Paper Palate

Every month or so my husband and I get together with a group of six of our friends for an evening we call World Food Night. We come up with a theme then each couple brings a dish and a bottle of wine and we spend the evening enjoying each other’s delicious food and lively company.

This month we strayed from the “world food” theme a bit.

We decided to have a World Racing Night and bring food that would represent famous horse races around the world such as the Melbourne Cup, the Grand National, and the Kentucky Derby.
Along the Kentucky theme, I offered to bring Fried Chicken.

The universe must have been smiling down on me because the very next day the July issue of Saveur magazine arrived and on the cover was a mouth-watering photo of fried chicken. And inside was just the recipe I was looking for!

Hollyhock Hill’s Fried Chicken

When preparing a chicken for frying, cook Tom Sheron of the Hollyhock Hill restaurant in Indianapolis halves the breast crosswise instead of lengthwise, leaving the wishbone intact. “It’s the way fried chicken used to be cut,” he says.

Cut a 3- to 4-lb. chicken into 8 pieces and season generously with kosher salt; transfer to a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Over high heat, melt enough lard or vegetable shortening in a deep 12″ cast-iron skillet that it reaches a depth of 3/4″; heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in fat reads 350 degrees.Place 2 cups flour on a plate. Dredge chicken in flour and fry, turning occasionally, until light brown, about 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium; fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, about 10 minutes more.

Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate.

Serves 2 to 4.