By Wedding prep accelerating. Connie and Amber on the phone every night, discussing things I don't understand — favors, programs, something called a fascinator which sounds like a kitchen appliance but is apparently a hat. My role in the wedding is to walk Amber down the aisle, pay for things, and stay out of the way. I am good at two of those three things.
Made fried chicken Saturday because fried chicken is what I make when I need to feel competent, and competence is in short supply when you're a man surrounded by wedding planning. Betty's recipe: chicken soaked in buttermilk overnight, dredged in seasoned flour — salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder — and fried in the cast iron in an inch of oil, turning once, twelve minutes per side for thighs, ten for breasts. The oil at 350, held steady, because temperature control is the difference between fried chicken and boiled chicken in oil, and Betty would rise from wherever she is and smite me if I served boiled chicken in oil.
Earl Thomas is thirteen months and has opinions. He has opinions about food (he likes bananas and hates peas), about shoes (he won't wear them), and about bedtime (he doesn't believe in it). He toddled into the kitchen Saturday when Travis brought him over and stood at my knees and looked up and said something that was not a word but was clearly a sentence in a language he's inventing, and I picked him up and said I agree completely. Travis said Dad, you don't know what he said. I said I know exactly what he said. He said feed me, PawPaw. That's what he always says.
The flour is where it starts, and that’s something Betty understood better than anyone. When the house is full of fascinator talk and seating chart debates and I need to feel like I know what I’m doing with my hands, I go back to the fundamentals — and the fundamental behind that perfect dredge is getting the flour right. I’ve made my own self rising flour blend for years now, because Betty always said a man who controls his flour controls his crust, and I’m not about to argue with her from this side of things. If Earl Thomas is going to grow up knowing PawPaw’s fried chicken, he’s going to grow up knowing it starts here.
Self Rising Flour
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 1 cup (enough to dredge one batch of chicken)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Measure and combine. Add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt to a medium bowl. Make sure your baking powder is fresh — if it’s been open more than six months, replace it. Stale baking powder is the enemy of a proper crust.
- Whisk thoroughly. Whisk the three ingredients together for a full 30 seconds until completely uniform. The baking powder needs to be evenly distributed throughout the flour — no streaks, no clumps.
- Use or store. Use immediately as a 1-to-1 substitute for self rising flour in any recipe. To store, transfer to an airtight container or sealed bag and keep at room temperature for up to 3 months. Label it with the date so you don’t have to guess.
- For fried chicken dredge. Season the blend to taste before dredging — add 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder per cup of flour. Dredge buttermilk-soaked chicken pieces thoroughly, pressing the flour into every surface, and shake off any excess before lowering into 350°F oil.
Nutrition (per serving, approx. 2 tablespoons)
Calories: 55 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 12g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 115mg