Southern Fried Chicken

Tags: #meat #poultry #Southern #deep-fry Serving: 6 servings Total time: 9 hours (including marination)

Crisp, craggy, and juicy bone-in fried chicken marinated in buttermilk and fried to golden perfection.

Ingredients

• 1600 g bone-in chicken pieces (drumsticks, thighs, breasts, wings)
• 600 ml cultured buttermilk
• 30 ml hot sauce
• 20 g kosher salt (for marinade)
• 300 g all-purpose flour
• 60 g cornstarch
• 10 g baking powder
• 14 g kosher salt (for dredge)
• 8 g ground black pepper
• 8 g sweet paprika
• 6 g garlic powder
• 6 g onion powder
• 2 g cayenne pepper
• 2000 ml peanut oil (or neutral high-heat oil)
• 4 g fine salt (finishing)

Steps

1. Whisk the buttermilk, hot sauce, and 20 g kosher salt in a bowl.
2. Reserve 45 ml of the buttermilk mixture in a small bowl.
3. Place the chicken pieces in a nonreactive container.
4. Pour the remaining buttermilk mixture over the chicken.
5. Press the chicken to fully submerge in the marinade.
6. Cover the container.
7. Refrigerate the chicken for 8 to 24 hours.
8. Place a wire rack over a sheet pan.
9. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator.
10. Drain excess marinade from the chicken.
11. Set the chicken on the rack to drip for 5 minutes.
12. Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, 14 g kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne in a large bowl.
13. Whisk the dry mixture until evenly blended.
14. Drizzle the reserved 45 ml buttermilk over the flour mixture.
15. Rub the flour between your fingers to form small pebbly clumps.
16. Dredge one piece of chicken in the flour mixture.
17. Press the flour firmly onto the chicken surface.
18. Shake off loose flour.
19. Transfer the dredged piece to a clean wire rack.
20. Repeat the dredging process for the remaining pieces.
21. Rest the dredged chicken for 10 minutes.
22. Pour the oil into a heavy pot to a depth of about 5 cm.
23. Clip a deep-fry thermometer to the pot.
24. Heat the oil to 175°C over medium-high heat.
25. Reduce the heat to maintain 165–175°C.