One of my favorite country songs is “Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band. If you haven’t heard it, the refrain goes like this: “You know I like my chicken fried, cold beer on a Friday night, a pair of jeans that fit just right and the radio up …” To me, the song paints a perfect picture of the fact that you don’t need lots of money or excitement in your life to be happy. Anyway, about a month ago, my boyfriend, Darek, and I decided that one Friday we should declare a Chicken Fried night – fry up some chicken, share a six pack and blast the song, while wearing our favorite jeans. Since he gave up fried foods for Lent and and I gave up alcohol, we had to wait until last Friday to have our event. We shared a bucket of KFC, drank Stella and Okocim beer and put the Chicken Fried song on repeat until we couldn’t stand it anymore. (OK, so we probably took the theme too far, but it was fun!)
Despite our lack of Southern authenticity, we were proud of our Chicken Fried reenactment. So yesterday when Darek and I met for coffee with our friends Irena and Steven, we told them what we’d done. Steven, who is from Alabama, looked at us if we’d just confessed to some kind of crime.
Chicken fried, he explained, is not fried chicken at all. Chicken fried is a way of preparing food – any food – that involves breading it in seasoned flour and pan-frying it. You can chicken-fry steak, chicken-fry chicken, or as Steven said, “You could chicken-fry that pole and it would taste good.” Our Midwestern interpretation of “chicken fried” was like foreigners thinking making hot dogs involved cooking the family pet.
Darek and I are planning a Chicken-Fried redo, this time with Irena and Steven. With the help of our Alabaman ambassador, we will get it right.
It should also be noted that KFC is not indicative of true Southern food. For best results take the objects to be fried and dip them in milk or buttermilk and eggs. Cover them with the mixture and then flour them with self rising flour. This works best if you double bread it-- it will get messy but it's worth it.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me happy and sad that Steven is your Alabamian Ambassador. We always knew he was redneck at heart... ask him how they play basketball in Kentucky.
Best,
Shane (Steven's younger less Southern Brother)