Breaded and Fried Chicken Livers and Gizzards - Monroeville, Alabama

We took a side trip over to the small Alabama town of Monroeville, home of Harper Lee, the author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book To Kill a Mockingbird. There we viewed the Monroe County Courthouse where Harper's attorney father, the inspiration for Atticus Finch, used to practice law. The courtroom there was the model for the courtroom used in the movie. Harper Lee lived on the main street several blocks down from the courthouse and had a sometime neighbor and friend by the name of Truman Capote, the author of In Cold Blood, another great book. Capote is now considered  the father of the historical crime novel. All that remains of Truman Capote's old home is some foundational walls, and next door, on what was Harper Lee's old home, now stands Mel's Dairy Dream. 

Old Monroe County courthouse in Monroeville, Alabama.

The real courtroom which was the model for the courtroom in the film, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Judy, on the stand, will be my witness that the livers and gizzards were pretty good. 

Mel's Dairy Dream, on the site of Harper Lee's home in Monroeville.

What drew us to Mel's was a sign proclaiming "chicken livers and gizzards." Believe it or not, it was actually Judy who called my attention to it as we drove by. So I turned around and we went back. We'd just had fried chicken two days before in Atlanta at Gladys Knight's, so I decided it would be fun to get some of that as well and compare it. The fried chicken was a cross between Gladys Knight's and KFC, it had a heavier coating than Gladys Knight's, similar to KFC, but it was crispier than KFC, similar to Gladys Knight's. It came with some hot sauce and in keeping with Southern tradition, I sprinkled it liberally on the chicken. 

Fried chicken thighs with a roll, sweet potato fries and Louisiana hot sauce.

Crispy outer coating and nice moist meat inside.

The chicken livers and gizzards were heavily coated with the same coating as was on the chicken, but thicker. And dare I say it was quite good. The liver was moist and smooth and combined well with the salty, crisp coating. The gizzards were very chewy and also combined well with the crisp coating. The hot sauce went very well with both items. I think it is the first time I have ever had either liver or gizzards breaded and fried. And if I lived in Monroeville, it would not be the last time. We ate it all. 

Mixture of fried chicken livers and gizzards with french fries and a roll.

Some of the fried liver unmasked, coated with some hot sauce.

Some of the fried gizzard unmasked.