Sunday Fried Chicken
Buttermilk-brined chicken in a seasoned flour crust, fried in a cast iron skillet until crackly and golden. With the sides to make it a full Sunday spread.
- Full Meals
- Cast iron / Dutch oven
- Deep fry
- Chicken
- Dinner
- 105 min total
- Serves 6
Ingredients
Ingredients for servings
Enter a number of at least ½, in steps of ½.
Original recipe serves 6. Ingredient amounts adjust automatically. Cooking times and pan size may need adjusting separately.
Brine (4 to 24 hours ahead)
- 4 lb bone-in chicken pieces, thighs, drumsticks and split breasts cut in half
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
Coating
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
Frying
- 4 cups frying oil, peanut or vegetable, about 1 inch deep
Gear
- 12-inch cast iron skillet or Dutch oven
- Clip-on frying thermometer
- Instant-read thermometer
- Wire rack and sheet pan
- Long tongs
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Steps
Step 1: BRINE: Whisk the buttermilk, salt and hot sauce in a big bowl or zip-top bag. Add the chicken, turn to coat and refrigerate 4 to 24 hours.
Step 2: Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before frying. Whisk the coating ingredients in a large shallow dish.
Step 3: Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the buttermilk brine into the flour and rub it in with your fingers to make little shaggy clumps. They turn into the extra-crispy bits.
Step 4: Lift each piece out of the buttermilk, let the extra drip off, and press it firmly into the flour, turning to coat completely. Set on a wire rack 15 minutes so the coating sets.
Step 5: Heat the oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet (or Dutch oven) to 350°F. Heat the oven to 250°F and set a rack on a baking sheet in it.
Step 6: Fry dark meat first, 4 or 5 pieces at a time, skin-side down. Keep the oil around 300 to 325°F once the chicken's in. Cook 6 to 7 minutes until deep golden, flip and cook 6 to 7 minutes more.
Step 7: Check with a thermometer: 165°F for breasts, 175°F for thighs and drumsticks. Move to the rack in the warm oven. Repeat with the rest, letting the oil come back to 350°F between batches.
Step 8: Rest 10 minutes and serve.
Game plan
Sunday dinner at 2:00 PM (fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits):
- Saturday night: Brine the chicken. Trim green beans.
- 11:30 AM: Bake biscuits or set out canned ones. Start the green beans with a ham hock or bacon on low.
- 12:00 PM: Chicken out of the fridge. Mix the coating.
- 12:15 PM: Dredge, rest on rack. Peel and boil potatoes (see Homemade Mashed Potatoes and Gravy).
- 12:30 PM: Heat oil. Oven to 250°F.
- 12:45 to 1:40 PM: Fry in batches; keep warm in the oven. Mash potatoes between batches.
- 1:45 PM: Make a quick pan gravy from 3 tablespoons of the frying oil, 3 tablespoons flour and 2 cups milk.
- 2:00 PM: Eat.
Swaps
- Chicken: All thighs and drumsticks are the easiest; they’re forgiving and cook evenly.
- Heat: Double the cayenne and add hot sauce to the flour for a spicy version.
- Oil: Peanut oil is classic; vegetable or canola work fine. Shortening gives a very crisp crust.
Tips
- Never leave hot oil alone, and keep a lid nearby. If oil ever catches fire, slide the lid on and turn off the heat. Never use water.
- Let used oil cool completely, then strain and store it or dispose of it in a sealed container.
- Dark meat first: it holds better in the oven while the white meat fries.
The story
HAM Cooking. Let’s fire it up.
There’s a particular sound fried chicken makes when it hits hot oil. It’s a big, angry sizzle that settles into a steady crackle, and if you grew up with Sunday dinners, it’s the sound of somebody loving you.
Every step here has a reason. Buttermilk is slightly acidic and salty, so it seasons and tenderizes the meat while it soaks. A little cornstarch in the flour makes the crust crisper, because it fries up drier and crunchier than flour alone. Pinch a few spoonfuls of the buttermilk into the flour first and you get lumpy little pebbles that stick to the chicken and fry into the rough, shaggy spots everybody fights over. And the rest on the rack before frying gives the coating time to glue itself on so it doesn’t fall off in the pan.
The thermometer is the unsung hero. Oil that’s too hot burns the crust before the inside cooks. Too cool and the chicken drinks grease. Keep it steady and you’ll get crackly, golden chicken that’s juicy all the way through. Now go set the table.
HAM out.
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