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An instant-read, digital thermometer: The thermometer can ensure your oil temper ature is just right, and it is the safest, easiest way to tell if the protein is cooked to the proper temperature. At home, you’ll want to heat the oil to 300°F, and you’ll want the oil to remain as close to 300° as possible while you’re frying. To tell if the protein is cooked thoroughly, insert the thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, away from the bone and any fat. Chicken should be cooked to 165°F and pork to 145°F, according to the U.S. Depart ment of Agriculture. This reduces the threat of food-borne toxins. Tongs: Unless you have a lift-out fry basket, this long-handled, inexpensive, grip-and-lift tool will make it easier and safer to add and remove the pieces from hot oil. Heatproof rack: You get a crisper crust if you place the pieces on a rack set inside a sheet pan because it keeps the pieces from resting in drained oil on paper towel. WAYS TO JAZZ THINGS UP So, you’ve got golden-brown and crunchy chicken or chops. Now it’s time to zhuzh them. And this starts as soon as they leave that hot oil, Westbrook said. “Don’t be afraid to lightly re-season the fried chicken [or chops] right out of the fryer,” he said, suggesting sprinkling them with a little salt or your favorite Cajun seasoning. “The hot grease will absorb that seasoning.” Whether you fry them yourself or buy the chicken and chops, think outside the box for serving ideas, he said. Drizzle the pieces with a little plain honey, Mike’s Hot Honey or your favorite homemade or store-bought sauce, such as Stubb’s Sweet Heat Barbecue Sauce or Frank’s Red Hot. Want a sweeter take? Serve the pieces with your favorite jam or jelly. Westbrook leans toward orange marmalade or spicy pepper jelly. Gently heat the jam or jelly first to make it easier to drizzle. Finally, if you have leftover seasoned flour, don’t toss it. Use it as the base for white pepper gravy for the chicken or pork. Place a few tablespoons of the flour in a pot, add oil and stir until it darkens into a roux. Add hot chicken stock or water to reach desired thickness. Keep in mind that if the flour has

touched raw pork or chicken, you must bring it to a lively boil to ensure that it is safe to eat. Fried chicken is delicious cold, but if you want to reheat it or the chops, place the pieces on a lightly oiled, heat-proof rack inserted in a sheet pan and place it in a 375°F oven for about 10 minutes until it’s warm.

Community Coffee, 5th Generation

tannins tenderize the protein and give it a flavor boost. For one pound of chicken, for example, he recommends ½ tablespoon of kosher salt dissolved in two cups of sweet tea. Soak the poultry for at least 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator. After brining, lightly salt and pepper the chicken or chops; then dip the meat in a binder (Westbrook suggests a mixture of buttermilk and hot sauce), and bread or flour the pieces. For the flour or breading, season it as you like, maybe with salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning. If you’re after a crisper crust, Westbrook has a secret ingredient. “I like adding cornstarch to my flour mixture,” he said, adding that the ratio should be 2 parts flour to 1 part cornstarch, so for 2 cups of flour add 1 cup of cornstarch. Or, he said, try substituting rice flour for the all-purpose flour. Finally, Rouses adds special touches, such as double-battering the chicken and chops. The pieces are dipped then coated in seasoned flour — and then those two steps are repeated. “Double batter matters,” Westbrook says. “It keeps it moist.” When it comes to the frying oil, peanut or canola oil are best, he said. Before you start cooking, gather the tools you need. The right pot: If you don’t have a stand alone, temperature-controlled fryer, a deep frying pan, Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot would be best. At home, it is ideal if you can fry everything in one batch — or at most, in two batches — because pieces of crust will break off, sink to the bottom and, eventually, burn.

Local, family-owned businesses know what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself. For over 100 years and five generations,

the Saurage family has put their community — and their coffee drinkers — first. Community Coffee got its start in 1919, when Henry Norman “Cap” Saurage began roasting beans in the back of his grocery store in Baton Rouge. He quickly realized coffee wasn’t just something people drank — it brought them together. Neighbors would stop in for a bag of beans and stay to talk. Before long, Cap was blending coffee full-time. Today, Community Coffee is still run by the Saurage family. Chairman Matt Saurage, a 4th-generation owner, says working at the company is about more than continuing a Louisiana family tradition — though it’s proudly that, too. “Our first name is ‘Community,’” says Saurage. “And we have to remember that we are successful because of those around us who support us.” What matters most to Saurage is the ability to give back — by creating jobs and opportunities and, even more important, by helping improve the quality of life in the communities

where he works, and where his customers and employees live.

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