Country Fried Chicken with Caramelized Vidalia Onion Gravy

Country Fried Chicken with Caramelized Vidalia Onion Gravy,
Southern Corn Pudding, Sauteed Haricot Vert, & Mashed Potatoes

Just last year, we made this chicken fried steak with bacon-chive gravy and it turned out to be one of our favorite meals. I knew that at some point, I wanted to make a similar recipe, but this time, we'd have some chicken fried chicken or what I like to call, country fried chicken. I used pretty much the same breading and frying technique, just updated a little with a different style gravy. If you live in the South, then you know that Vidalia Onions are a kitchen staple. It's practically the only onion I cook and I buy them by the dozen. They have a mild onion flavor and a tad bit sweeter than all of the others. I urge all of y'all to find them at your local grocery store if you've never had them. So, when it came to this gravy, I decided to caramelize them, and then used them as the base. Well, it turned out great. The gravy had a beautiful depth of flavor and it was just mildly sweet, yet still very creamy. What a yummy comfort food classic, y'all. I served out country fried chicken with some sauteed haricot vert, mashed potatoes, & southern corn pudding. I'll post the recipe for the corn in a couple days!! Enjoy :)

Gravy + Fried Chicken + Mashed Potatoes... A Winning Combination 

Corn Pudding, Haricot Vert, & Mashed Potatoes

For the Chicken Fried Steak:

1C Buttermilk

Hot Sauce

4 Pieces of Chicken Cutlets, Pounded Thinly

1 ½C AP Flour

½C Cornstarch

Cajun Seasoning, Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, & Cayenne

3 Large Eggs

½C Buttermilk

2T Hot Sauce

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Caramelized Vidalia Onion Gravy:

2T Unsalted Butter

2T Vegetable Oil

2 Medium Vidalia Onions, Thinly Sliced

3T Flour

2-3C Milk

¼t Paprika

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Fresh Chives, Minced

Directions:

1. In a plastic bag, combine the 1C buttermilk and hot sauce. Add in the chicken cutlets and marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

2. To Make the Chicken Fried Chicken: Place the flour and cornstarch in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste (and any other additional spices that you like, we like our chicken spicy). Mix the eggs in another large bowl with the ½C buttermilk and a couple dashes of hot sauce. Take a piece of marinated chicken and coat it into the seasoned flour. Next, dip the coated chicken into the egg mixture, and then dip back into the flour again. Heat a large skillet on medium heat and fill up with oil halfway up. Take the coated chicken and place it into the skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes and turn over and cook another 4-5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel lined plate and repeat with the other pieces of meat. Keep the cooked chicken in the oven while the others are frying.

3. For the Caramelized Vidalia Onion Gravy: In a deep sauté pan, heat the butter and vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add in the sliced onions and a generous sprinkling of salt, and cook down until they are completely caramelized. Once the onions have caramelized, gently whisk in the flour in a skillet, cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes until a light roux is formed (make sure to keep whisking at first to break up any lumps of flour). Add the milk slowly to the skillet and mix the roux. Turn the heat down to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is thickened, 2-3 minutes. Add in salt and a lot of pepper to taste (we like a lot of fresh cracked pepper in our gravy). If the gravy is too thick for your taste, you can thin it by adding more milk, a tablespoon at a time until you've reached your preferred thickness. Pour the gravy over the country fried chicken pieces and serve along side with some mashed potatoes, corn pudding, and green beans. Garnish with chives. Enjoy immediately.