I've made this twice in the last 2 weeks. Hubster couldn't stop raving about it! As a child, KFC was one of my favorite restaurants. Sadly, it's one of the no-nos on our ever shrinking list of Crunchy-friendly restaurants. When we first moved to Ft. Campbell, we drove the 15 minutes to have Kentucky Fried Chicken in Kentucky. Hubster and I both got sick. We've cut out pretty much all processed garbage from our diet and the fake food was rejected as the trash it is. KFC has always been my standard of perfection for Fried Chicken, flavor and crunch wise, and I was disappointed I'd never get to enjoy it again. Then I found this recipe. So long KFC! You've been replaced!
When Hubster requested fried chicken one night, I dug into my Cooks Country cookbook, written by the geniuses at America's Test Kitchen. This gem of a recipe is just as good as, if not better than, KFC's extra crispy chicken.
Extra-Crunchy Fried Chicken courtesy of Cooks Country
2 Tbsp salt
2 cups plus 6 Tbsp buttermilk
1 (3 1/2 lb) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces and trimmed
(4 breast pieces, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs) wings discarded
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tspgarlic powder
1 qt grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, lard, or other healthy fat for frying
1. Dissolve salt in 2 cups buttermilk in large container. Submerge chicken in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, thyme, pepper, and garlic powder together in a large bowl. Add remaining 6 Tbsp buttermilk; with your fingers, rub flour and buttermilk together until buttermilk is evenly incorporated into flour and mixture resembles coarse, wet sand. Set wire rack inside rimmed baking sheet.
3. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture and turn to coat thoroughly, gently pressing flour mixture onto chicken. Shake excess flour from each piece of chicken and transfer to prepared baking sheet.
4. Line platter with triple layer of paper towels. Add oil to large dutch oven until it measures about 3/4" deep and heat over medium-high heat to 375º. Place chicken pieces skin side down in oil, cover, and fry until deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove lid after 4 minutes and lift chicken pieces to check for even browning; rearrange if some pieces are browning faster than others. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 300º - 315º. Turn chicken pieces over and continue to fry, uncovered, until chicken pieces are deep golden brown on second side and breasts register 160º and thighs and drumsticks register 175º, 6 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to prepared platter, let stand for 5 minutes. Serve.
To make this Extra-Spicy, Extra-Crunchy Fried Chicken, add 1/4 cup hot sauce to buttermilk-salt mixture in step 1. Replace dried thyme and garlic powder with 2 Tbsp cayenne pepper and 2 tsp chili powder in step 2.
When Hubster requested fried chicken one night, I dug into my Cooks Country cookbook, written by the geniuses at America's Test Kitchen. This gem of a recipe is just as good as, if not better than, KFC's extra crispy chicken.
Extra-Crunchy Fried Chicken courtesy of Cooks Country
2 Tbsp salt
2 cups plus 6 Tbsp buttermilk
1 (3 1/2 lb) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces and trimmed
(4 breast pieces, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs) wings discarded
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tspgarlic powder
1 qt grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, lard, or other healthy fat for frying
1. Dissolve salt in 2 cups buttermilk in large container. Submerge chicken in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, thyme, pepper, and garlic powder together in a large bowl. Add remaining 6 Tbsp buttermilk; with your fingers, rub flour and buttermilk together until buttermilk is evenly incorporated into flour and mixture resembles coarse, wet sand. Set wire rack inside rimmed baking sheet.
3. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture and turn to coat thoroughly, gently pressing flour mixture onto chicken. Shake excess flour from each piece of chicken and transfer to prepared baking sheet.
4. Line platter with triple layer of paper towels. Add oil to large dutch oven until it measures about 3/4" deep and heat over medium-high heat to 375º. Place chicken pieces skin side down in oil, cover, and fry until deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove lid after 4 minutes and lift chicken pieces to check for even browning; rearrange if some pieces are browning faster than others. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 300º - 315º. Turn chicken pieces over and continue to fry, uncovered, until chicken pieces are deep golden brown on second side and breasts register 160º and thighs and drumsticks register 175º, 6 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to prepared platter, let stand for 5 minutes. Serve.
To make this Extra-Spicy, Extra-Crunchy Fried Chicken, add 1/4 cup hot sauce to buttermilk-salt mixture in step 1. Replace dried thyme and garlic powder with 2 Tbsp cayenne pepper and 2 tsp chili powder in step 2.
I used powdered buttermilk and chicken breasts that I sliced in half to make cutlets. I also only used 2 cups buttermilk total and "borrowed" the 6 Tbsp from the brine before I put the chicken in. It all worked out fine.
All the chunky buttermilk-flour bits are what make the crispy coating just like KFC's extra crispy fried chicken.