American Crunchy Fried Chicken

You will need:

• 2 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
• 2 Tablespoons Salt
• 8 pieces of Chicken I use thighs and legs
• 3 Cups of Flour
• 2 Teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon Hot Paprika
• 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon Dry Thyme
• 1/2 Teaspoon Dry Sage
• 1 Quart of Canola Oil

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 200F.
2. Combine 2 cups of the buttermilk with the salt and stir to dissolve.
3. Put the Chicken and the buttermilk mixture into a ziplock bag for one hour.
4. In a bowl, add the flour, baking powder and the dry herbs.
5. To that mixture mix in the remaining 1/2 cup buttermilk.
6. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, one piece at a time, and fully coat the chicken. We will fry the chicken in 2 batches, so only dredge 1/2 of the chicken at this time. Use your hands to press the flour mixture into the chicken. It should look shaggy, with clumps of flour mixture. Those clumps will create an amazing crust when fried.
7. Add 1.5″ of oil to a cast iron pan or Dutch oven and heat the oil to 375F. We want the oil to basically cover 1/2 of the chicken.
8. While the oil is heating, put a wire rack into a baking sheet. Once your oil has hit 375 degrees and is stabilized at that temperature, put the first batch of chicken into the oil, skin side down, and cover with a lid. Cook for four minutes.
9. Remove the lid and cook for four more minutes. The oil should be around 300F at this stage. Flip the chicken over and fry for eight more minutes. Do not let the oil get hotter than 320F. The Chicken is cooked when the internal temperature is 165F.
10. Remove the chicken from the oil and place on the cooling rack and put into the oven while you prepare the next batch. Repeat this process with the second batch. When all the chicken is cooked, let it rest for 10 minutes before eating.
    And please say hello to the Colonel for me!

– Daniel Mancini