Ingredients
Scale
- 8 chicken pieces (drumsticks, thighs, breast and/or wings)
- Brine
- 1 quart (4 cups) buttermilk (You can make a substitute by mixing 4 cups of whole milk with 4 tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice)
- 3 tsp salt or to taste
- Breading
- 2½ cups (350 g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ tsp white sugar
- ¾ tsp black pepper
- 1½ tsp onion powder
- 1½ tsp garlic powder
- 1½ tsp paprika
- 1½ tsp thyme
- ¾ tsp cayenne pepper (Optional)
- ¾ tsp ground cumin
- Oil for frying (Canola, vegetable, corn)
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a large bowl and pour in the buttermilk and salt. Mix to cover each piece of chicken really well, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at lease 4 hours. Then, take the chicken out of the fridge and let it rest at room temperature about 30 minutes before frying. Reserve the buttermilk.
- Preheat the oil in a deep fryer, large pot or skillet at 350ºF (180ºC).
- In a shallow pan or baking dish mix the flour, salt, sugar, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, thyme, cayenne pepper and cumin.
- Breading: Dip each piece of chicken in the buttermilk you reserved previously and then cover with the flour mixture, shake off the excess. Repeat this process a second time, dip the chicken once again in the buttermilk and cover it with more flour.
- Fry the chicken in the preheated oil for a total of 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the juices run clear. Make sure to turn it over half way through the cooking process. Then, let it drain for a few minutes over a wire rack with paper towels underneath before serving.
Notes
If you’re frying your chicken in batches, cover the cooked chicken with aluminum foil and place it in a warm oven (200ºF o 93ºC) while you finish cooking the rest of your chicken.