opening of the chicken.

You can save the giblets, and the fat, for making stock or gravy later on if desired.

Place the chicken in your sink, and rinse it inside and outside using cold running water.

Be sure to rinse inside the neck cavity area too.

Grab a couple of paper towels, and pat the chicken dry. And yes, I did the inside.

Sprinkle the inside of the chicken with salt and black pepper.

I was using whole peppercorns in a grinder, which takes two hands to do. Thus, I didn’t get a picture of me actually adding the pepper. My camera has a timer, so I was able to use both hands to add the salt, the pepper just required a little more effort. But, you get the idea… right?

To truss – or – not to truss? That is the question.

I opted to tie up the legs of the chicken. Some folks prefer to just let them spread out, saying it helps the chicken thigh meat to cook more evenly. I don’t have any real facts on that being right or not.

If you decide to truss the chicken, use some kitchen twine, and wrap it around the legs, and the tail of the chicken and pull tight. Tie the ends together.

Vegetables are optional.

You can easily skip this part if desired. I didn’t include anything about vegetables in the ingredients or the printable recipe, but I had them on hand, so I decided to use them.

I’ve sliced an onion, and cut some small red potatoes into halves and added them to the pan I’m going to roast the chicken in. I also had some baby carrots, and tossed them in too.

Next, I drizzled a little olive oil over the vegetables, then added a sprinkling of salt and pepper. I tossed them around a bit to coat the vegetables with olive oil, then spread them out to use the onions to place the chicken on.

I always like to line my pans with aluminum foil for easier clean up.

If you don’t want to add vegetables, then just proceed to the next step below.

Place the chicken in your roasting pan.

Tuck the wings under the chicken.

I didn’t notice it until I started editing the photos, but the tip of the chicken wing had popped back out from under the chicken when I took the photo above. I fixed it before proceeding though.

It was just a little slippery.

Sprinkle the chicken lightly with salt.

Sprinkle the chicken with some black pepper.

Again, I’m using cracked black pepper from my pepper grinder. You could certainly use regular ground black pepper if that’s what you have on hand.

I might have even added a bit of Rosemary to the chicken, but only because I had just recently bought some of that as well.

Make the recipe your own by adding any spices you prefer.

Please note that I am NOT adding any oil, butter, or even covering the chicken before it goes into the oven. You don’t need to do either.

TO START:  Place the chicken in a preheated 425F degree oven.

Roasting Instructions: Please follow carefully. 

Start the chicken in a pre-heated oven set to 425F degrees.

Let the chicken roast for 15 minutes at this 425F degree temperature.

REDUCE the temp down to 350F degrees after 15 minutes, and let the chicken roast for about 20 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature of the thigh meat reaches 165F degrees.

A digital thermometer will be one of your best kitchen gadgets, so if you don’t own one, may I suggest you add one soon. If you overcook the chicken, the meat will be dry.

Check the temperature of the chicken by inserting a digital thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh meat. Again, the internal temp should read 165F degrees to be considered done.

When the chicken is done, remove it from the oven.

Let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. This will help the juices to redistribute inside the bird.

Enjoy!

This turned out really moist and tender I thought. I do hope you’ll try our Easy Roast Chicken recipe and let me know how you like it.

And, you know me, the leftovers make some really great sandwiches. Smile.

Ingredients

3-4 pound whole chicken
2 tablespoons Salt
2 tablespoons Cracked Black Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Rosemary Herbs
¼ cup Olive Oil
Kitchen Twine (optional)

Vegetables If Desired to Cook with Roast Chicken
6 medium Red Potatoes quartered or slice
1 medium onion sliced
2 cups baby carrots
Add more Salt and Pepper if desired
Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Follow our complete, step-by-step, recipe to make this delicious sheet pan dinner featuring Cornish Hens. We’ve teamed up with OXO Good Grips for a look at more of their great tools for your kitchen. You just need one pan to make a complete meal.

Cornish Hens Recipe

Full Disclosure: This recipe is sponsored by OXO Good Grips. They provided me with several new tools to test and review in exchange for my participation. All comments are my own.

Have you ever tried a Cornish Hen?  Well, if not, let me just go ahead and tell you, “It tastes like chicken.” There, how’s that? Smile.

