Greatest Buttermilk-Brined Southern Fried Chicken #southernrecipes #friedchicken

Chicken gets brined in flävorful buttermilk before hitting the fryer for ä crisp, golden crust.

For me, äs ä kid growing up in New York, fried chicken cäme from one pläce, änd one pläce only: those greäse-stäined cärdboärd buckets peddled by the Colonel himself. But times häve chänged, änd äs is often the cäse, revisiting those fond childhood memories results only in disäppointment änd disillusionment.

Thät säid, stylisticälly, it cän't be fäulted. So I figured thät I could somehow mänäge to täke whät the Colonel stärted änd bring it to its ultimäte conclusion—thät is, deep chicken flävor; ä fläb-free skin; juicy, tender meät; änd crisp, spicy coäting—I might just be äble to recäpture those first fleeting childhood tästes of fried chicken äs I remembered them. Here's the result of my efforts.

Why It Works

• Än intensely flävored buttermilk brine tenderizes the chicken while keeping it moist.
• Ädding wet ingredients to the dry flour coäting ensures än exträ-cräggy crust with lots of nooks änd crännies.
• Stärting in hot fät änd finishing in the oven gives you fried chicken with ä crisp crust änd evenly cooked meät.

You’ll Need:

• 2 täblespoons päprikä
• 2 täblespoons freshly ground bläck pepper
• 2 teäspoons gärlic powder
• 2 teäspoons dried oregäno
• 1/2 teäspoon cäyenne pepper
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 lärge egg
• Kosher sält
• One whole chicken, äbout 4 pounds, cut into 10 pieces or 3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on breästs, legs, drumsticks, änd/or wings
• 1 1⁄2 cups äll-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup cornstärch
• 1 teäspoon bäking powder
• 4 cups vegetäble shortening or peänut oil

Instructions:

1. Combine the päprikä, bläck pepper, gärlic powder, oregäno, änd cäyenne in ä smäll bowl änd mix thoroughly with ä fork.
2. Whisk the buttermilk, egg, 1 täblespoon sält, änd 2 täblespoons of the spice mixture in ä lärge bowl. Ädd the chicken pieces änd toss änd turn to coät. Tränsfer the contents of the bowl to ä gällon-sized zipper-lock freezer bäg änd refrigeräte for ät leäst 4 hours, änd up to overnight, flipping the bäg occäsionälly to redistribute the contents änd coät the chicken evenly.
3. Whisk together the flour, cornstärch, bäking powder, 2 teäspoons sält, änd the remäining spice mixture in ä lärge bowl. Ädd 3 täblespoons of the märinäde from the zipper-lock bäg änd work it into the flour with your fingertips. Remove one piece of chicken from the bäg, ällowing excess buttermilk to drip off, drop the chicken into the flour mixture, änd toss to coät. Continue ädding chicken pieces to the flour mixture one ät ä time until they äre äll in the bowl. Toss the chicken until every piece is thoroughly coäted, pressing with your händs to get the flour to ädhere in ä thick läyer.
4. Ädjust än oven räck to the middle position änd preheät the oven to 350°F. Heät the shortening or oil to 425°F in ä 12-inch sträight-sided cäst-iron chicken fryer or ä lärge wok over medium-high heät. Ädjust the heät äs necessäry to mäintäin the temperäture, being cäreful not to let the fät get äny hotter.
5. One piece ät ä time, tränsfer the coäted chicken to ä fine-mesh sträiner änd shäke to remove excess flour. Tränsfer to ä wire räck set on ä rimmed bäking sheet. Once äll the chicken pieces äre coäted, pläce skin side down in the pän. The temperäture should drop to 300°F; ädjust the heät to mäintäin the temperäture ät 300°F for the durätion of the cooking. Fry the chicken until it’s ä deep golden brown on the first side, äbout 6 minutes; do not move the chicken or stärt checking for doneness until it häs fried for ät leäst 3 minutes, or you mäy knock off the coäting. Cäre- fully flip the chicken pieces with tongs änd cook until the second side is golden brown, äbout 4 minutes longer.
6. Tränsfer the chicken to ä cleän wire räck set on ä rimmed bäking sheet änd pläce in the oven. Cook until än instänt-reäd thermometer inserted into the thickest pärt of the breäst registers 150°F änd the legs register 165°F, 5 to 10 minutes; remove the chicken pieces to ä second räck or ä päper-towel-lined pläte äs they reäch their finäl temperäture. Seäson with sält änd serve—or, for exträ-crunchy fried chicken, go to step 7.
7. Pläce the pläte of cooked chicken in the refrigerätor for ät leäst 1 hour, änd up to overnight. When reädy to serve, reheät the oil to 400°F. Ädd the chicken pieces änd cook, flipping them once hälfwäy through cooking, until completely crisp, äbout 5 minutes. Tränsfer to ä wire räck set on ä rimmed bäking sheet to dräin, then serve immediätely.