Best Fried Chicken Sonora Style Recipes

SOUTHERN LIVING'S BEST FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine 1 tablespoon salt with 3 quarts water in a large bowl or container. Add chicken, cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Drain, rinse with cold water and pat dry.
• Stir together remaining 1 teaspoon salt and the black pepper. Sprinkle half the mixture evenly over chicken.
• In a large sealable plastic bag, combine remaining pepper mixture and flour. Add 2 pieces chicken to bag and shake well to coat. Remove chicken pieces, shaking off extra flour, and set aside. Repeat with remaining chicken.
• Take a large (10- or 12-inch) cast-iron skillet or chicken fryer, for which you have a lid, and fit with a candy or deep-frying thermometer. Add oil and bacon drippings and heat to 360 degrees over medium heat; the oil will ripple and possibly give off a few wisps of smoke.
• Using tongs, immediately add chicken pieces, skin side down (work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding pan). The oil will drop to about 325 degrees, where it should stay; adjust heat so that oil is bubbling gently around the pieces. Cover and cook 6 minutes; uncover and cook 9 minutes. Turn chicken pieces; cover and cook 6 minutes. Uncover and cook another 5 to 9 minutes, depending on size of pieces. If necessary for even browning, turn pieces over a few times toward the end.
• Drain on paper towels or paper bags. Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

SONORA CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place chicken in a baking dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour in preheated oven. Remove chicken from dish and allow to cool. Remove meat from bone and tear into small pieces.
• Meanwhile, mix the cream of mushroom soup, the cream of chicken soup, chili, picante sauce, milk, onion, cumin, and garlic powder in a large bowl.
• Spread half the shredded chicken into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover the chicken with half of the tortilla pieces. Pour half of the sauce on top of the tortillas; sprinkle half the Cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese evenly over the dish. Repeat the layers with the rest of the ingredients.
• Bake in preheated oven until all the cheese has melted and sauce mixture is bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes.

SOUTHERN MARINATED FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the house seasoning: Combine garlic powder, onion powder and seasoning salt in a small bowl.
• For the chicken: Wash chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a large bowl. Combine 3 tablespoons house seasoning with 1 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl, then generously sprinkle each piece of chicken with the seasoning mixture. Place in a plastic bag, seal and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Remove chicken from bag. Add about 3/4-inch frying oil to a cast-iron skillet and heat over medium-high heat until temperature reaches about 350 degrees F. Line a plate with paper towels.
• Meanwhile, combine 2 tablespoons house seasoning with the flour in a shallow pan (save remaining house seasoning for another use). Roll chicken in flour in batches, dusting off excess, and place in skillet. Turn heat down to medium to prevent burning. Brown chicken on all sides, turning with tongs, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat (avoid touching bone) registers 165 degrees F. Remove chicken to lined plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
• Use a 5-ounce scoop to portion out some 3-Cheese Macaroni in the center of a plate. Add 3 tablespoons Sweet Potato Apple Chutney. Cut a Collard Green Roll in half on the bias, and place each piece against the scoop of macaroni. Place fried chicken pieces against the front of the macaroni and cheese scoop. Pour a little of the pot liquor from the greens around the plate, then grab your favorite hot sauce and dig in! (Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 8 more plates.)
• For the house seasoning: Combine garlic powder, onion powder and seasoning salt in a small bowl.
• For the macaroni and cheese: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and set aside.
• Place cooked macaroni in a large bowl. Toss macaroni with white pepper, 1/8 cup house seasoning and 1 cup Cheddar. Set aside.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, being careful not to burn. Whisk flour into melted butter to make a roux. Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until a smooth paste, about 2 minutes. Turn heat to low and slowly add milk, whisking continuously, then allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Add the American cheese and cream cheese in batches, whisking, until melted and blended. Add 1 1/2 cups Cheddar, whisking until blended, then remove from heat. Add 1/8 cup house seasoning to cheese sauce (save remaining house seasoning for another use). Quickly whisk in the eggs until combined.
• Spread macaroni evenly into prepared baking dish. Add cheese sauce, tossing, and stirring to coat macaroni well with sauce. Top with remaining cup Cheddar. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese crust is browned, 5 to 10 minutes more. Allow to sit 15 minutes before serving.
• Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add sweet potatoes, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and clove. Add apple cider, stirring, then allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Add apples, red peppers, brown sugar and 1 cup water and continue to cook, adding more water if needed, until sweet potatoes are soft but still firm and mixture is thick and syrupy, about 20 minutes. Stir in raisins and bourbon and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• For the house seasoning: Combine garlic powder, onion powder and seasoning salt in a small bowl.
• For the rolls: Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, celery, onions and green and red peppers and sweat, about 4 minutes. Add chopped collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, jalapenos, smoked salt, baking soda, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, 1/4 cup house seasoning and enough water to cover greens (save remaining house seasoning for another use). Cook greens until tender, 2 1/2 hours. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Strain pot liquor from greens and reserve. Place pot liquor in a shallow pan and heat over medium heat. Carefully add whole collard green leaves and simmer until leaves soften, about 3 minutes. Remove leaves one at a time and place on a flat surface. Flatten a leaf and top with 1 scoop drained greens right in the middle of the leaf. Fold the sides of the leaf over the greens and roll the leaf into a log. Repeat process with remaining leaves and filling.

SOUTHERN STYLE DEEP-FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a medium pan, place chicken and cover with milk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight. This helps tenderize the meat, but is optional
• In a large saucepan over a medium-high heat, using tongs, transfer chicken into pot, then pour in the milk. Bring milk to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low allowing to simmer until the chicken is cooked through entirely, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the milk, and place on a rack to cool. Allow them to sit until warm about 15 minutes, and then pat dry using a kitchen towel.
• Heat vegetable shortening in a Dutch oven over high heat just until it's nearly at the smoking point around 325 degrees F.
• In a large zip-lock bag, add salt, flour, cayenne pepper, shake to combine.
• In a medium bowl, beat 1 egg.
• Place each piece of chicken, 1 at a time, in the bag and shake to coat the chicken. Then dip chicken into the egg to coat. Place the chicken back into the flour to coat for a second time. Repeat this method on remaining 3 pieces of chicken.
• Gently drop each piece of chicken into hot oil, allowing the skin to crisp and turn golden brown in color, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the oil and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Serve immediately.

FRIED CHICKEN, SONORA STYLE

Steps:

• 1. In a medium saucepan of boiling water, cook the diced potatoes until barely tender, 4 to 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon transfer the potatoes to a colander and rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking. Reserve in a bowl. In the same pan of boiling water cook the zucchini until barely tender, about 40 seconds. Drain and cool under running water. Reserve in a separate bowl. 2. Preheat the oven to 200°. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat and cook the chicken, 4 to 5 minutes per side or until golden brown on the outside, firm to the touch, and no longer pink inside at the thickest part. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, pepper, and oregano. Transfer to a platter, cover, and keep warm in the oven. 3. In the same skillet, add the remaining oil and the reserved potatoes, vinegar, chili powder, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the potatoes start to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring, until completely heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Adjust seasoning. Arrange the vegetables around the chicken on the platter. Garnish with the lettuce leaves and tomatoes. Scatter the jalapeños over the chicken.From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.