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Urban Farming. Healthy Living.

RECIPE | Homestyle Fried Chicken

Published: January 12, 2016 | Last Updated: October 7, 2019 7 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links from which I will earn a commission.

homestyle-fried-chicken

Let’s face it, traditional food rocks.

I’m looking at you, butter. Or lard, or tallow. Basically all traditional kinds of fat.

You’ve got a bad wrap over the last 100 years. But for thousands of years previous, you’ve been providing families everywhere with flaky pies, flavorful veggies, and of course, beloved crispy, homestyle fried chicken.

So where did we go wrong? And why did we vilify you in the first place?

Crisco can go to hell.

In the late 1800s, the company Procter & Gamble was doin’ mighty fine growing and harvesting cotton. The cottonseed, a bothersome byproduct of cotton, became so numerous that Procter & Gamble decided to see if there was anything –anything- they could make from the cottonseed to increase their profit. It seemed awfully wasteful to throw pounds and pounds of that cottonseed away.

They found after intense processing — which included heating & pressing that pesky cotton seed – that they were able to extract oil. And it cost Procter & Gamble next to NOTHING to produce it. An easily rancid and unstable fat, cottonseed oil was rendered stable and long lasting by adding the process of hydrogenation.

The result was a fat that had over 50% polyunsaturated oils or what we refer to as PUFA’s.

When the cottonseed oil cooled, it looked exactly like lard.

They called it Crisco.

“Before processing, cottonseed oil is cloudy red and bitter to the taste because of a natural phytochemical called gossypol… and is toxic to most animals, causing dangerous spikes in the body’s potassium levels, organ damage, and paralysis. An issue of Popular Science from the era sums up the evolution of cottonseed nicely: “What was garbage in 1860 was fertilizer in 1870, cattle feed in 1880, and table food and many things else in 1890.”
– The Happiness Project

 

It smells like plastic, it tastes like plastic, and your body treats it like the unnatural thing it is, resulting in all sorts of inflammation, hormone disruption, neurological disorders,and heart disease.

As far as I’m concerned Crisco can go to hell.

Yep. Take your greasy, fake little butt and walk yerself down to the corner. ‘Cause I don’t wanna see your face in our house ever again.

Traditional fats that replace Crisco

All of the following can cook at high heats and can be used in place of Crisco. A smoke point is what you want to avoid when cooking with fats.

  • Avocado oil (where to buy) – 520°F/271°C smoke point
  • Ghee (where to buy) – 470°F/252°C smoke point
  • Palm oil (where to buy) – 450°F/232°C smoke point
  • Tallow (where to buy) – 400°F/250°C smoke point
  • Lard (where to buy) – 370°F/185°C smoke point
  • Coconut oil (where to buy) – 350°F/177°C smoke point
  • Butter (where to buy) – 350°F/177°C smoke point

FYI, olive oil and other nut oils are okay for salad dressings, just not great for cooking as they aren’t quite as heat-tolerant.

And just say no to canola, vegetable, corn, soybean, cottonseed, safflower, sunflower, or peanut oil. They all contain high PUFAs, or are just generally unstable too soon after pressing/packaging.

Homestyle Fried Chicken [made with real ingredients]

Homestyle Fried Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6
Author: DaNelle Wolford
An even more traditional take on your favorite crispy fried chicken recipe!
Print

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 Tbs hot sauce
  • 2 cups white flour or sprouted wheat flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 whole chicken cut into pieces
  • 2 c of traditional fat of choice (see links above on where to buy)

Instructions

  1. In a medium size bowl, whisk together eggs, water, & hot sauce.
  2. In another bowl, combine the flour and spices.
  3. Dip the chicken in the egg, and then coat it in the flour/spice mixture.
  4. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a deep pot.
  5. Fry the chicken in the oil until brown and crisp.
  6. (Dark meat takes about 14 minutes, while white meat takes about 10 minutes)

homestyle-fried-chicken-pin

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ABOUT DANELLE

DaNelle started to take an interest in a healthier lifestyle after suffering from two debilitating chronic diseases. On a mission to create a farm of her own, DaNelle forced, or rather 'lovingly persuaded' her husband to purchase a ranch home on an acre of land and transform it into their very own urban farm. DaNelle blogs at Weed 'em & Reap where she writes about the sustainable backyard farming, traditional food, & natural remedies.

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Comments

  1. Faith says

    December 5, 2019 at 2:57 am

    I am so excited to make this recipe tomorrow night with some beef tallow. This Fried Chicken will be phenomenal aside some leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving!

    Reply
  2. Lee Ann LaPlante says

    January 26, 2017 at 3:58 pm

    So happy to hear good ‘ol Southern Fried Chicken being honored the way it should be! I was born and raised in Georgia. My mom cooked with lard until the 60’s when the PTB (powers that be) behind Crisco took over the market and made all think it was family abuse to use anything but. I am so grateful for your article and recipe! Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Jay says

    July 22, 2016 at 9:59 am

    So I’m confused. White flour? Is this just part of the 20%?

    Reply
    • DaNelle Wolford says

      July 24, 2016 at 9:38 am

      Yep! We also use organic, unbleached flour so it’s a bit better.

      Reply
  4. Mrs_MG says

    February 26, 2016 at 6:23 pm

    Thank you so much for such great recipes! I’m not much for hot foots (I know, I’m a wimp! 😉 so I just leave out the hot sauce and it’s lovely! My family always cooked with Crisco. So far, every one on my mother’s side of the family has died from cancer except me. (Sad but true.) I’m sure it wasn’t *just* the Crisco but the fact that they ate all the things that they were told was “good for them” and I’m sure that didn’t help. They all thought I was nuts for wanting to eat natural foods. Moral of the story is: don’t let anyone convince you that whole, real foods are not the way to go. Let them make their own decisions, if they won’t listen, but stick to your guns!

    Reply
  5. Bethany says

    January 20, 2016 at 8:02 am

    Mmmm, homemade fried chicken, nothing else comes close. That’s right, KFC can go to hell too, lol.

    Reply
  6. Clare says

    January 13, 2016 at 11:10 am

    yes, ma’am, Crisco can definitely go to hell. a few years ago I went to a private school & was in Home Ec. I HAD to use
    Crisco. it was horrible. stay outta my sight, ya faker!! I think I’ll make this for my family next week! along with a broccoli salad. yes yes. thanks for sharing! your posts are always so insightful!

    Reply

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HEY THERE!

I'm DaNelle. I'm a city girl who convinced her husband to buy goats. Because, goats. Growing my own food has been an amazing experience, and this is the place I share it all with you! READ MORE…

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