Winner Winner IN Chicken Dinner

Sunday church dinners are the highlight of many communities , especially in farms areas of this country. In southeastern Indiana it becomes even more special because fried chicken is served. This isn't any fried chicken. It is the best fried chicken ever tasted.

Michael Ruhlman, an amateur chef and professional food writer wrote about the amazing fried chicken in today's New York Times Food section. This strongly hit a note with me. My Dad was from southwestern Indiana, Evansville, and he grew up eating his Granny Roberts' well known and highly praised fried chicken. My Mom once said that no other fried chicken compared to its' crisp exterior and juicy tender meat. Granny had undoubtedly learned it from her mother, my Great Grandmother Bruce  and unfortunately never wrote down the recipe for future generations (drat!!!!)  According to my Mom it was a simple recipe of just flour and seasoning. This is the basis of the eastern Indiana , namely the town of West Harrison's recipe. Just simplicity. There's none of this fancy chicken brining and buttermilk. You don't soak the legs and wings in beer  or use a special flour. This is the way earnest home chefs cook. No  nonsense with down to earth ingredients and straight forward cooking methods. The chicken is fried in lard or canola oil. Just that easy. No bells and whistles.

There is one difference in the chickens, however, According to Mr. Ruhlman , both home chefs and restaurants there use a smaller bird than what groceries offer. It also has to do with the age of the birds too. They're much younger than what you find in a supermarket, That translates into tender meat and the proportion of crust to meat higher. The chicken  would be sweeter, in taste too offering an excellent foil to the peppery crust. Their flesh is firm  with clean white skin. All the parts are used according to Blake O'Mara, whose family owns O'Mara Food in nearby Greensburg. Moms with eight or ten children to feed knew not to throw away any of the less desirable parts such as the entire back and ribs. There are other factors to the delicious flavor, as Mr, Ruhlman found out from the chef at the local restaurant Wagner's Lee Harvey. Salt and a very heavy dose of black pepper is massaged into the chicken until evenly distributed. The pieces are then coated in plain flour and fried in lard. Some of his competitors fry in soy or vegetable oil. The chicken is always served with gravy , made from  a  roue mixed with lard and chicken bits, leftover from frying.Mashed potatoes and sometimes buttered noodles are served with the chicken. The restaurants also serve other favorites  -breaded pork tenderloin, and Hoosier pie, a cream and sugar custard baked in a lard baked crust.

Southern Indiana chicken is the best fried chicken.It is a simple recipe with complex flavors. That's is why it's so beloved - easy to make, with layers of taste.