Buttermilk Crusted Chicken

One of my fondest memories growing up on the farm besides watermelon and of course, my favorite seedless Thompson grapes is buttermilk crusted chicken. I grew up on a cotton farm in the San Joaquin Valley, California which was the best time of my life.....I suppose because my grandparents were still alive and my dad, and my mom was always happy cooking with her mom and sisters teaching us..We were as we call a multi lingual family with recipes and ideas from of course California, but also Russia and Mexico and the languages with them and the finest of the finest recipes of everything. Here’s one my mom would make, hope you enjoy this one, because as I’m typing I’m crying thinking of those days...

This is probably the beginning of a reservoir full of tears minus the tadpoles.

Buttermilk Crusted Chicken
Ingredients-
2 chickens, cut into pieces
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups finely chopped fresh parsley
5-6 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup very finely minced ginger
1 Tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons crushed chili flake
3 cups all purpose flour
around 2 cups cooking oil

Advance Preparation:
Rinse the chicken pieces with cold water, then pat dry.
In a bowl large enough to hold the chicken, combine the buttermilk,
parsley, garlic, ginger, salt, and chili flakes. Stir well. Add the chicken
to the bowl and stir to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least
8 hours or overnight.

After marinating the chicken, place the white flour in a large bowl.
Season the flour with a salt. Dip the chicken pieces, one at a time,
into the flour, then shake off the excess flour, and place the chicken
on a wire rack. Refrigerate the chicken on the wire rack for at least
45 minutes or up to 8 hours. Set aside the oil....

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the salsa. Stir well
and, if not using within a few hours, cover and refrigerate

FINAL COOKING STEPS:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees to keep the cooked pieces of chicken
warm, Place the oil in a 14-inch saute' pan over medium-high heat
and heat the oil to 365 degrees or until bubbles surround the end
of your wooden spoon when its dipped into the oil. Place half the
chicken, skin side down, in the hot oil. Regulate the heat so that
the oil is constantly bubbling but never smoking, fry the chicken
until golden on one side, about 10 minutes. Turn the pieces and
cook until golden on the other side, about 10 more minutes. Turn
the pieces about once more for about 5 minutes. Drain chicken on
a wire rack and yum your ready to serve with your salsa and whatever
else you like. I use a vegetable in season and steam, like broccoli or
spinach and I love mashed sweet potatoes for the side or just mashed
potatoes. Enjoy!

Salsa:

1/2 nearly ripe papaya, peeled, seeded & chopped
2 mangoes peeled, seeded & chopped
2 ripe kiwi, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup fresh pineapple, peeled & chopped (I use canned if can't get fresh)

1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley (you could use both depending on your taste buds)

1 Serrano chili, very finely minced (including the seeds)

2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

1 Tablespoon packed light brown sugar

And then for desert how about an apple pie????

I’ll post a easy awesome recipe that I started with one I was 8 years old…… see you soon!