Making fried chicken at home can be a messy, labor-intensive ordeal that rarely yields the satisfyingly crunchy crust that makes fried chicken great. Our Dutch oven helped us sidestep many of these common pitfalls. The high sides of the Dutch oven helped contain the mess, as did keeping the pot covered during the first half of the frying time. A covered pot had a couple more advantages as well: It captured escaping steam and made the chicken even more moist, and it helped the oil recover heat quickly once the chicken was added. This more-constant oil temperature was essential for getting fried chicken that was neither too brown nor too greasy. As for the chicken itself, we brined it in salted buttermilk to make sure it was well seasoned and juicy. For the crunchy coating, we found that flour alone didn’t provide much crunch; instead, we combined the flour with a little baking powder, then added just enough buttermilk to make a thick mixture that clung tightly to the meat. Depending on the size of your Dutch oven, you may need to fry the chicken in two batches; keep the first batch warm on a clean wire rack in a 200-degree oven and return the oil to 375 degrees before frying the second batch. If desired, you can remove the skin from the chicken before soaking it in the buttermilk, but the chicken will be slightly less crunchy.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 cups plus 6 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 (3½- to 4-pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (4 breast pieces, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs), wings and giblets discarded
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 quart peanut or vegetable oil
- Dissolve salt in 2 cups buttermilk in large container. Submerge chicken in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, thyme, pepper, and garlic powder together in large bowl. Add remaining 6 tablespoons buttermilk; with your fingers, rub flour mixture and buttermilk together until buttermilk is evenly incorporated and mixture resembles coarse, wet sand.
- Set wire rack inside rimmed baking sheet. Working with 1 piece at a time, remove chicken from brine, letting excess drip back into container, and dredge in flour mixture, pressing to adhere. Gently shake excess flour mixture from each piece of chicken and transfer to prepared wire rack.
- Line platter with triple layer of paper towels. Add oil to Dutch oven until it measures about ¾ inch deep and heat over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. Place chicken pieces, skin side down, in hot oil, cover, and fry until deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove lid after 4 minutes and lift chicken pieces to check for even browning; rearrange if some pieces are browning faster than others. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 300 and 315 degrees.
- Turn chicken pieces over and continue to fry, uncovered, until chicken pieces are deep golden brown on second side and breasts register 160 degrees and thighs and drumsticks register 175 degrees, 6 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to prepared platter; let sit for 5 minutes. Serve.