fried chicken... 1 hour (plus marinating)

 

the goods:

 

1 whole chicken, cut up (or if you have a preference like me, then you can just grab a couple of breasts and drumsticks too)

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

2 and 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon plus 1 and 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt (such as Lawry's)

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons milk

Canola or vegetable oil for frying

 

Thoroughly rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towel, then place in a bowl and cover with 2 cups of the buttermilk. Soak in the fridge overnight. When you are ready to fry the chicken, remove the bowl from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes, just to take the chill off.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, seasoned salt, pepper, thyme, paprika, and cayenne in a pie plate, stir together well. In a small measuring cup, combine 2 tablespoons buttermilk with 2 tablespoons milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour and with a fork, gradually mix until there are little lumps throughout.

Heat 1 and 1/2 inches of oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until a thermometer reaches 365 degrees. Working in batches, thoroughly coat each buttermilk soaked chicken piece with the breading, pressing extra breading onto the chicken if necessary. Add the chicken to the oil 3 or 4 pieces at a time. Make sure they aren't sticking together, then cover the pan and fry for 5 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the chicken isn't getting too brown. Turn the pieces over, cover again. and cook 3 to 5 minutes more. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and continue frying the rest of the chicken. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 15 minutes to finish the cooking process.