Southern fried chicken – or schnitzels

You know how The Colonel has a secret blend of spices for his fried chicken – well, I’ve got one too. Only it’s not a secret because I’m about to share it.

I use it for traditional ‘Southern Fried’ coating for fish, chicken, turkey or fish. Recently I’ve taken to doing a final coat of panko breadcrumbs – making a Southern Fried Schnitzel. It’s a particularly good thing to do with a pork fillet.

The mix for the coating is dead simple:

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt and 1 of pepper

1tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp All Purpose Seasoning (the Jamaican kind – or a poultry seasoning mix)

1 tsp celery salt (optional)

In separate bowls, prepare: the flour/spice mix, a beaten egg with a splash of milk and the breadcrumbs if you’re using them.

For normal Southern Fried, dredge the meat in the flour, then the egg then the flour again. For the schnitzel, add an extra egg and then breadcrumb stage.

Pop the coated meat in the fridge for about 15 minutes to set a little then fry off in about half an inch of oil (or deep fry if you have a frier).

Drain off on kitchen paper to make sure the end result is dry and super crispy.

You’ll never need to eat chicken out of a cardboard bucket again. Unless drunk, of course – that’s still fine.