Re: Green Parrot Inn fried chicken
From: Robert
Date: 11/26/2021, 9:46 AM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
On 11/26/2021 7:30 AM, Robert wrote:
When I was a kid a family treat was to go to the Green Parrot Inn in Kansas City.
The fried chicken was great. Could you possibly find a recipe for it? Many thanks
- Robert
Hello Robert,
This was not too difficult to find. There is a recipe on the website "Vintage Kansas City".
I have also posted it below.
The first Green Parrot was opened by Tena May Dowd in Wichita, Kansas in 1925. Subsequent Green Parrots were
opened in Kansas City, Kirkwood, and Houston Texas. Tena actually had a pet green parrot whose home was a
cage in her Kirkwood restaurant. I don't have the book, but there exists a book of Tena May's recipes called
"Famous Green Parrot Recipes". It is available from Amazon for a price.
The recipe isn't kidding about the lard and aluminum skillet. If you try to use a cast-iron skillet or
shortening or vegetable oil, the end result while it may be tasty, won't be quite the same. Also, I'm not
sure what is meant by "dredge each piece well with salt and pepper, roll in flour..." I think it would
be more correct to say "season each piece well with salt and pepper and dredge(or roll) in flour..."
The phrase "dredging each piece well with salt and pepper", gives me a mental picture of pieces of chicken
thickly coated with salt & pepper as they are usually coated with flour. I don't think that would be very
appetizing. Another thing - it seems a bit clumsy to me to drain the grease off of the skillet with the
chicken still in it. Be careful doing that.
Phaed
Green Parrot Fried Chicken
For Green Parrot fried chicken you should have a chicken which weighs about two pounds after it is dressed
and cut up. You will also need a heavy, cast aluminum skillet - not an iron skillet, but an aluminum skillet.
Fill the skillet about one-third full of pure lard, and let it heat just to a "sizzle". Have your chicken
cut up, and ice cold. Dredge each piece well with salt and pepper, roll in flour, and place in the skillet.
Do not crowd the pieces. Cover the skillet tightly, turn the fire as high as you can, and cook for ten minutes.
At the end of ten minutes, look at the chicken, and if each piece looks brown around the edge, turn quickly
and recover the skillet, and cook to a golden brown.
Do not take each piece of chicken out of the skillet when it is browned, but pick up the skillet and drain the
grease off before you take up the chicken. This will keep your chicken from being greasy.
Chicken may be kept hot in a very slow oven while gravy is made from the chicken fryings, but it should not be
covered tightly enough to cause it to steam, as this will make the crust soft and spongy. Green Parrot fried
chicken is always a golden brown, and tender, yet crisp.
Do not substitute vegetable shortening for the pure lard, and be sure your skillet is at least one-third full
of lard before you start to cook your chicken.