I must admit, to the best of my knowledge I’d never had a Cornish Hen until I finished this recipe. I don’t know why, I just hadn’t. But, I will not overlook them any longer. Each bird is a perfect serving for a “manly” meal. Maybe even two servings.

In talking with a friend last year after Thanksgiving, I asked him if he enjoyed some turkey for the holiday. He replied that he hadn’t and proceeded to tell me that instead of a turkey, his wife would always cook two Cornish Hens, one for him, one for her. They just didn’t need a big old turkey for the two of them.

That peaked my curiosity and I’ve been thinking about trying them for myself ever since.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally picked up a package at the supermarket, brought them home and placed them back in the freezer. You’ll probably find them in the freezer section at your local market.

A few days later, our friends over at OXO Good Grips invited me to participate in a “Sheet Pan with a Plan” promotion they were offering. Well, I love working with OXO and I’m always eager to see what new products they are offering.

When I read about what they were looking for, I knew right then what to do with the Cornish Hens in the freezer. How’s that for good timing?

Cornish Hens are actually just young boiler chickens, so yes, they do taste like chicken. Smile. And, when you combine a couple of them on a sheet pan with some of your favorite vegetables, you can roast up a complete ONE PAN meal in hardly any time at all. How cool is that?

The recipe is simple, and I’ll show you the new tools that OXO sent for testing and review. So, if you’re ready to cook up a quick and easy sheet pan dinner, let’s head to the kitchen, and… Let’s Get Cooking!

Cornish Hens – Sheet Pan Dinners recipe:  You’ll need these ingredients.

The choice of vegetables you cook with your Cornish Hens is entirely up to you. I’m just using these as a suggestion, and I didn’t even use all of the vegetables pictured to complete this meal.

Opening a box of new kitchen tools from OXO is about as good as Christmas. These are the new items that OXO provided me with to complete this one sheet pan meal. Let’s take a closer look and then we’ll get into how to prepare the full recipe.

The images above are courtesy of OXO Good Grips and give you a better idea of what we’ll be working with. I’m always excited to add new products from OXO to my collection because of the quality they put into each and every product.  If you’d like to learn more about any or all of them. Click a link below.

• Chef’s Precision Digital Instant Read Thermometer: The Instant Read Thermometer provides quick, accurate measurements for cooked meat. The pivoting head allows reading temperature from any angle.
• Silicone Roasting Rack: elevates food above fat and liquid for healthier cooking and allows air to circulate around food for faster, more even roasting.
• Flavor Injector: inject marinades and other flavorings into meat for delicious flavor and juiciness. Two needles for thick and thin marinades store inside injector tube when not in use.
• Good Gravy Fat Separator: Easily separates the fat for healthier gravies, soups and sauces
• Non-Stick Pro Half Sheet Jelly Roll Pan: Square-rolled edges add reinforcement for structure, strength and durability

Wash your vegetables.

Rinse your vegetables under cool running water as needed.

Set them aside to drain while we prepare the Cornish Hens.

As mentioned, these are just the vegetables that I used, you might prefer some different ones. I always encourage you to take a recipe and make it your own. You know best what you or your family likes or dislikes, so select vegetables that will work best for you.

These were frozen Cornish Hens that I thawed in the refrigerator prior to starting to complete this meal. Most of what I’ve seen generally come with two of them packaged together but that may be different in your area.

These are sometimes called Cornish Game Hens, or you might find a Rock Cornish Game Hen.

It’s called a “hen” but can be either male or female. These are young broiler chickens that grow to about 28 to 30 days old compared to most chickens that are grown to about 42 days or longer.

Cornish Hens typically weigh less than 2lbs each.

You’ll need to give them a good rinse under cold running water. Rinse them inside and out, removing any pin feathers that might be left on the bird.

Some come with the giblets inside, much like you’d find inside a turkey, but the two I have were sold without them.

Pat them dry with a paper towel.

You can also truss the hens if you’d like. That step is optional.

I decided to inject one of the hens with some NC Eastern Style Vinegar Based BBQ Sauce.

Since I hadn’t had a Cornish Hen before, I only did one so I could still see what it would normally taste like.

