I woke up this morning with an uncontrollable craving for fried chicken. Maybe because I've spent the week in Louisiana and being in the South has taken over my mind, I don't know. I haven't fried chicken in years, but I decided to roll up my sleeves and fry a little chicken today.

Ingredients:
-- Chicken pieces, I had thighs, but you can pick your favorite pieces
-- About two cups of milk
-- Two eggs
-- 2-3 cups of flour
-- Garlic powder
-- Black pepper and salt
-- Red pepper
-- Oil, I use vegetable but you can easily sub peanut or shortening

For gravy:
-- Three tablespoons flour
-- A can of evaporated milk
-- Water

Tools --
I used a large sized pot, but any pot size will works
A candy/frying thermometer
A meat thermometer

Place all of the chicken in a bowl and cover with milk. Let chicken sit in milk bath for at least an hour. You can let it sit overnight in the fridge if you would like.

Place flour and all seasonings in a ziplock bag. I like lots of garlic, but you can season to taste.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl.

Remove chicken from milk bath one piece at a time, dipping in milk and then dropping into seasoning bag. I put three pieces in at a time and then shook the bag. Flour all chicken.

Pour oil to pot so there is about 4-5 inches deep but not more than halfway full. It should at least be as deep as the thickness of your chicken pieces.

Attach the candy thermometer to the pot so you can monitor the heat of the oil. Heat the oil to about 275-300 degrees.

Place chicken pieces in pot so that no pieces are on top of one another, but each have a place on the surface.

Cook for about 15-18 minutes for dark meat or about 13-16 for white meat, monitoring the temperature so it remains between 275-300. When done use a meat thermometer to ensure your chicken is 180 degrees.

Let sit about 5 minutes before eating on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels.

I made a white gravy to go with the chicken. Here's how:

Take about 1 cup of the oil used to fry the chicken. I put it into a second smaller pot. Try to get some of the crispy chicken pieces that are good and brown in the bottom of the pot.

Heat the oil and add about 3 tablespoons of flour, if you have left over flour from seasoning, you can use that.

Brown the flour in the oil over medium heat, continuously stirring with a whisk. Begin to add evaporated milk while continuing to stir the gravy. It will get really thick really quick. Keep adding milk until it looks like grits or oatmeal.

Then slowly add water, still stirring, until it is the consistency you want (thin enough to pour but not too thin).

I like to taste mine and then add the same seasonings I used on the chicken if it's not tasty enough.



I served mine with mashed potatoes and cooked some artichokes, that I wasn't 100 percent pleased with.