DOUBLE-DIPPIN’ CHICKEN

Prep Time: 1 Hour
Yields: 4 Servings

Comment:
This fried chicken gets its crispness from two layers of coatings. Although it comes from Ohio, it’s so good, it could pass for Southern. It must be from Southern Ohio. 

Ingredients:
1 (2–2½ pound) fryer chicken
2 cups vegetable oil
3 tbsps bacon fat
1 cup flour
4 tsps salt, divided
4 tsps black pepper, divided
1 cup unseasoned, untoasted bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:
Using a boning knife, cut chicken into 8 serving pieces. Rinse chicken, pat dry and set aside. In a cast iron skillet or chicken-fryer, heat vegetable oil and bacon fat to 300°F. In a large bowl, combine flour, 2 teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons pepper. In a second large bowl, combine bread crumbs, 2 teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons pepper. In a medium-sized bowl, add beaten eggs. Working in batches, add chicken pieces to flour mixture, coat and shake off excess. Dip coated chicken, one piece at a time, into beaten eggs. Roll egg-covered pieces in bread crumbs, pressing crumbs into chicken. Gently shake off excess. Fry chicken, a few pieces at a time, skin sides down for 15 minutes, turning occasionally to fry all sides. Remove from oil, drain on wire rack and adjust seasonings to taste with salt and pepper.