Soul Smothered Chicken Food

SOUL SMOTHERED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Dredge in 3/4 cup flour, place in the skillet, and brown on all sides. Set chicken aside, and drain skillet, reserving about 1 tablespoon butter.
• Reduce skillet heat to medium-low, and stir in onions, celery, garlic, and carrots. Cook 5 minutes, until tender. Stir in the flour, and cook 5 minutes more. Pour in the chicken broth, season with cayenne pepper, and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low.
• Return chicken to the skillet, cover, and continue cooking 30 minutes, until chicken juices run clear and gravy has thickened.

SMOTHERED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Clean chicken breasts and dry well. In a shallow baking dish, combine the flour, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, and pepper. Dredge chicken breasts in flour mixture to coat. Shake off excess. In a large skillet heat 1/4-inch vegetable oil over medium heat. Add chicken and brown well, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and set aside. Pour excess oil from pan, leaving a thin layer. Add onions and garlic, saute, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. In a bowl combine sour cream, chicken stock and green onions and mix well. Transfer chicken back to skillet, pour sour cream mixture over it. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, until done, about 10 minutes.;

SMOTHERED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut away excess skin and fat from chicken pieces. Rinse with cold water and set aside; do not pat dry.
• In a shallow bowl, stir together fry coating and 1 tablespoon chicken seasoning. Dredge chicken pieces in coating mixture; set aside.
• In a large straight-sided pan, heat 1/2-inch oil over medium-high heat. Oil is ready for frying when a drop of water splatters when dropped in.
• Fry coated chicken until golden brown, about 8 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan and drain oil.
• In a medium bowl, stir together gravy, remaining chicken seasoning, and crushed garlic; set aside.
• Return chicken to pan over medium heat. Cover with gravy. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes or until completely done (no pink near the bone).
• Serve hot.

BLACK FOLKS SOUL FOOD SOUTHERN SMOTHERED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine the chicken seasoning and the garlic & herb seasoning in a small bowl.
• Then rub the seasoning mixture onto the chicken pieces, and set the chicken aside.
• Place 1 cup of the divided flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and red pepper in a medium-size mixing bowl or 1-gallon resealable food storage bag.
• Shake (or mix) the sealed bag to combine the ingredients for a homemade floured poultry seasoning, and set the flour mixture aside.
• Pour the second cup of flour into a second resealable bag (or medium-sized mixing bowl) and set it aside.
• In another medium-sized bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg, and set that mixture aside too.
• The chicken will go through a 3-step process from here.
• First, place the chicken in the bag (or bowl) of seasoned flour and shake or toss to coat the chicken evenly.
• Second, shake off the excess flour and dip the chicken into the buttermilk mixture.
• Third, transfer the chicken to the last bag (or bowl) of flour and shake or toss until it's very well coated.
• Remove the chicken pieces from the bag (or bowl) and lightly brush or spray the chicken with peanut oil or vegetable oil.
• If using an air fryer with a basket, spray the basket with peanut oil or vegetable oil.
• Place the chicken into the air fryer, making sure it's skin-side up. It's okay if the chicken pieces touch; don't overcrowd them.
• Air fry at 360 degrees for a total of 20 minutes.
• Halfway through, after about 10 minutes have passed, flip the chicken over in the air fryer and return to cooking.
• Air fry at 360 degrees for the remaining 10 minutes or until the chicken is golden-brown and crisp all over.
• Keep the chicken in the air fryer on the 'warm' setting until the smothered chicken gravy is ready.
• Add all the ingredients: chicken broth, chicken gravy, whipping cream, flour, chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper in a large pot on low (I used my Instant Pot, with the lid off on the 'slow cook' setting).
• Whisk the ingredients to combine until the gravy mixture is lump-free and the bouillon dissolves.
• Allow the mixture to heat for 3-5 minutes before it's ready to serve with the chicken.
• Serve this Black folks' soul food smothered chicken recipe with the chicken and gravy in separate serving bowls for each dinner guest to combine on their plate. Or combine the chicken and gravy in one serving bowl.
• Optionally, garnish with fresh parsley or green onion and enjoy!

MUSHROOM SMOTHERED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a plastic bag combine flour, salt, and black pepper; then add chicken pieces, a few at a time, shaking to coat.
• In a 12-inch skillet brown chicken in hot oil over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, turning occasionally.
• Remove chicken from skillet; set aside.
• Add onions, mushrooms, and garlic to skillet and cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits.
• Return chicken to pan and add white wine or chicken broth, broth, basil, and thyme.
• Bring to boiling; reduce heat.
• Cover and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and remove chicken; cover and keep warm.
• Increase heat to medium and gently boil sauce, uncovered, for 5 minutes- if desired, stir in whipping cream.
• Serve chicken and sauce over toasted baguette slices and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

SYLVIA'S SMOTHERED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Trim the excess fat from the chicken pieces and sprinkle them with 1 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper.
• Season 2 cups of the flour with the remaining salt and pepper; dredge the chicken in the flour until coated on all sides (shake off any excess flour).
• Over medium heat, heat the oil in a heavy deep skillet (cast-iron is best) until the edge of a chicken piece dipped into the oil gives off a lively sizzle.
• Add as many chicken pieces into the skillet as you can, but make sure the pieces do not touch.
• Fry until the chicken pieces are browned on all sides, about 6 minutes; adjust the heat as necessary during frying to keep a lively sizzle without overbrowning.
• Remove the fried chicken to drain and repeat with the remaining pieces.
• When all the chicken pieces have been fried, pour off all but 4 tablespoons of drippings from the skillet, reduce the heat to medium, and add the onions, peppers, and celery to the skillet.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and tender, about 10 minutes.
• Move the vegetables to one side of the skillet and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour over the other side of the skillet; cook the flour until golden brown, stirring constantly--be careful not to let the flour burn.
• Slowly pour in the water and stir until the gravy is smooth.
• Divide the chicken between two heavy skillets with lids or place them all in a large heavy Dutch oven.
• Top with the gravy and vegetables; cover tightly.
• Simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary.
• Serve, spooning some of the gravy and vegetables over each piece of chicken; pass the extra gravy.