Fried Chicken
There’s more than one way to fry a chicken. Some people pan fry and others deep fry. This is a deep fried chicken method.
Ingredients:
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1 chicken – 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs & 2 breasts cut in half
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Brine
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1 ½ cups of flour
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½ tsp. salt
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1 tbsp. paprika
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1 tbsp. black pepper
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1 ½ cups buttermilk
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Light oil for frying
Brine – Bring a quart of water to a boil. Stir in a ¼ cup of sugar and a ¼ cup salt and let it come to room temperature.
Equipment – A frying thermometer & a wire rack.
Preparation:
Put the chicken in a zip-lock bag, Pour in the cooled brine and refrigerate for 10 hours or overnight. Remove the chicken and let it dry slightly.
Pour the buttermilk into a bowl. In a large dish.mix the flour with the salt, paprika, and black pepper.
Coat the chicken with the flour. Shake off excess and then dip it in the buttermilk. Let excess buttermilk drip off and then coat the chicken with flour again. Place it on a wire rack and let dry for half an hour.
Heat the oil to 350°. When you add the chicken pieces the temperature will fluctuate a bit. Try to keep it around 300-325°. Don’t crowd the pot. Cook the pieces for 5 minutes on one side, turn over and 8 minutes on the other side. A little longer for dark meat legs and thighs. Use a fork to turn them and be careful not to scrape off the coating. After you make this a few times you can judge doneness by color.
Drain chicken on a wire rack. Allow it to cool before serving.
It’s just right as it is but if you want to add a spark try some Nashville Hot Sauce on your chicken.
Mix all of the ingredients together while the oil is hot and apply it to the chicken pieces with a pastry brush.
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