My mother, and probably thousands of other mothers in the south prepared their chicken this way. It is very simple in ingredients, but second to none if prepared correctly. I have tried to re create this version as well as my mom did it, but I haven't mastered it enough to depend on my chicken turning out perfect every time. I guess part of the reason is, I don't use 'fat' like they did in the old days. I don't even know if vegetable shortening was around back then, but most of us use vegetable oil these days for frying. My mom cut her chicken up into smaller pieces, probably because she was cooking for eight and had to make sure we all got a piece. She did her best to keep us from fighting over which piece we wanted, but it was pretty much, Dad aside, he always had his piece set aside, first come, first pick. No whining if somebody beat you to the piece you wanted. Her old iron skillet had something to do with the mmmm factor, I'm sure. Very important; always use bone in, skin on chicken for authentic Southern Fried Chicken. Even though Jesse doesn't specify, I'm sure he would agree. Why not fry up some chicken Jesse style? It has worked for thousands of southern cooks for centuries. I say if ain't broke, leave it alone!
