Fried Chicken

There are a few recipes out there that are my white whale recipes. You know the ones I mean. They are the ones that everyone seems to get right but you. The recipes that you get so close to catching but they always seem to slip through your fingers. One of mine is fried chicken. It never turns out quite right. It is not crispy enough or flavorful enough. Sometimes I don't seem to fry it long enough or maybe not long enough. I want to share my latest attempt. It is close but not quite right. It is delicious, however.

This recipe is modified slightly from a Martha Stewart recipe that was in the June 2014 issue of the Martha Stewart Living magazine. Really the only reason that it is modified is that I didn't have all the right spices on hand. Maybe that is why it wasn't quite right? Check out that picture!

Crispy and yummy!

Fried Chicken

4-5 lbs bone-in chicken

3-4 TBSP coarse salt

2 C buttermilk

2 tsp black pepper

2 TBSP italian seasoning

2 TBSP garlic powder

2 C flour

4 TBSP yellow cornmeal

Canola Oil- for frying

Add coarse salt to about 10 cups of cold or ice water in a large mixing bowl. Add chicken and let soak overnight or at least 4 hours. In another mixing bowl combine buttermilk, black pepper, italian seasoning and garlic powder. Drain chicken pieces and submerge in buttermilk mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours. Pull chicken out while heating oil. Heat oil to 350 degrees in a heavy bottomed pot. Mix together flour, cornmeal, more black pepper  and more garlic powder. Heat oven to 350 degrees and place a pan with a cooling rack over the top into oven. Dredge each piece of chicken in flour mixture straight from buttermilk mixture. Do not tap off excess.  Fry chicken until brown on all sides. After you pull chicken out of the oil place in oven to finish baking. Continue frying all chicken in small batches. Leave in oven 20-30 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Serve while warm or at room temperature.

Okay so confession time! The Martha Stewart recipe says to let the chicken come to room temperature before frying it. I did not do this. It has to do with my lack of patience. That is most likely why it needed to be baked on top of being fried. But a most delightful thing happened in the oven. The crust became even more crispy, even more oil came off. It was delightful. Kismet if you will. 

What are your white whale recipes? I also have pulled pork, risotto and pie crust on my list. That is just the beginning!

Peace out- AnneMarie