first ever fried drumstick

so there was a lot of chicken
in the freezer & not much burger.
& so i took a leg-and-then-some
out to thaw last night.

i’m sort of a sandwich specialist
so i’d taken out dinner-for-two
portions of hamburger often enough
before now.

and i’d even fried *small pieces*
of chicken. but *grilled* would
be more accurate and i’d used
big boneless pieces (cut up into
much smaller pieces).

today i was going for the full
bone-in deep-fat chicken leg
i’ve loved since childhood
but never dared try to make
for myself.

& it came out alright.
so i made this picture
(on the first take… usually
i need two).

& so when madeline came back
from church this after’, i tell her
“there’s fried chicken” & she
goes right back into the kitchen
& eats her share. & i love it
when she eats what i cook.

& the next one will be better.
this was done in vegetable oil, period.
no herbs or spices of any kind.
it simply didn’t occur to me.

the trick of course is to get it
done all the way through with
the outside unburnt. i guess
i was sufficiently preoccupied
with this that seasonings-be-damned.

but i tell a lie.

the hunk of skin in the photo was
actually fried in another pan,
in chicken fat, and is transplanted
from the thigh. which i cut up
raw & then fried… or grilled…
in its own fat. quite a bit faster
mostly. i fried an egg in there
while i was at it, too… there’s
plenty of fat on that big ol’ thigh.

meanwhile, the drumstick’s going
low-and-slow; turn frequently.

anyhow the thigh was also served
without any spices (i only lied
about the oil). it was much better
than the drumstick. which, as one
might easily have guessed, tasted
rather of vegetable oil.

next up, i suppose, is breaded-and-fried.
probably with some pre-mix seasoning…