Fried Chicken - Pioneer Woman

By lindaauman

Ingredients

• 2 cut-up fryer chickens in 16 pieces
• 4 1/4 cups cups buttermilk
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons seasoned salt, such as Lawry's
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 1/4 cup milk
• Canola or vegetable oil, for frying

Details

Preparation time 90mins
Cooking time 910mins
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

Preparation

Step 1

Thoroughly rinse the chicken, then cover all the pieces with 4 cups buttermilk and soak in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours. When you're ready to fry the chicken, remove the bowl from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes, just to take off the chill.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 360 degrees F and mix up the breading. Place the flour, seasoned salt, paprika, pepper, thyme and cayenne (extra cayenne if you like heat) in a very large bowl. Stir together well.

In a small bowl, combine the 1/4 cup buttermilk and the milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour and, with a fork, gradually mix until there are little lumps throughout. This will adhere to the chicken and make for a crispier breading. If necessary, add a little more flour or milk to the bowl in order to make it slightly lumpy.

Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat until a thermometer reaches 365 degrees F. Lower the heat slightly, if necessary, to keep the oil from getting hotter.

Working in batches, thoroughly coat each chicken piece with the breading, pressing extra breading onto the chicken if necessary. Place the breaded pieces on a plate.

Add the breasts and thighs to the oil 3 or 4 pieces at a time. Make sure they aren't sticking together, then cover the pan (loosely - so not to get soggy) and fry for 5 to 7 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the chicken isn't getting too brown. Turn the pieces over, cover again, and cook 3 to 5 minutes more. All the while, monitor the temperature of the oil to make sure the chicken doesn't burn.

While frying the smaller pieces, bake the thighs and breasts on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes or so to finish the cooking process. Sometimes I'll cut into the thicker part of one of the larger pieces, just to make sure the chicken is cooked through. If any pink juice or meat is visible, the chicken needs to continue cooking in the oven.