Adapted from J.Kenji López-Alt’s The Food Lab with a little Southern Living cooking method thrown in

Ingredients:

3 tbsp paprika
3 tbsp black pepper
3 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp dried oregano
1.5tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it hot!)
2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
5 tbsp salt
~6lbs chicken (your preference on cut), we had 3 chicken breasts and 6 legs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
1.5 tsp baking powder
One of those large bottle of vegetable or peanut oil (48oz)

Equipment: tongs, cooling rack and baking sheet, dutch oven (or wok or cast iron chicken fryer)

Directions:

1. Prepare the chicken:
   Whole chicken – separate into breasts, thighs and drumsticks
   Legs – separate into thighs and drumsticks
   Breasts – cut into two pieces (smaller piece allows it to cook through without the crust burning)
2. Prepare the spice mixture (don’t be tempted to dump it directly in the buttermilk – you have to split it into two – for the marinade and also the breading). Mix the paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano and cayenne.
3. In a large bowl or a gallon baggie, mix the buttermilk, egg, 2 tbsp salt and 3 tbsp of the spice mixture. I also threw in half a chopped up onion because it was languishing in the fridge. Add the chicken pieces and smush them around until they’re nicely coated. Refrigerate 4-24 hours (turn the chicken occasionally). Remove them from the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to bread them so they can come to room temperature.
4. Mix the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, 3 tbsp salt and the rest of the spice mixture in a baggie or on a large plate.
5. Take the chicken out of the marinade (allow them to kind of drip dry) and then toss in the flour/spice mix until thoroughly costed.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, have a cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet (line with foil for easier clean up) in the middle/top part of the oven.
7. Heat the oil in a dutch oven (you can also use a cast iron chicken fryer or a wok but covering them is difficult and the wok can be kind of unstable). Use a thermometer to get the oil to 360 degrees (you’ll see little threads start to dance in the oil).
8. Using tongs, place the chicken pieces carefully into the hot oil (skin side down). Cover and cook for 3-6 minutes until it’s a lovely golden brown, turn chicken and cook uncovered for 3-6 minutes until the other side is brown.
9. Remove the chicken from the oil and put on the wire rack on the baking sheet. Pop in the oven until the chicken has reached a safe food temperature (generally accepted to be 165 degrees but you can also pull it a little earlier as it’ll continue to rise in temperature while it rests)
10. Rest for 5-10 minutes, season with malden sea salt and then serve with lots of napkins and paper towels!

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