Carolina Crispy Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Submitted by ncmysteryshopper

"This chicken has a crispy outer coating and moist, melt in your mouth meat that is not greasy. This is the best fried chicken I have ever eaten. The sugar-and-salt-spiked whole-milk brine makes the chicken sweet and juicy; a mixture of buttermilk, flour, baking powder and baking soda yields an extra crisp crust. MAKE AHEAD: The chicken can be fried up to 4 hours ahead and reheated. WINE: A lively, fruity, low-tannin Beaujolais, such as the 2001 Georges Duboeuf Juliénas, has the fruit and acidity to contrast with the pleasantly sweet chicken. Recipe adapted from Dave Arnold's After Hours: Sundays at Seven."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 quart whole milk
• kosher salt
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 2 (4 lb) roasting chickens, each cut into 8 pieces
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking soda
• 5 cups all-purpose flour (aprx. amount)
• vegetable oil, for frying (about a quart)

directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of the milk with 3/4 cup of kosher salt and the sugar and stir over moderate heat just until the sugar and salt dissolve, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large, deep bowl and add the remaining 3 cups of milk. Add the chicken pieces and refrigerate for 4 hours. Drain the chicken, rinse and pat thoroughly dry. If you family or guests are salt sensitive be sure to wash the chicken thoroughly and pat very dry with paper towels.
2. In a bowl, mix buttermilk, eggs, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt (or less, up to you - I use a teaspoon), paprika, hot sauce and pepper. Whisk in baking powder and baking soda. Put half of the flour in a large bowl. Working with a few pieces at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour, tapping off any excess. Dip the chicken in the buttermilk, letting the excess drip off; return the chicken to the flour and turn to coat. Transfer to a rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken, adding more flour as needed. If the flour becomes too lumpy, sift it.
3. Heat the oil in 2 large, deep skillets until shimmering. Working in batches, add the chicken to the skillets in a single layer, without crowding, and fry over moderate heat. Cover for the first five minutes. Uncover and cook turning occasionally, until deep golden and cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes; an instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should register 160°.
4. If it's frying too fast, reduce heat slightly. If it appears to retain grease, slightly increase heat.
5. Drain the chicken on wire racks lined with paper towels and fry the remaining pieces. Serve hot or warm.
6. NOTE: the key is to cover in the beginning to start the cooking process inside the chicken, but to uncover during the last part of the cooking time to get the outside nice and crispy and golden brown.

Reviews

[Chef Charlee]

We loved this! Fried at 350, it came out perfect. Make sure you don't over crowd the pan or it brings the temp down, and then when you turn it up you can take a chance of burning the chicken!

 

[Mamas Kitchen Hope]

Update: A year later and this is still gracin our tables! Definitely a KEEPER! Thank you for such a fantastic recipe! Wonderful! Flavorful! Followed your directions exactly and it was not greasy at all. I found I was out of Kosher salt and had to sub regular salt- NOTE Kosher salt is much less salty and the correct ratio is about 2:1 so maybe the previous chef who thought it was too salty used regular salt in the measurements stated for Kosher? I did not find this salty at all. I used 1/3 cup table salt in the marinade and 1 1/2 teaspoons in the milk/egg wash. This was so moist and flavorful I know that I will be using this recipe from now on to fry chicken. We like our chicken spicy so I will try adding some cayenne in the future. Thank you for this fabulous recipe!

 

[LisaLouWho]

My family has been asking me to make fried chicken. I've made many different recipes over the years but haven't found the "keeper" recipe -- until now! The chicken was so moist and the coating was very crispy. i have never brined chicken before but it was pretty easy and I'll definitely do it again. The only tweaks I'm going to make is to increase the amounts of sweet paprika, hot sauce and pepper since we all agreed the coating was a bit bland and needed to be kicked up a notch or two. Other than adding more spices, the chicken was perfect -- a definite keeper. Thank you NcMysteryShopper for posting this recipe!!

 

[evelynkellogg1]

We have made this chicken several times and it is a no fail if you follow this recipe! The meat is so white, non greasy and has super flavour. We love the contrast of the super crunchy batter and the moist chicken! Take your time and enjoy the simplicity of such an old fashioned favorite!

 

[Anne F.]

I only used 1 chicken, 8 pieces because it was only the two of us. The chicken itself was moist & delicious, but maybe I used too much flour & not enough seasoning in the buttermilk mixture beause I found it a little bland. I always use less figuring I can add but not take away. I will use this recipe again but kick it up a notch or so. This was my first time making fried chicken, so I'm sure it was all me!