Buttermilk Southern Fried Chicken
Bone-in chicken soaked overnight in buttermilk, rolled in seasoned flour and fried: a craggy, crackling crust over juicy meat, the way the American South makes it at home.
Method
Whisk the buttermilk, salt and hot sauce in a bowl or zip-top bag until the salt dissolves. Add the chicken, turn to coat every piece, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight (no longer than 24 hours). The salt and gentle acid season the meat right to the bone and keep it juicy.
Add in this stepButtermilk 350 mlSalt (for the brine) 9 gHot sauce 2 tspBone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks 600 g
Take the chicken out of the fridge 20 minutes before frying. In a wide bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the brine over the flour and rub it in with your fingertips to make small crumbly clumps; these become the craggy, crunchy bits of the crust.
Add in this stepAll-purpose flour 130 gCornstarch 2 tbspSalt (for the dredge) 1 tspGround black pepper 1 tspSweet paprika 1 tspGarlic powder ½ tspOnion powder ½ tspCayenne pepper 2 pinch
Lift each piece out of the brine and let the excess drip off for a few seconds (do not pat it dry). Press it firmly into the flour on all sides, scooping flour over the top, then shake off the loose flour. Set the pieces on a wire rack for , until the coating looks damp and paste-like; this helps it stay on in the oil. Wash your hands and anything the raw chicken touched.
Pour the oil into a heavy 22 cm pot: at least 4 cm deep but no more than half full, so it cannot bubble over. Heat over medium-high heat for about , until a deep-fry thermometer reads 175°C. Without a thermometer: a wooden chopstick dipped in the oil gives off a steady stream of small bubbles. Keep the pot lid and a dry towel within reach, and never let water near the oil.
Add in this stepNeutral oil for frying 1½ L
medium-high heatFry in 1 batch(es). With long tongs, lower the pieces in one at a time, skin side down, laying them away from you; leave space between them. The oil will drop to about 150°C; adjust the heat (around medium heat) to keep it at 160–165°C. Fry for per batch, turning every 3–4 minutes, until deep golden brown all over. It is done when an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part, not touching the bone, shows at least 74°C (thighs are juiciest at 80°C) and the juices run clear. Let the oil come back to 175°C before the next batch.
medium heatStand the chicken on a wire rack (not paper towels, which steam the crust soft) and rest for ; the meat finishes cooking and the juices settle. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt while hot. If you fry in batches, keep the first batch on a rack in a 95°C oven.
Cook's tip
No buttermilk? Stir 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into 240 ml of milk and leave it for 10 minutes. Dark meat (thighs and drumsticks) is far more forgiving than breast; if you use breast, cut it in half crosswise so it cooks at the same pace. If the crust browns long before the meat reaches temperature, the oil is too hot: turn the heat down a notch.
Cooking it at camp
Deep-frying in a big pot of oil on a wobbly camp stove is risky, so we don't recommend it. Instead, shallow-fry in a deep cast-iron skillet with 2 cm of oil on a low, stable two-burner stove set on flat ground, turning the pieces often and checking for 74°C with a thermometer. Keep the brined chicken in the cooler below 4°C until cooking.