Seriously Good Extra Crispy Fried Chicken

Many years ago, when we still lived in California, I made a Tyler Florence recipe for fried chicken, that called for adding herbs and garlic to the oil before frying the chicken, and it was so good, I still remember it, all these years later. So when I returned from my latest California trip inspired by the updated Southern dishes at Fremont Diner with a hankering for Fried Chicken, I started by looking for that recipe. The result of discovering that Florence actually has MANY published recipes on the subject (and of course, so do many other cooks) is my own version, this Seriously Good Extra Crispy Fried Chicken for my Updated Southern Supper. I have culled through probably 100 recipes to figure out what exactly I like best in fried chicken. This recipe is all about flavorful tender meat, a spice-ful, but not spicy crispy crust as well as a method for making this recipe useful for a dinner party. My Seriously Good Extra Crispy Fried Chicken is written with entertaining in mind and I’ve got techniques you can use so that the chicken is ready to go and you’re out of the kitchen and at your own party.

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Seriously Good Extra Crispy Fried Chicken

Salt brine and spicy buttermilk baths make this Seriously Good Extra Crispy Fried Chicken succulent and flavorful with an extra crispy and crunchy coating.

Prep Time1 day d

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 day d 45 minutes mins

Servings: 12

Author: Barrett Bridenhagen

Ingredients

• 4-6 pounds chicken whole, or in parts, but you need bone-in, skin-on
• plenty of sea salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rice flour
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon sumac powder optional; it has a slightly tart taste about it that works well with this
• 1 teaspoon cayenne or more if you want it spicy
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 quart buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce if you use something very hot or ½ cup if you use something mild like Frank’s
• Peanut oil a big jug, I think mine is a gallon, for frying
• small bunch fresh thyme
• 4 big sprigs fresh rosemary
• small bunch fresh sage
• 8 cloves garlic; smashed

Instructions

• Put the chicken pieces into a large bowl (or ziplock bags). Cover the chicken with cold water (it should be fully submerged); add 1 tablespoon of salt for each quart of water used. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Drain well.
• In another bowl combine the buttermilk and hot sauce with a fork and season with salt (½ - 1 teaspoon). Let soak about one hour, as chicken comes up to room temperature.
• In a large shallow dish (I use a square pyrex baking dish) mix the flours (you can use only a.p. flour but the rice flour gives it a lighter texture that makes the double dipping work better), garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, sumac, and cayenne until well mixed; season generously with salt and pepper (½ - 1 teaspoon each). Set aside.
• Prepare a large baking sheet and tongs so you’ll be ready to go when it’s time to start frying.
• Use a heavy, large, deep pot (I use my 8 qt stock pot, or my 5 quart Dutch oven depending on how much I’m making) and fill it no more than half way up with the *peanut oil. Add the thyme, rosemary, sage, and garlic to the cool oil and heat over medium-high heat until the oil registers 350° to 365° F on a thermometer. The house will smell really amazing at this point from the herbs perfuming the oil.
• When you’re at temperature, skim the herbs from the oil as they will start to burn after awhile. Pull a few chicken (4 at a time, so you don’t drop the oil temperature too quickly or crowd the pan) pieces from the buttermilk and dredge the chicken pieces, a few at a time, in the flour mixture, then dip them back into the buttermilk; dredge them again in the seasoned flour. Lower them gently into the oil. Don’t crowd the pan too much.
• Cook until the inner temperature of the chicken is dark golden brown and crispy looking (this will be 8-10 minutes).
• If you’re going to serve it right away, check the temperature and make sure the internal temp is 160° F. That said, I never serve it right away. When I’m cooking for a big party, I prefer to fry the chicken in advance (about an hour before guests arrive) and place it on a sheet pan. Since it’s only sitting out for an hour, don’t worry about refrigerating.
• If you want to fry it early in the day, refrigeration will be important and you lose a lot of the make ahead benefits- to keep it crispy you’ll have to refry just before you serve it to reheat.
• When guests arrive I preheat the oven to 375° F.
• When I plate the salads, I put the chicken in the oven and bake it for 20-25 minutes. This gives me time to prep the other dishes, spend time with my guests, and control exactly when I want to cook and serve. When serving, check the temperature of the chicken to ensure it’s 160° F internally.
• I also like a very light dusting of sea salt on the top of the chicken just before I serve it with my Polenta Tarts with Okra and Corn.

Notes

Does breaking down a whole chicken seem like too much work? Buy parts instead. I like variety, so if I don’t start with a whole, I buy the equivalent. When cooking for a big group and working with whole chickens, buy two smaller ones, rather than a large one; it will cook more evenly and be more tender. In order to allow the chicken to cook evenly, I cut the breasts in half at the thickest part.
Thrifty/$pendy Alteration: Of course you can use other vegetable oils for frying, but I think that peanut is really flavorful and changing it up will be a significant substitution. A big jug of it is expensive, but when you’re finished using it, you can strain it very well and save it for next time. You will be able to get a few uses out of it. Just keep in mind that if you fry something like shishito peppers in it, it becomes increasingly spicy over time.