To get the most delicious chicken, we dry brined it overnight so the seasonings could penetrate the meat right down to the bone. (Don’t worry, the brown sugar doesn’t make the chicken sweet, it only helps to bring out the flavor.) We also wet the seasoned dredging flour with buttermilk and hot sauce to achieve large shaggy pieces of flavorful crust once the chicken is fried. And the cornstarch in that dredge? It keeps the crust shatteringly crisp – more so than just flour would– even if you are serving the chicken at room temperature.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 4 hr |
| Active: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- One 3 1/2- to 4-pound whole chicken (or 3 1/2 to 4 pounds assorted chicken pieces)
- Kosher salt
- 4 teaspoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup hot sauce, such as Frank’s
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- Vegetable oil, for frying (about 8 cups)
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into 10 pieces. Cut off the wings. Remove the legs and separate the thighs. Remove and discard the backbone. Cut the breast into 2 pieces and then cut each breast in half.
- Mix 4 teaspoons salt, the brown sugar and baking powder in a small bowl until completely combined and no lumps of sugar remain. Sprinkle the salt mixture all over the chicken pieces. Place the seasoned chicken on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Wrap the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate, at least 3 hours and up to 24. (Overnight works best.)
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne and 1/4 cup salt in a large bowl until completely combined. Whisk together the buttermilk, hot sauce and eggs in another large bowl. Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour, turning to coat and packing it into any crevices. Shake to remove any excess and return to the rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Pour 6 tablespoons of the buttermilk mixture into the seasoned flour and work it in with your fingers; it should feel like sand with some clumps. (These clumps will give the chicken a crispy, shaggy crust.) Dip the dredged chicken into the remaining buttermilk mixture, allowing any excess to drip off. Then pack the moistened flour firmly onto the chicken. Very gently shake off any excess and return to the rack. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.
- Pour enough oil into a large heavy pot to come halfway up the sides. Clip a deep-fry thermometer to the pot. Heat the oil over high heat until the thermometer registers 300 degrees F. Working in 3 batches, fry the chicken, turning often and adjusting the heat to maintain the temperature, until deep golden brown, about 8 minutes for the wings, 10 minutes for the legs and 12 minutes for the thighs and halved breasts (an uncut breast will take 15 to 18 minutes). Transfer to a clean wire rack set over paper towels to drain.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 1003 |
| Total Fat | 70 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 54 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 38 g |
| Cholesterol | 163 mg |
| Sodium | 783 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 1003 |
| Total Fat | 70 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 54 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 38 g |
| Cholesterol | 163 mg |
| Sodium | 783 mg |
Reviews
Terrible recipe. If you follow it closely you will end up with a crust that is WAY too hard and WAY too salty.
I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I will in the near future for my 5 grandchildren and their parents! I’m certain it will turn out wonderful.
It was a really great recipe. I didn’t use as much salt as I thought it was overboard. I also used buffalo instead of hot and pre packaged wings instead of the whole bird. I didn’t let it marinate for 3 hours, only 50 minutes. There was no buttermilk, so I used a heavy cream + lemon juice substitute. It is still slightly salty but the coating didn’t come off as it usually does with other recipes. I believe that refrigerating it for that 30-45 minutes is really important. I cut skin of the chicken and fried it without refrigeration and it came off almost instantly. I would make this again, 10/10
The instructions don’t make sense. Why 1/4 cup salt? And how much buttermilk do you add to the flour mixture?
I think it would be MOST HELPFUL to share a video of how to do with this complicated recipe. There needs to be clarification on dredging and the final step with the added buttermilk to the flour. Too much to even attempt.
I love spicy…I love crunchy! I wanted to love this recipe, but,,,the crunchy outside keep falling off. I ended up eating the crust and chicken separate. (sigh)
Start typing…
The chicken itself was very good. However, the coating was a bit on the hard side. I did not use 1/4 cup of salt! & I think the recipe called for too much hot sauce as well. I think if I ever try this recipe again I will definitely adjust measurements on some of the ingredients and will fry till golden brown & then finish it in the oven.
It sounds delicious, I’ll have to try it!
It has a lot of maintaining,it so sweet I love it so much that I could just eat everything