I love that the OXO Flavor Injector comes with two different sizes of needles, one for thin marinades and another for thicker marinades. Injecting the birds will add moistness and more flavor. Use a homemade marinade or purchase a favorite from your grocer. Something as simple as melted butter will work great.

Try not to pierce the skin when doing this. Find an exposed part in the breast, legs and thighs to inject a bit of your marinade.

The Flavor Injector made this part super easy and both needles store inside the unit when not in use.

I placed the two Silicone Roasting Racks on the sheet pan, then placed the hens on top, one on each rack. You can use these separately as pictured, or place them close enough together to use them as one. You can even stack them on top of each other to raise the meat up higher.

The racks keep the meat up above the fat and liquid for healthier cooking and its design allows air to circulate around the meat for faster and more even cooking. They turned out to be just a perfect rack to hold one hen.

I’m already the proud owner of the OXO Pizza Pan, and their Muffin Pan, so I know this sheet pan is a quality made product that will serve me well.

Season the hens as desired.

I used a little Salt, Black Pepper, and some Smoked Paprika on these. Garlic Powder would be good, maybe some onion powder. Lots of choices depending on the flavor you desire to achieve.

Please note that I also placed two Sweet Potatoes on the sheet pan as well. Since these will take about an hour to bake, I wanted them to go in the oven at the same time as the birds.

I also drizzled a little Olive Oil over the birds. Now, let’s get them in the oven.

Place the sheet pan in your preheated oven that should be set to 350F degrees.

The hens will need an hour or longer to roast in the oven, but the vegetables I’ve chosen will not need that much time. We’re giving the hens a “head start” on the cooking process. Smile.

While the hens are getting started in the oven, go ahead and slice your vegetables into large chunks as desired. The squash and zucchini will shrink up a bit as they cook, so even larger pieces become bite sized when roasted.

I probably should have cut these really large carrots into smaller pieces though. We’ll see.

I was tossing the chunks into a large bowl as I went. I figured as long as they were here, I might as well go ahead and drizzle some Olive Oil on them as well. Afterwards, I used a large spoon to toss them around to make sure they were pretty well coated in oil.

You could certainly just place them on the sheet pan and drizzle them a bit with Olive Oil later.

I was tossing the chunks into a large bowl as I went. I figured as long as they were here, I might as well go ahead and drizzle some Olive Oil on them as well. Afterwards, I used a large spoon to toss them around to make sure they were pretty well coated in oil.

You could certainly just place them on the sheet pan and drizzle them a bit with Olive Oil later.

After the hens had roasted in the oven for 30 minutes, I removed the pan and spread the sliced vegetables all around the pan. Keep them in a single layer but fill the pan up. This is also a good time to sprinkle the vegetables with a little salt and pepper if you’d like.

As you might can see, I stacked some of the vegetables right up next to the birds on the silicone racks. I also melted some butter in the microwave and brushed it on the Cornish Hens before placing the sheet pan back in the oven. There was a little oil in the pan, but not enough to baste the birds with.

Place the sheet pan back into the oven and let it all cook until done. It took me an hour and 15 minutes to completely roast the Cornish Hens, so this gave me about 45 minutes for the vegetables to cook.

The packaging on these hens said they should be cooked to an internal temperature of 180F degrees. Most sources say poultry is done at 165F degrees so I’m not sure what the difference here might be.

One of the best kitchen tools you’ll have for cooking any type of meat is a digital thermometer. I highly suggest you add one to your collection of kitchen tools, and this OXO brand Chef’s Precision Digital Instant Read Thermometer would be a great choice. It’s large dial makes it easy to see the temperature of your cooked meats and it displays in either Fahrenheit or Celsius by just a simple button on the back.

The head swivels so you can easily get a good reading and it shuts off automatically in case you fail to cut it off to preserve battery life. It also comes with a case that has a printed guide on the outside to help you remember what temperature certain meats should be cooked in order to be safe.

Once you remove the pan from the oven, let the birds rest for about 10 minutes prior to serving.

Everything here turned out perfect except for the carrots. I would probably use baby carrots the next time, or perhaps I should have added the carrots when I first placed the pan in the oven. The birds were just right, and the sweet potatoes were nicely baked. What do you think? Look good enough to eat?

Enjoy!

