Chicken

While fried chicken may be the South’s iconic dish, when it comes to southern foodways, there are a lot of ways to love America’s most popular fowl. Preparations range from Country Captain to Carolina Chicken Bog to Chicken and Parslied Dumplings and more. Here, Cynthia Graubart celebrates the bird in all its glory, southern style and beyond. This little cookbook packs all the know-how that cooks need to make irresistible chicken dishes for everyday and special occasions, from shopping and selecting to cutting up, frying, braising, roasting, and much more. Ranging in style from traditional southern to contemporary to international, fifty-three recipes are organized to help easily match the cut of chicken to the perfect recipe. Be assured that Graubart includes instructions for making the best fried chicken ever — seven different ways.

Graubart also brings together the chicken’s culinary history with the popular culture and lore that surrounds chicken cookery in the South. She notes that the special Sunday Sabbath dinner was often built around a chicken — in fact, prior to the 1940s, chicken was sometimes more expensive than beef or pork. Today, the southern states lead the country in annual poultry production, and Kentucky Fried Chicken features throughout the American landscape. But you won’t need take-out when you have Chicken in your kitchen.