Cajun Red Beans and Rice and Fried Chicken: Take 2

Ever since reading the Unorthodox Epicure's post about fried chicken, I've become determined to make great fried chicken every time I try. That said, this is not my first post regarding Cajun Red Beans or Fried Bird.

My original post is here:  http://communisvita.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/cajun-wednesday-night-dinner/.

In case you also desire to make great fried chicken, which is a lost art if you ask me, I'll share some tips.

-let the chicken come to room temperature before seasoning and frying. If you worry about letting chicken sit out (I don't), microwave it for 30 seconds per side (this is if you have 3 thighs on the plate).

-if you aren't good at eyeballing the way 375 degree oil acts, take time to check with a thermometer. I think one common error folks have is oil that isn't hot enough.

-this isn't critical, but I like the flavor of mixing various oils to fry in: Crisco, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, Smart Balance vegetable oil blend

-I like to drain the chicken on a wire rack, not the crisscrossed kind that Pampered Chef sells, but one that just has bars in one direction so there isn't too much 'bar' sitting under the chicken. This seems to help the piece be crunchier than if you set it on paper towels right away. After the chicken is pretty cool you can get more oil out by setting it on paper towels.

The recipe from the Unorthodox Epicure

 

The spice mixture, she's hot!

The chicken...first fry some bacon in your cast iron

 

Next, lift up the skin and insert spices. I do some full strength and some much weaker so we can all enjoy it!

For Father's Day I cooked up some turnip, mustard and collard greens in some bacon grease and garlic.

My friend turned me on to Formula L biscuit mix, which I go through quite a bit of. Recently, we've all enjoyed the biscuits a lot more because of adding flax seed, wheat germ, lots of parsley, and a dash of garlic powder.

The finished plate. Sorry I took it upside down and didn't rotate it before uploading!