Chicken - (Savor the South Cookbooks) by Cynthia Graubart (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

While fried chicken may be the South's iconic dish, when it comes to southern foodways, there are a lot of ways to love America's most popular fowl. Preparations range from Country Captain to Carolina Chicken Bog to Chicken and Parslied Dumplings and more. Here, Cynthia Graubart celebrates the bird in all its glory, southern style and beyond. This little cookbook packs all the know-how that cooks need to make irresistible chicken dishes for everyday and special occasions, from shopping and selecting to cutting up, frying, braising, roasting, and much more. Ranging in style from traditional southern to contemporary to international, fifty-three recipes are organized to help easily match the cut of chicken to the perfect recipe. Be assured that Graubart includes instructions for making the best fried chicken ever -- seven different ways.

Graubart also brings together the chicken's culinary history with the popular culture and lore that surrounds chicken cookery in the South. She notes that the special Sunday Sabbath dinner was often built around a chicken -- in fact, prior to the 1940s, chicken was sometimes more expensive than beef or pork. Today, the southern states lead the country in annual poultry production, and Kentucky Fried Chicken features throughout the American landscape. But you won't need take-out when you have Chicken in your kitchen.

Review Quotes

"A delightful book! I love Cynthia Graubart's recollections of memorable home-cooked and restaurant chicken dishes in her home state of Florida, as well as the international diversity of other recipes, with dishes such as Arroz Con Pollo and Avgolemono -- a nod to the diversity of today's South. And the arrangement of recipes by the cut of the chicken is very convenient for finding just the right recipe for the next meal. Chicken makes me eager to get into the kitchen and do a little chicken dance for myself." -- Kathleen Purvis, author of Pecans: A Savor the South Cookbook and Bourbon: A Savor the South Cookbook

"A tidy roundup done in good taste; we especially like the categories of whole birds, and pieces." -- Bonnie S. Benwick, The Washington Post

"Cynthia knows her chickens, from buying to cooking to serving, and the techniques and history associated with them. Not only for southerners, this is an exceptional book for both the novice and experienced alike." -- Nathalie Dupree, author of Nathalie Dupree's Shrimp and Grits

"Ranges from classics to new southern flavors. . . . [Graubart] covers a lot of ground -- brining, frying, roasting, stewing, braising, baking. . . . A book worth crossing the road for? I think so." -- Appetite for Books

"The recipes in Chicken work for every occasion, with seven dedicated to mastering the Georgian mainstay of fried chicken." -- Reporter Newspapers

"This small gem goes way beyond the typical Southern fried chicken to explore regional favorites such as 'Carolina chicken bog' and the fascinating stories behind dishes such as 'Ode to the Women of Gordonsville, Virginia. . . . Something here for almost everyone." -- Lexington Herald-Leader

"Useful and welcomed." -- Christian Science Monitor

"With both austere reverence and practical step-by-step instruction, Cynthia Graubart takes a look at the ubiquitous bird with a distinctive and lyrical southern drawl." -- Edge Media Network

"With its delicious recipes, Chicken: A Savor the South Cookbook might be the end-all-be-all cookbook for southern chicken recipes -- and the best 53 chicken recipes that anyone would ever need. A real nuts-and-bolts go-to book!" -- Virginia Willis, author of Lighten Up, Y'all: Classic Southern Recipes Made Healthy and Wholesome and Okra: A Savor the South Cookbook

"Would make welcome gifts to the cooks among family and friends." -- The Advocate

About the Author

Cynthia Graubart is a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author of fourteen cookbooks, cooking teacher, and culinary television producer. Her most recent cookbook is Zucchini Love.