Buttermilk fried chicken

Buttermilk fried chicken

Serves

4 servings (8 pieces)

Prep

40 min

Cook

45 min

Total

1 h 25 min

Equipment. Dutch oven, 5 to 7 quart, or a deep cast iron skillet, Clip-on fry thermometer for the oil, Instant-read thermometer for the chicken, Wire rack set in a sheet pan, Long tongs

Ingredients

Brine

• 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks, 8 pieces
• 480 ml (2 cups) buttermilk
• 16 g kosher salt (about 2 tbsp Diamond Crystal or 1 tbsp Morton)
• 2 tbsp vinegar-based hot sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper

Dredge

• 250 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 30 g (1/4 cup) cornstarch
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 3 tbsp of the buttermilk brine

Frying

• About 1.5 to 2 liters peanut, canola or vegetable oil, enough for 4 cm (1.5 inch) depth

Method

1. Brine. Whisk the buttermilk, salt, hot sauce and pepper in a bowl or zip bag. Add the chicken, turn to coat, and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 24. The salt seasons the meat all the way through. The buttermilk tenderizes and gives the flour something to grab.
2. Set a wire rack in a sheet pan by the stove. Whisk the dredge dry ingredients in a wide dish. Drizzle in 3 tbsp of the brine and rub it in with your fingers until you have small shaggy clumps through the flour. Those clumps become the craggy crust.
3. Lift each piece from the brine, let the excess drip off, and press it into the flour on all sides, hard, packing the clumps on. Set the pieces on the rack and leave them 10 to 15 minutes. The coating goes from dusty to pasty, and a hydrated coat stays on in the oil. Throw out the leftover brine and the leftover flour. Both had raw chicken in them. Wash your hands, the bowl and anything the brine touched.
4. Pour the oil into the Dutch oven. It should be no more than a third of the way up the sides, because chicken makes it rise and bubble. Clip on the fry thermometer and heat over medium-high to 350 F (175 C). Turn the pot handles in, away from the edge of the stove. Keep a lid that fits within reach, and never put water on hot or burning oil. If oil catches, turn off the heat and cover the pot.
5. Lower 4 pieces in skin side down, away from you, with tongs. The oil drops to around 300 F (150 C). Adjust the burner to hold it between 300 and 325 F (150 to 165 C) for the whole fry. Too hot and the crust burns before the bone side cooks. Too cool and the crust soaks up oil and goes greasy.
6. Fry 6 to 7 minutes until the underside is deep golden brown. Turn once, gently, and fry 6 to 7 minutes more. Drumsticks often finish before big thighs.
7. Check the thickest piece with the instant-read, away from the bone. 165 F (74 C) is the safe minimum. Dark meat eats better closer to 175 F (79 C). If the crust is dark but the meat is not there, move the piece to the rack and finish it in a 350 F (175 C) oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Drain on a clean rack, not paper towels, which steam the bottom soft. Bring the oil back to 350 F before the second batch. Rest everything 10 minutes before serving. The juice is lava hot right out of the oil.
9. Let the oil cool completely in the pot, overnight if you need to. Strain it into a jar and reuse it once or twice for frying, or seal it in a container and throw it out with the trash. Never pour it down the drain.

What goes wrong

• Coating falls off: the chicken went in wet and dripping, or you skipped the 10 minute rest on the rack. Drip, press, rest.
• Burnt outside, raw inside: the oil ran too hot. Keep it under 325 F once the chicken is in, and use the oven to finish thick pieces.
• Greasy, pale crust: the oil was too cool or the pot was crowded. Four pieces at a time in a 5 quart pot, and wait for the oil to recover between batches.
• Bland meat under a salty crust: the brine was too short or had no salt. Four hours minimum.
• Oil foaming up the sides: too much oil in too small a pot. A third full, no more.

Variations

• Boneless thighs: cut the frying time to 4 to 5 minutes a side and check for 165 F.
• Hot honey to finish: warm 120 ml honey with 1 to 2 tsp cayenne or chile flakes and brush it on right out of the oil.
• Swap 50 g of the flour for fine cornmeal for a crunchier, grittier crust.

What to drink

Sweet tea, a crisp pilsner, or a dry sparkling wine.