Many years ago, I became frustrated with the choices of “Professional Dredges” on the market. It seemed everything I bought was overpriced, over spiced, too strong or too coarse. Facing only discouragement in the supermarket aisles, I rolled up my sleeves and began to tinker with creating a homemade dredge suiting my cooking desires.

I wanted something which coated well, wasn’t too coarse, gave some crispiness and wasn’t over spiced. After a lot of trial and error, I came up with a dredge with low-cost ingredients readily available in the local supermarket. It took a lot of frying fish, chicken and seafood to get there, but I finally compiled a recipe suiting all my needs.

I combine in thirds – one pound each of enriched white cornmeal, enriched flour and corn starch along with a small amount of garlic powder and onion powder. With the primary ingredients sold in 5-pound or 1-pound amounts, I make a little over 15 pounds of dredge at a time. It sounds like a lot, but it goes quicker than you would think.

Using a kitchen counter scale, I weigh out 1 pound of enriched white cornmeal, 1 pound of enriched flour and combine with a 1-pound package of cornstarch. To this I add 2 ounces (four tablespoons) of onion powder and 2 ounces (four tablespoons) of garlic powder. Using a large kitchen whisk, I mix the ingredients thoroughly and bag in plastic freezer bags. I try to fill about a quart of the dredge per bag. Stashed in the freezer, the dredge lasts for years.

The combined and mixed ingredients make an excellent “wet” or “dry” dredge.

For fried chicken, I like to liberally coat the chicken pieces in Frank’s Hot Sauce and roll and well coat the chicken pieces in the custom dredge. When the chicken is fried to a golden brown in 320-degree Canola or Peanut oil, it is delicious. The hot sauce doesn’t add any heat or spice but imparts a delicious layer of flavor. The Frank’s beats an extended soaking in buttermilk.

For fish, I simply roll the damp pieces of fish in the dredge before frying at 320 degrees.

For shrimp, I dip them in the dry dredge, and then dip them in a wet dredge made of the custom ingredients and beer or ginger ale. I make the wet dredge just a little runnier than pancake batter. Don’t overcook… I usually fry ours about four minutes depending on the size of the shrimp.

For onion rings, I let the rings set in an ice-water bath for an hour or so; drain and partially dry them and cover them with the dry dredge. Dusting off the excess, I dip the rings into the same wet dredge I mentioned for the shrimp and fry at 320 degrees until golden brown.

As with all fried foods, salt to taste while still hot and make sure you have made plenty!

           

Tree news from the DNR

A swamp chestnut oak tree in Jennings County has been recognized as the largest of the species in the country by the National Champion Tree program, with a height of 95 feet, a circumference of 318 inches, and a canopy spread of 118 feet.

The record swamp chestnut oak is on the family farm owned by Richard and Kris Schepman outside of Crothersville. Recently, Gov. Mike Braun and Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) leaders presented the Schepmans with a certificate recognizing their family’s stewardship of this impressive tree.

“Over the last century, Indiana’s forested land has substantially grown as a result of Hoosiers’ conservation work and responsible stewardship,” Braun said. “The Schepman family and private landowners across the state deserve high praise for their commitment to growing healthy trees like this giant in Jennings County, which I hope continues to stand tall for generations of future Hoosiers to enjoy.”

The DNR Division of Forestry, which maintains a list of Indiana’s largest known trees of each of the state’s native species, notified the national program of the tree, and its record score of 442.5, which is the tree’s height (feet), circumference (inches), and canopy spread (feet, multiplied by 0.25) added together.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, the swamp chestnut oak is native to “the Atlantic Coastal Plain from New Jersey and extreme eastern Pennsylvania, south to north Florida, and west to east Texas; it is found north in the Mississippi River Valley to extreme southeast Oklahoma, Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and locally to southeast Kentucky and eastern Tennessee.”

The tree is on private property, so it is not available for public viewing.

 

‘till next time, 

Jack

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication or e-mail Jack at jackspaulding1971@outlook.com

Spaulding’s books, “The Best Of Spaulding Outdoors” and “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com as a paperback or Kindle download