S9:E21. 06/04/2022
Chicken Recipes from Tennessee and Kentucky
Farmer Aliceson Bales of Bales Farm, Mosheim, TN, shares her recipe for buttermilk chicken, how to get the most of an entire chicken, and how to make chicken broth. Aliceson and her family, Barry, and Marshall, operate their family farm, which has been in continuous operation since 1882. Marshall is the 6th generation farmer of this land and is an impressive young farmer. They produce premium pasture-raised meats, and Marshall is head of the egg program. Barry Bales is a multi-grammy award-winning musician who has played with Alison Krauss and Union Station for many years. Barry even wrote the theme song for Aliceson’s segment called “Ali’s Tune.”
We also hear from Lois Shular Caughron and her daughter Ruth Davis of Blount County, TN, with a recipe their family has enjoyed for many years, which is easy to prepare and economical, Chicken and Crackers. Lois is known as “The Last Woman out of the Cove.” The cove referenced is Cades Cove, a part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and once Lois and Kermit Caughron’s home.
James Beard award-winning food writer Ronni Lundy reads from her book Shuck Beans, Stack Cake, and Honest Fried Chicken The Heart and Soul of Southern Country Kitchens, published in 1990. In addition, she reads from her book on honest fried chicken prepared in cast iron in this recording.
Recipes: Keep on scrolling; they are after the links. Sorry.
Links:
Bales Farm: https://balesfarmstn.com/
Cades Cove Preservation Association (Louis Shular Caughron and Ruth Davis are very active in this organization): http://www.cadescovepreservation.com/
Emi Sunshine (sings our theme song): https://theemisunshine.com/
Recipes:
Ma’s Chicken and Crackers from Ruth Davis and Lois Shular Caughron. Ingredients: 1 box of saltines. 1 whole chicken cut into pieces. Directions:
- Cover chicken pieces with water (bones, skin, and all), salt to taste, in a large pot until the chicken is tender (45-50 minutes). Ruth says for an old hen, it might take 50 minutes to get it tender.
- In a large bread pan with 2-inch sides, fill it with broken crackers (1 inch deep)
- Lift the Chicken out of the pot bone-in and put it all over the crackers.
- Pour the broth over the top.
- Bake in the oven until browned on top.
Buttermilk Chicken from Aliceson Bales of Bales Farm:
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- Salt
- Buttermilk
Directions: Get a big Ziplock bag, and set this bag down into a big bowl. Place the bird legs up into this bag, and sprinkle generously with salt. (Aliceson uses Kosher salt, but use what salt you like to use). Cover the chicken with buttermilk. Put in fridge, soak bird 8 hours or overnight, or as long as you have time to soak it.
When ready to roast the chicken, remove it from the refrigerator. Let the chicken in the back of buttermilk sit out on the counter to let it reach room temperature (no more than 2 hours unrefrigerated).
- Set the oven to 410 degrees.
- Drain the chicken, rinse, and pat it dry.
- At this point, Aliceson sprinkles it with salt again.
- Place in a roasting pan, or a cast-iron skillet, legs toward the back of the oven.
- Roast the Chicken at 410 degrees for 10 minutes, and the skin will turn golden brown.
- Reduce heat to 350 and roast for about 50 minutes.
- Internal temp needs to be 165 degrees with a meat thermometer.
- Cover the chicken with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Separate bone from the meat.
Bone broth from Aliceson Bales: Put bones in a big pot, covered with water with a Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar (it draws the nutrients out of the bones and into the broth)
- Cook 8 hours on low until you can take a bone and easily bend or break it.
- Keep it in the fridge for the week and use it for all of your cooking.
Honest fried chicken shared by Rhonni Lundy from her book Shuck Beans, Stack Cake, and Honest Fried Chicken The Heart and Soul of Southern Country Kitchens, published in 1990.
Ingredients:
- Chicken cut into pieces.
- Salt and pepper your flour and dredge the chicken in it. Use good leaf lard if you can find it and canola oil if you can’t find the lard.
Directions:
- It will take 30-35 minutes to cook to fry the chicken.
- Dredge your Chicken in flower and fry in shallow oil in your heavy pan (about 1 inch of oil or lard, covered with a tight-fitting lid)
- Turn the chicken over halfway through the cooking process. Final crisping: Take the lid off for a final crisping for a few minutes before serving to crisp up the outer layers of the fried chicken. If this step is not followed, the crust will be mushy.
A word about your frying pan and lid: Ronni uses a cast iron pot with straight sides and a lid with nipples that lets the steam drip back down on the chicken when cooking. This way, the juice stays in the meat. You need a heavy skillet with a tight lid with straight sides, not an omelet pan.
