3 delicious old-fashioned country fried chicken recipes from the '50s - Click Americana (2024)

Country-fried chicken cooks up golden right in your oven (1958)

From The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) May 9, 1958

This new version of fried chicken uses yellow cornmeal to add a beautiful golden color and pleasantly crispy crust to each piece of chicken.

Dip the pieces of chicken first in evaporated milk, then in the cornmeal. The evaporated milk will help the cornmeal cling to the chicken in an even coating, which in turn produces an even crust and the best browning. Then you can “fry” the chicken in the oven, a simplified method where the chicken browns and cooks with only one turning.

Creamy giblet gravy is just about irresistible along with chicken and biscuits. The giblets will cook in the time the chicken is in the oven, and be ready to go into the rich creamy gravy.

Country fried chicken recipe

1 frying chicken, cut in pieces
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter

Wipe pieces of chicken thoroughly. Mix flour, cornmeal and salt in a pie plate.

Dip chicken pieces in evaporated milk, then in cornmeal mixture. Meanwhile, melt butter in baking dish (11-3/4 x 7-1/2 x 1-3/4 inches) in hot oven (400 degrees).

Place chicken pieces in one layer, skin side down, in baking dish. Bake for one half hour, then turn skin side up and bake until done, about one half hour longer.

Creamy giblet gravy

3 tbsps. butter
3 tbsps. flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Chicken giblets, wing tips and back
1/2 bay leaf
Parsley or celery leaves, or both

Simmer giblets (except the liver), wing tips and back of chicken along with bay leaf, parsley and celery leaves in water to cover until tender, about 1 hour. Add liver during last 15 minutes of cooking.

Drain, saving broth. Discard bay leaf, parsley, and celery leaves. Cut giblets into small pieces.

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in flour. Add chicken broth, then evaporated milk and seasonings. Cook and stir until hot and thickened. Stir in giblets. Serve immediately.

Pan-fried chicken as you like it (1956)

From The News-Review (Roseburg, Oregon) April 19, 1956

PAN-FRIED CHICKEN is a tempting dish for a dinner party, picnic or any Sunday dinner. For variation, serve it with hot mustard sauce made with the recipe below.

Time-favored pan-fried chicken is a recipe that really merits its popularity. It’s versatile and easy to prepare and is as much at home at a dinner party as it is on a picnic or at the family table.

Good friend chicken begins with the selection of plump young chickens of frying tenderness, so when buying, remember to select only top quality chicken that is tagged by brand as a buying guide.

Today, there’s no problem in finding the style or size chicken you need. Frying chickens are available in a wide range of sizes and may be purchased frozen, fresh, whole, or in cut-up styles.

Pan-frying is probably one of the most popular and easiest methods of preparing chicken. The “trick” in getting tempting, crisp-tender pieces without standing over the pan is to brown each piece well on one side in a heavy skillet containing enough hot shortening to make a layer of fat 44-inch deep.

Simply put the flour-coated chicken, skin side down, in the pan and allow to brown over moderate heat. for about 15 minutes. Then, turn the chicken cover tightly, and cook slowly for about 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is tender. This gives you beautifully browned pieces with only one turning and a minimum of watching.

For home or party service, serve the golden pieces hot on a warmed platter or tray. For a backyard picnic, you may want to fry the chicken carly and store it in the refrigerator until serving time. Then, serve it cold, with a hot mustard sauce.

Here are easy directions for Pan-fried chicken and the recipe for hot mustard sauce.

Pan-fried chicken

1 chicken for frying
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 cup butter or margarine
Shortening

Have chicken cut into serving pieces, or if Quick-Frozen, thaw according to directions on the box. Rinse in cold water, and drain. Dip chicken pieces in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, and paprika.

Heat the butter and enough shortening in a heavy skillet to make a layer of fat ‘42-inch deep. With kitchen tongs place floured chicken in hot fat, skin side down. Brown and turn. Cover tightly.

Reduce heat and cook slowly about 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is tender. To crisp the crust, remove the cover and cook § to 10 minutes longer.

Hot mustard sauce

Yield: 1 pint sauce

1 – 10-1/2 oz. can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine soup, milk, prepared mustard in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until hot. Add Worcestershire sauce. Serve hot with cold fried chicken, steaks, chops or franks.

Here’s how to make this country fried chicken recipe (1955)

Nothing is so “Sunday Special” as this succulent country fried chicken

Good old-fashioned country fried chicken recipe

Yield: Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 3-lb broiler-fryer, cut in pieces
• 1/2 cup hom*ogenized Spry [shortening]
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup light cream

Instructions

1. Put first 4 ingredients in paper bag. Put 2 pieces of chicken at a time in bag and shake to coat evenly. Save remaining flour for gravy.
2. Fry chicken in hot shortening in skillet over medium-high heat until golden on both sides. Sprinkle onion and parsley over chicken, add water.
3. Cover and cook over low heat until tender (about 1/2 hour).
4. Remove chicken to hot platter, pour off all but 3 tablespoons of drippings.
5. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the remaining flour mixture and brown. Add milk and cream; stir and cook until thickened. If desired, add 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced and sauteed, to gravy.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 205Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 870mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 6g

Click Americana offers approximate nutrition information as a general reference only, and we make no warranties regarding its accuracy. Please make any necessary calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, and consult with a qualified healthcare professional if you have dietary concerns.

Spry makes the difference!

Here’s why: Spry is completely pure! It’s the purest shortening money can buy. That means when you fry chicken in hom*ogenized Spry, there’s never any “off” flavor or odor to take away from the delicate flavor of the chicken itself. Spry captures and seals in the fresh chicken flavor… doesn’t hide it as other shortenings do.

Your chicken fries to a bright golden hue, and takes on a crispy crust that has the most delicious and delicate flavor. And because Spry itself is digestible, everything you fry in this pure all-vegetable shortening is as completely digestible as if you had baked or broiled it!