FRIED CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS

BRINE:
3/4 Cup Kosher Salt

¾ Cup Good Quality Honey

3 Lemons, Halved

1 Head Garlic, Halved

5 Bay Leaves

1 Bunch Parsley

5-6 Thyme Sprigs

10 Peppercorns

1 Gallon of Water

CHICKEN:

1 Whole Chicken

Portioned into 10 Pieces – 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 wings, 2 breasts, halved

DREDGE:

2 Cups Buttermilk

Tabasco

All Purpose Flour

OIL:

LouAna Peanut Oil

(Seriously, only use LouAna)

Preparations

BRINE:

Prepare Brine a day ahead.

In a deep pot, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Let it boil until the salt is completely evaporated. About 10 minutes.

Cool it down in the refrigerator overnight.

CHICKEN:

Place the raw chicken in the cold brine around 7AM. Set an alarm for 7PM. Set an alarm for 7PM. SET AN ALARM FOR 7PM!!! It cannot stay in the brine longer than 12 hours.

Take it out of the brine. Pat it dry with a paper towel. It’s super important to get all the moisture out now. Otherwise, if it goes back into the fridge wet, it will dry out. I know that seems like an oxymoron but just trust me. I’ve made this so many times!

Cover it in an airtight container and put it in the refrigerator until tomorrow.

DAY OF PREPARATIONS:

Pull the chicken out of the refrigerator 2.5 hours before your guests arrive, it needs to come to room temp. Set a timer for 30 minutes!

During that 30-minute waiting period, pour oil in your pot and set it on the lowest heat so it can slowly heat up.

After you’ve done that, set up your dredge station.

1 BOWL FOR FLOUR season with garlic powder or granulated garlic, slap ya mama or old bay seasoning.

1 BOWL FOR BUTTERMILK add 1-2tbsp of tobasco if you have any.

1 BOWL FOR FLOUR seasoned the same as the first bowl

After the 30 minutes is up. Start breading your chicken. Flour. Buttermilk. Flour. (re-watch the video for a reference)

Check the temp of your oil. This is extremely important. It needs to be at 325-350. If it’s less than that, your chicken will soak up allllllll the oil and it will be greasy and bland. If its hotter than that, the skin is going to burn before the insides cook and you’ll end up with black, burnt chicken.

Once it’s up to temp, add 2-3 pieces of chicken at a time. It will take about 4 minutes for the small pieces and up to 8 minutes for the larger pieces.

(See my video in the highlights section of my IG @grublisher_)

When the chicken is done, put it on a wire rack. Temp it. It needs to be at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. I like my chicken around 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

Lightly salt it with iodized salt or sea salt. Place in the oven at 130 to keep warm until your guests arrive.

By the time you’re done, you’ll have 30 minutes or so until your guests arrive.

The first time will always take the most time because you really have to find your rhythm.

And in order to make your life easier, CLEAN AS YOU GO!

You’ll really set yourself up for success if you give this chicken 100% your attention versus multitasking in between. It gets SO messy and exhausting that way. LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES.

HAPPY COOKIN'! I want you to feel comfortable enough to ask any and all questions that might feel silly or stupid. This is an ambitious recipe but well worth your time and energy.