| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 10 hr |
| Active: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 10 hr |
| Active: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 fryer chickens, each cut into 8 pieces
- 4 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons seasoned salt, such as Lawry’s
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more for seasoning
- 1/4 cup milk
- Canola or vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- Thoroughly rinse the chicken pieces, then place them in a bowl and cover with 4 cups of the buttermilk. Soak in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours.
- When you’re ready to fry the chicken, remove the bowl from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes, just to take the chill off.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 360 degrees F and mix up the breading. Place the flour, seasoned salt, paprika, black pepper, thyme and cayenne (plus extra cayenne if you like heat) in a very large bowl. Stir together well.
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk and the milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and gradually mix with a fork until there are little lumps throughout; these will adhere to the chicken and make for a crispier breading. If necessary, add a little more flour or milk to make the breading slightly lumpy.
- Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 365 degrees F. Lower the heat slightly, if necessary, to keep the oil from getting hotter.
- Working in batches, thoroughly coat each chicken piece with breading, pressing extra breading onto the chicken if necessary. Place the breaded pieces on a plate.
- Add the breaded chicken to the oil, 3 or 4 pieces at a time; make sure they don’t stick together. Cover the pan and fry for 5 to 7 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the chicken isn’t getting too brown. Turn the pieces over, cover again, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more. All the while, monitor the temperature of the oil to make sure the chicken doesn’t burn.
- Transfer the fried chicken to a baking sheet and continue frying the rest of the chicken. When all the chicken has been fried, remove the wings and legs to a plate and keep covered. (These should be cooked all the way through by now, but always check if any pink juice or meat is visible. If so, return to the hot oil for another minute or so, until fully cooked.) Leave the thighs and breasts on the baking sheet.
- Bake the thighs and breasts for 15 minutes to finish cooking. (Sometimes I’ll cut into the thicker part of one of the larger pieces just to make sure the chicken is cooked through. If any pink juice or meat is visible, the chicken needs to continue cooking in the oven.)
Reviews
No flavor AT ALL. and I even added extra. A lot of work and no reward
Epic failure. The batter fell of chicken in pan and just cooked bare chicken. ♀️
Very good. Family liked it. Was a little bland. And I had added extra seasoning d/t some of the comments. Next time I will double the seasonings.
Delicious recipe!! I do add a generous seasoning of salt to the buttermilk brine. And use chicken breast tenders which are cooked through after frying and don’t require any additional cooking time in the oven. Great recipe! For those who say the coating is pasty, they just added too much milk/buttermilk to the flour coating. Be sure to use a deep fry thermometer to maintain proper oil temperature.
Followed the recipe and made the batter with the milk and buttermilk— then we changed our minds when we saw it was gummy. So we dredged the buttermilk-soaked chicken in the dry only. That was fine. The problem is that after all that work the chicken was still bland. The chicken pieces needed to be salted or brined somewhere along the way. Would not go through this effort again.
seasoned.
Best fried chicken recipe!
I can’t tell from the video if the skin has been removed? Anybody able to advise?
Excellent but messy, that’s why I only do fried chicken a couple times a year!
This seriously is the best fried chicken I have ever ate. So good and moist love making it!!!
Great recipe!