Ardia Herndon's Kentucky Fried Chicken

For 50 years, Ardia Herndon has lived in the same farmhouse on the same 600-acre farm she and her late husband took on as newlyweds in Spencer County, Ky. Soon they had 75 dairy cows, eight acres of tobacco under cultivation, a crew of farmhands, and three children. Every day, Herndon cooked a noontime meal for the workers and frequently brought it out to them in the fields. As often as three times a week, she made the farmhands’ favorite fried chicken, which she served with coleslaw, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, and sweet tea.

When her husband of 50 years passed on, operations at the farm scaled back quite a bit. Two of her sons still help her run the place, but they also have jobs in the nearby town of Taylorsville. Moreover, they have children of their own — six in all. One is currently expecting what will be Herndon’s first great-grandchild.

Though she makes that big Kentucky spread less frequently, from fried chicken to sweet tea, she still occasionally pulls out all the fried-chicken stops for family gatherings and reunions.

She’s stayed true to the chicken recipe she first learned from her sister-in-law Lavon Yates. She is loyal to While Lily’s self-rising flour and cooks her chicken until it's browned and crispy. And although she acknowledges that "lots of folks put pepper in their flour," she says she doesn’t add any more seasonings than salt.

Herndon says she has made but one change to the recipe over all these years — she once fried the chickens in lard rendered from the fat of her own pigs but now uses canola oil.

Ardia’s Fried Chicken

Ardia Herndon prefers the flavor of a whole chicken that she cuts into nine pieces herself or 11 pieces if the beasts are very large, rather than letting a butcher do it. For 50 years, she’s been loyal to White Lily self-rising flour. She says her late husband’s favorite piece was the back.

1 whole 2 1/2- to 3-pound frying chicken, cut into pieces
Salt
Canola oil for frying (Herndon prefers Wesson)
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (Herndon prefers White Lily)

1. Lightly salt the chicken pieces and set aside in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Do not pat dry.

2. In a Dutch oven, heat about 2 inches of oil to 350 to 355 degrees F. Dredge chicken in self-rising flour and add about 4 or 5 pieces at a time to the hot oil. Do not crowd them in the pan. Allow enough room in between that they can be turned easily and can get a crisp crust on all sides. Cook on one side until dark brown (but not burnt) and then turn over to cook on the other side. This should take about 25 minutes. Keep chicken warm in a low oven and repeat with remaining chicken pieces. You may need to do 3 batches before you have cooked all the chicken.