Recipe: Fried Chicken or KFC's got nothin' on me.

I have been dying to try my hand at fried chicken for some time now. For some reason the thought of it has always been extremely intimidating. I found a recipe that didn't call for the use of lard or shortening (those two things still intimidate me) and it looked easy enough. So last night I decided to have an all out southern fried chicken dinner complete with mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, biscuits and brussel sprouts (not too terribly southern but so very good). It turned out absolutely perfect after I figured out how to maintain the oil heat for 25 minutes without burning the batter.




Super Crispy Chicken
One whole chicken cut into 8 pieces (drumsticks and thigh are preferable for this recipe so you could use those instead.)
6 cups buttermilk
3 cups all purpose flour
salt, pepper and cayenne to taste
vegetable oil for frying

1. Toss chicken pieces with buttermilk, cover and refrigerate 8 hours or over night.
2. Combine flour, salt, pepper and cayenne in a large ziploc. Place to wire racks over baking sheets. Working in batches drain buttermilk off chicken, trying to scrape off as much excess as possible. Place chicken in bag and toss until covered in flour. Transfer chicken to racks, pressing flour to help it stick to the chicken.
3. Pour 1 inch of oil into a cast iron skillet or other pot with heavy bottom, and heat oil to 350º. Add as many pieces of chicken as you can without crowding the skillet. Fry over moderate heat until the chicken is crisp, golden and cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. Drumsticks and thighs should be 165º and breasts should be 160º. Drain chicken on paper towels and start a new batch keeping the oil at 325º during frying.
4. Serve warm, or at room temp.

I can see why fried chicken day was a treat for my mom when she was younger, this recipe takes a while. I finished the whole chicken in 3 batches which took about an hour and fifteen minutes, so you need time. You also need a cool house, I sweated through almost the whole process and don't think I will be preparing any fried chicken dinners in the dog days of summer. It was so worth the time and effort though. It is some of the best fried chicken we have ever had and the leftovers are phenomenal as well.