Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe
Mouth-wateringly juicy, crispy, perfectly seasoned southern fried chicken recipe
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Ingredients
- Recipe by Chef Chris Stewart of The Glass Onion in Charleston SC
- Chicken 3 1/2 to 4 lbs 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces or 8 chicken legs and 2 juicy chicken breasts
Ingredients
- vegetable oil for frying
- 2 Cups self-rising flour
- 2 Cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon ground white pepper his recipe calls for freshly ground I used pre-ground
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Buttermilk Brine
- 1 quart buttermilk use good thick real buttermilk no substitutions or low fat nonsense
- 1/4 Cup hot sauce I used a garlic habanero hot sauce - so amazing
- 1/4 Cup kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
Brine the Chicken
- Combine the buttermilk, hot sauce, garlic, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a large dish or bowl with a lid. Add in the chicken and toss to coat really well, it's best if they're completely submerged, but work with what you've got. Seal the dish and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Breading
- Combine the flours and seasonings in a large brown paper grocery sack you really want to have two paper bags, one inside the other - trust me
Breading the Chicken
- Remove the chicken from the buttermilk I set my chicken on a wire cooling rack over the sink to let the excess brine drip away. Add the chicken a couple pieces at a time to the breading mixture inside the paper bags, fold the top down to close and shake-a, shake-a, shake-a until the chicken is completely coated.
Resting the chicken
- Place the chicken on another wire cooling rack I have my wire rack sitting on a cookie sheet. Rest the chicken for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. If resting any longer, up to a couple days, do this in the refrigerator! Chef Chris says that resting the chicken after the breading process ensures that the breading will better adhere to the chicken during the frying process I concur
Frying the Bird
- Heat a couple of inches of oil in your big cast iron skillet, or whatever you will be frying your chicken in. Chef Chris says 4 inches of oil, my 12" cast iron won't safely hold 4 inches of oil, use your smarts, people
- Heat the oil to 325° F in your skillet. Use a clip on candy/fry thermometer to monitor your oil temperature. You really want an even temperature (oil should heat to 325°F, and once the frying has started should never dip below 300°F)
- Fry the chicken in batches - I can cook 3 pieces at a time in my skillet. You want the skin to be a gorgeous, rich, golden brown this takes between 6 - 9 minutes Flip the chicken and cook the other side. Keep a good quick read meat thermometer on hand to check the temperature of your chicken - 165° is the ideal temp.
- If your chicken is getting too dark, but the internal temp isn't reaching - you can remove it from the fryer and finish baking it off in the oven at 350°. Just keep checking
Notes
The recipe is Chef Chris' - the italics are my own additions, or takes on the recipe.
Servings: 8 - 10 pieces