Fried Chicken Recipe

My fried chicken-- whether oven-fried, pan-fried, or deep-fried-- starts with marinating about 5 lbs. of chicken drumsticks and bone-in breasts (which I cut in half) in seasoned buttermilk for 4-24 hours, then coating with dry mix. From there, follow the baking or frying directions below.

A few pointers before we proceed. I remove the skin because it's just so bad for you, but that step is entirely up to you. I can tell you, you won't miss that skin at all-- the coating is so crunchy and good. I don't recommend using boneless breasts for this recipe because they require far less cooking time which means there is probably not enough time to get the outside crisp before completely drying out the inside.

Buttermilk "bath"
Combine the following in a very large bowl, then add chicken pieces:
1 quart low fat buttermilk
1/3 cup hot sauce (not Tabasco-- it will be way too hot. I use Frank's.)
1 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne

 Coating Mix
Mix the following in a gallon sized ziplock bag:
2 c. flour
2 c. bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 Tbs. onion powder
2 Tbs. garlic powder
1 Tbs. salt
2 tsp. pepper



Remove a few pieces of chicken at a time from the buttermilk. Put into coating mix ingredients, close ziplock, shake to coat. Repeat until all pieces are coated. As pieces are coated, lay them on a cookie sheet (or sheets) that you've sprayed with Pam or similar cooking spray.

To Bake:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Leave chicken on cookie sheets. Spray chicken with a light even coating of Pam. Bake for 1 hour, turning every 20 minutes. After the first turn, spray again with Pam.

To Pan-fry:
To me, this is the most dangerous way to cook the chicken and I don't recommend it unless you're an experienced cook. Use a very large skillet (cast iron is great), and fill about 1/4 full with canola oil. Heat to 325 degrees. Add chicken, skin side down, (even if you're using skinless, put the side that should have skin down first.) Do not crowd pieces in skillet or you'll bring the temperature down too much, and do not let oil level in pan get too high-- this is so dangerous, so be careful. Turn pieces at 10 minute intervals as necessary until internal temperature (use a thermometer, preferably instant read) reaches 180 degrees. Remove pieces and lay on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

To Deep-fry:
Use a large, deep pot filled 1/3 to 1/2 full with canola oil. Heat to 300 degrees. Carefully add chicken pieces, being careful not to overcrowd the pot or overflow the oil. How do you know the pot is over-crowded? Check the oil temperature. If you over-crowd the pot, the temp will drop significantly and you'll have soggy chicken. Maintaining a 300 degree oil temp, as closely as you can, cook breast for about 10-12 minutes each, and legs (probably thighs too)for about 18-20 minutes each. Remove pieces from oil and lay on paper towels to absorb excess oil. If you're not sure if pieces are done, just check them with a thermometer and be sure they're 180 degrees.

I hope you enjoy and I hope you'll try the oven-fried version. It's healthier, it's far less mess to clean up, and it gets rave reviews even from avid deep- and pan-fried chicken lovers.