Southern Fried Chicken

 2 1/2-3 lbs chicken

1/2 cup flour

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp pepper

vegetable oil

Wash chicken and pat dry. Mix flour, salt, paprika, and pepper. Heat oil (1/4 inch) in a large skillet. Coat chicken with flour mixture.

Cook chicken in oil over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat; cover tightly and simmer 30 to 40 minutes or until the thickest pieces are tender. if the skillet cannot be tightly covered, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Turn chicken to assure even cooking. Remove cover for last 5 minutes to crisp chicken.

Creamy Gravy: Place chicken on a warm platter. Pour fat from the pan into a bowl leaving brown particles in the pan. Return 3 tablespoons of fat to the pan. Blend in 3 tablespoons of flour. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly.

Remove from heat. Stir in 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup water, heat to a boil stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Add a few drops of bottled brown bouquet sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

This is the fried chicken recipe I grew up with. It came from a big Better Homes and Gardens recipe box my mom had. There were only 5 or 6 recipes we liked from the box and you could tell which ones they were because those cards got so much dirtier and the rest looked new.

This is the first gravy I ever made and it still might be my favorite.