I don’t know if cornflake crumbs are just Southern, but I can’t imagine anyone in the North ever using them. People in the North actually eat corn flakes. I don’t know anyone south of the Mason-Dixon line that can abide them. But cornflake crumbs, now that’s a different story.

I started using cornflake crumbs when I got my hashbrown casserole recipe. It is imperative that you use cornflake crumbs for the topping. But I just hate it when I buy a product that only goes in one recipe. I still have a vat of walnut oil in the icebox I used for something once. I have Karo syrup in the pantry I used for pecan squares, but that’s all I can think of to do with it. I have some tamarind paste, too, that I got when I heard Lynne Rossetto Kasper talking about how fabulous it is on her radio show.  I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s still sitting in the pantry unopened, but at least it only cost $1.98 at the international food store. I’m so cheap.

So the other night, I was going to fry some chicken and I remembered I had those damn cornflake crumbs in the pantry. And I don’t know why it had never occurred to me to fry chicken with them. I always thought of them as hashbrown topping only. But, geez Louise. They make great fried chicken! There’s a recipe on the box for oven baked chicken, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to bake something when it really ought to be fried. Oil adds so much to the flavor, don’t you think?

So here’s what you do. You just run the chicken under some cold water and then dredge it in the cornflake crumbs. You can do that whole flour-egg-crumbs thing if you want to but just giving it a little water bath works the same way. Then you get a goodly amount of vegetable oil in a skillet, heat it up to medium and throw the chicken in. The chicken turned out ridiculously crunchy and delicious. This is my new favorite way to make fried chicken.

I know you want the hashbrown casserole recipe.   Here it is.

Hashbrown Casserole

1 bag shredded hashbrowns, thawed

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 pint sour cream

2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese

1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly

Cornflake crumbs

Combine the soup, sour cream, cheese and onions. Mix them with the hashbrowns. Put in a buttered 9-by-13 baking dish. Top with cornflake crumbs and dot with butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

3 Comments

  1. Jack
    JackReply
    June 29, 2011 at 3:39 pm

    I grew up about as far north as you can go and I remember my Mom using corn flake crumbs on all type of dishes.

    • the south in my mouth
      the south in my mouthReply
      July 1, 2011 at 6:47 pm

      I was not so lucky. My mother didn’t like to cook and cornflakes were only to be consumed with milk in a bowl!

  2. KEN
    KENReply
    April 4, 2012 at 8:48 pm

    EASY RECIPE MY MOM [DEN MOTHER FOR THE CUB SCOUTS] USED TO USE. PACK OF HOT DOGS……WOODEN STICKAS….SLIDE STICKS THROUGH HOT DOGS…..ROLL IN KETCHUP…..ROLL IN CORNFLAKE CRUMBS…..BACK 325 ABOUT 20 MINUTES OR SO.

    EASY…..AND A NEW WAY TO HAVE A DOG!

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