Sheet pan dinners are a wonderful way to prepare a meal quickly and easily. While we didn’t get everything in the oven at one time, it was a simple matter to add the vegetables later into the roasting cycle so we didn’t overcook them.  I do hope you’ll consider giving our recipe a try and I look forward to reading your Comments in the section below.

Chicken Gizzards with Gravy Recipe

Southern style Chicken Gizzards with Gravy, served over Rice.

I guess that Chicken Gizzards are just another one of those items that fall into the “acquired taste” category. Much like our Fried Chicken Livers. You might want to check out that recipe as well.

When I posted the Fried Chicken Livers recipe, I was kind of wondering how it would be received.

I knew it wouldn’t be as bad as the recipe for Chitlins that I posted, but thought it might get some odd reactions at least. Turns out, more folks like Fried Chicken Livers than I thought. Thus, I decided to proceed with the Chicken Gizzards.

If you’ve never had them, they have a slight taste like the chicken livers, or pretty much any type of liver product. Some folks seem to like it, and some folks just don’t care for it.

Gizzards do have a tendency to be tough. They have a connective tissue on them that just never seems to get tender no matter how long you cook it. There are folks that say they like the “chew” part about them. I guess they still have good teeth. Smile. Others think it’s like gnawing on a chicken leg trying to get all the meat off of it.

You can take the time to cut this connective tissue off if you prefer. It does take a good sharp knife and a bit of patience. It also leaves you with just small morsels of meat, much like popcorn shrimp or chicken in size, but it certainly makes it easier to chew and enjoy.

I’m going to leave that bit of tissue on though, and boil these for a good hour to get them as tender as possible. They will still have a little of that chew factor, but not enough that you have to spend the day trying to eat them. Smile.

If you prefer to have just Fried Chicken Gizzards, cook on down to where we get to that point and don’t make the gravy. Since I had already done a recipe for Fried Chicken Livers, I thought I’d go ahead and do the gizzards with some gravy. I hope you’ll enjoy them.

They are really pretty simple to make. And, when you can buy meat for what little you’ll pay for livers or gizzards, you’ll find them very economical as well.

In the old days, folks used every bit and piece of an animal they could, no need to waste it. You should be able to find whole packages of gizzards in the poultry section at your supermarket.

So, if you’re ready for a new adventure, or just want to bring back some old Southern comfort food memories, let’s head on into the kitchen and… Let’s Get Cooking!

Chicken Gizzards with Gravy. You’ll need these ingredients.

Place the gizzards in a colander and rinse them well, one at a time, under cold running water.

Gizzards will have this tough connective tissue on them. Some folks like to trim this away while cleaning them as they just never seem to get very tender, even after cooking.

We’re leaving them on in this recipe because we plan to boil the gizzards which will help.

A good sharp knife and a cutting board will make it easy to remove the tissue if desired.

Be sure to clean the gizzards well, looking for any dark or green spots that might still be on them.

If you look closely in the photo above, there is a small layer of dark, slightly green skin that will peel right off if you pull it. It’s usually attached to the side that has the “wrinkles” in it and should be removed.

It just wasn’t clean thoroughly before it was packaged.

You can see it a bit better here after I pulled it off. I only found two pieces like this in the package that I had and the other one was larger. I had just pulled it off before I thought about pointing it out to you.

This little piece is part of a sack attached to the gizzard. Chickens do not have teeth so they eat a few rocks along with their feed. The rocks are in the sack and help grind the food for the chickens as they eat. The sack is removed but sometimes you’ll find a piece of it still attached to a gizzard. It’s just best to peel it away and discard it as it’s tough like the connective tissue.

After you get them all cleaned, place the gizzards in a large stock pot and cover them with several inches of water. I filled my pot about half full since they will boil for about an hour.

Place the pot on the stove top and let it come to a boil. Reduce the heat down to a low boil and just let them cook for at least an hour, checking the water every 20 minutes or so to make sure it doesn’t totally boil away.

Almost all of the water had boiled out of the pot after an hour. I just turned the heat off, let them set in the remaining hot water for about 30 more minutes to continue cooking a little more while they cooled.

Drain the remaining liquid off the gizzards and place them in a small bowl or container.

