The Ultimate Crispy Fried Chicken

Name: The Ultimate Crispy Fried Chicken
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: US & Canada, Southern
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups, kosher salt or 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons table salt; 1/4 cup, granulated sugar; 2 tablespoons, paprika; 3 medium heads, garlic, cloves separated; 3 , bay leaves, crumbled; 2 quarts, buttermilk (low fat); 1 , whole chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds), giblets discarded, cut into 12 pieces (see illustrations below); 4 cups, unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 , large egg; 1 teaspoon, baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon, baking soda; 3–4 cups, refined peanut oil or vegetable shortening

105 comments

Appears in Cook's Illustrated May/June 2001, America's Test Kitchen TV

To solve the problem of dry and underseasoned fried chicken, we brined and then air-dried the chicken parts before frying.

SERVES4 to 6

TIME1¾ hours, plus 2 hours brining and 2 hours chilling

has video

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Our best fried chicken recipe would be worth the splatter and mess, producing seasoned meat coated with a crisp mahogany crust. We found that cutting up a whole chicken and brining it in a mixture of buttermilk, salt, and spices was the way...

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