Exceptionally delicate buttermilk fried chicken made with sour buttermilk. After soaking in buttermilk, coat the chicken pieces in seasoned flour and fry them till crisp and golden in hot oil.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 6 hrs 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 6 hrs 50 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 8 pieces |
Ingredients
- 1 (3 1/2) pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon ground thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried sage
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 ½ quarts peanut oil for frying
Instructions
- Toss chicken pieces, black pepper, salt, paprika, white pepper, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, and cayenne together in a large bowl.
- Stir in buttermilk until chicken is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours.
- Combine flour, salt, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, white pepper, and onion powder in a large shallow dish.
- Remove chicken from buttermilk and dredge each piece in seasoned flour; shake off any excess and transfer to a plate.
- Heat peanut oil in a large Dutch oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Add chicken pieces to the hot oil and fry for 10 minutes. Turn chicken pieces and fry for another 10 to 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
- Transfer fried chicken to a cooling rack set over a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
- The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of buttermilk. The actual amount of buttermilk consumed will vary.
- We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. Amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and specific type of oil used.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 1262 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 56 g |
| Cholesterol | 179 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 66 g |
| Saturated Fat | 16 g |
| Sodium | 1443 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 85 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Tried this today, and it’s really, really good. Just the perfect flavor. I say double the flour mixture though, especially if you are making tenders.
I’ve prepared this recipe a few times. First time following instructions as written. Lately I’ve been using whole chicken wings. Double each spice to kick it up a bit. Overnight marinade makes all the difference in the world. Couldn’t tell much of a difference between using vegetable oil verses peanut oil. This is a keeper.
375F for 20-25 minutes, and you’ll be fishing out a few pieces of charcoal. I did mine at 325F for about 12 minutes and it was perfectly done. Also, as another poster mentioned, double the spices in the flour mixture. Other than those two things, it turned out great.
I have questions. This sounds wonderful but I can’t help but question the calorie count for two pieces of chicken. On the KFC site the extra crispy version of a breast is around 400 calories and a thigh is about 300 calories. The extra crispy versions are the higher counts and they are coming in at almost half the calorie count. I read the disclaimer regarding the buttermilk, but…? It just feels off to me and I do rely on nutritional values when looking at recipes. I’m very aware that this would not be a diets friend but I believe there is room for everything in a balanced diet.
That is some tasty fried chicken! As a southern woman, I am expected to impress with my fried chicken skills. However, that really wasn’t something I had much experience cooking. Thankfully CJ saves the day. The husband was very impressed! I made as written minus the peanut oil as I only had canola. This will be the go-to, special occasion recipe from here on out. Thanks, Chef John!
Very yummy, tasted almost like KFC !!
Easy taste was wonderful
I used boneless skinless chicken breasts and soaked them for 6 hours. I then cut them into 1/2″ thick pieces and returned them to the buttermilk spice mix before flouring them. Initially I tried air frying one breast but the flour stuck quite badly to the rack. The next three were fried in a pan with about 3/8″ of canola oil. My family loved these, even the air fried ones. We will be having the pan fried ones from now on. They are better than any we have eaten out!! Thanks Chef John. As my husband says – “You can never go wrong using a Chef John recipe!”.
Amazing
I made a few small tweaks to this, and it’s my new goto fried chicken recipe. My only changes are replacing a quarter of the flour with cornstarch and another quarter with baking powder; and doubling the cayenne pepper but subbing with Aleppo pepper because that’s what I have on hand. I also find that if I pour a little of the buttermilk marinade into the flour mixture and stir it up to make little lentil sized clumps, the crunch factor is through the roof. Really far better than anything I’ve gotten out… maybe ever? Thank you Chef John!
So the only thing I did different was fry the chicken in duck fat that I bought off Amazon. Really amazing.
Although I tried to keep my oil at the right temp, the outer skin still burned. I think the trick is to keep the pan covered to keep the heat even so the meat cooks evenly. Remove the lid at the end to crisp the skin.
End product is good, only things I took off stars for is -1 for the cooks note, it says to hold in 300 degree oil for 25 minutes? -1 for using peanut oil, it doesn’t improve the quality of the finished product but is more expensive and more likely to have allergic reactions.
Easy recipe few steps the only reason I didn’t give him a five-star. Was very very unhealthy I’d like to see his version of air frying. But to his credit he did say how many times you make this once a year he obviously doesn’t know how much we love fried chicken around here. Lol order in the South how unhealthy people are how they will eat fried chicken about every 3 or 4 days if they can.
Absolutely delicious. Needed a purpose to use up my homemade (butter)buttermilk so i tried this recipe. I did 10 pieces of legs and thighs and all night soak vs recipie’s 6 hours and 8 pieces. Had a tangy sweet taste. I still have some leftover buttermilk so i can do it again.
bland
I’ve made this recipe before, but this time I soaked the chicken overnight in the buttermilk and spices which makes all the difference! We fried the chicken 5 minutes on each side, then put the pieces on a cookie sheet in the oven at 400 until they were done (25 minutes?). The meat was soooo tender and flavorful!!
We subbed the flour for Gluten Free Plain Flour and it was AMAZINGGGGGGGG Best GF coated chicken I’ve ever had in my life. So tasty. So juicy.
I only used 2 1/2 cups of flour and it was plenty.
Made this with just chicken legs & thighs. Came out very tasty complemented with mac & cheese and green salad side. Has some pieces leftover so ate them cold the next day. Still yummy. I did not have buttermilk so I combined 2 tbs of white vinegar and 2 cups of whole milk. Let is sit on the counter for 30 minutes. Then poured over chicken in a zip lock bag in the refrigerator for only 4 hours. I would have let in soak longer but started late. Cooked in a air fryer at 380 degrees for 25 minutes., turning once. Added to my favorites and will make it again.
The only thing I changed was the flour. I didn’t have any on hand, so I used pancake mix. Turned out perfectly! Just like the previous time I made it using regular flour. Scrumptious! No one wanted to share, zero leftovers! Favorite recipe of ours!