Pour enough buttermilk over them to cover them. Just let them sit in the milk mixture for about 15 minutes.

Now it’s time to prepare the flour to dredge them in for frying.

I use a large zip lock type bag, but a paper bag or something similar will work.

Add the flour to the bag.

Place a teaspoon of salt in with the flour.

Then add the teaspoon of black pepper.

Close the bag and give it a few good shakes to mix the ingredients together.

Remove the gizzards from the buttermilk, gently shake off any excess liquid, and then place them in the bag with the flour mixture.

Close the bag up again, and shake and turn the bag until the gizzards are fully coated with the flour mixture.

I’m using just over a pound of gizzards. If you have more, you might want to do this part in batches.

As you remove them from the bag, place the flour coated gizzards on a foil lined sheet pan and let them rest for about 15 more minutes.

This resting period allows the flour to sort of dry onto the meat and helps keep it from all falling off once the meat goes into the frying pan.

Place about 1/2 inch of oil in your skillet and carefully add the gizzards, one at a time, into the oil once it’s hot enough for frying. The oil needs to reach about 350F degrees before you add the meat.

Don’t let the oil get to hot or the gizzards will quickly begin to burn. Test one or two before you add the rest so that you’re at a good frying temperature.

Watch for the bottom edges to start turning slightly brown, then turn the gizzards over in the skillet.

The meat is already done of course from where we boiled it, we’re just browning them a bit in the skillet. Again, you do not want to let them burn. This step will only take a couple of minute on each side.

You’ll probably have to do this in batches since you don’t want to overcrowd the pan.

Once they are browned on both sides, use a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the gizzards from the hot oil. Place them on a wire rack or on some paper towels to drain.

Paper towels have a tendency to make crispy fried meats lose some of their crispy coating. Normally, I suggest you place fried meats on a wire rack or on something like a brown paper bag to drain them, but we’re fixing to put these back in the pan so I’m just using the paper towels.

Of course, you could just stop here and start eating. It’s kind of hard to not do so. If you prefer them fried and without the gravy, you’re all set and ready to go at this point. Smile.

The pan and the oil will be hot, but carefully drain off all but about 2 Tablespoons of the oil. Leave any of the browned “bits” in the pan. It’s time to make some gravy.

Reduce the heat a bit on the pan also.

Add about one heaping Tablespoon of flour to the remaining oil in the skillet.

Quickly start stirring the flour into the oil and continue to stir it as you let the flour darken.

The darker you let the flour get, the darker your gravy will be. Problem is, the flour will burn if you let it get to dark, so watch it carefully. If it just looks all dried up, you added too much flour. You can fix this though by adding a little of the oil you strained out back into the pan, or add a bit of butter to it to make it smoother. This will help reduce the possibility of having lumps in your gravy.

Now, let’s begin to slow stir in some of the chicken broth.

Start by adding just a little of the broth at first, and quickly stirring it into the browned flour. This is your chance to stir away any lumps that you might see. Just continue to stir the soon to be gravy, a little at a time, until you don’t see any lumps. Then, you can go ahead and add the remaining broth, stirring it continually as you go.

Next, continue to stir the gravy as you add the cup of water.

If you’re using a cast iron skillet like mine, be sure you’re not adding cold water to the pan. I like to have it about room temperature at least, and it’s going to help that we just added the can of chicken broth as well.

Pouring cold water into a hot skillet could cause it to crack, and you don’t want that to happen. Smile.

Continue to stir the gravy as you gradually bring the heat back up. Let the gravy come up to a slight simmer before you add the gizzards back in.

Carefully add the gizzards back into the skillet and the gravy.

It’s not necessary to stir it any longer. Just let the gravy come to a slight simmer. You should see some small bubbles around the edges of the pan, and maybe some in the middle. You just don’t want it at a hot rolling boil.

Let the gizzards simmer, uncovered, for about 30 more minutes. This will help them continue to cook and get more tender, and it lets the broth reduce down to form the gravy.

Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t boil away. When it’s thickened the way you like it, it’s time to eat.

Enjoy!

I like to serve these over a bed of rice.

Mashed Potatoes, or even Egg Noodles would work just as well. Make the recipe your own and dig in to a plate of Chicken Gizzards with Gravy.