Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken Recipes

BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Toss the chicken, buttermilk and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate, 1 hour.
• Heat 1 inch of vegetable oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360.
• Mix the flour, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the garlic powder in a shallow bowl. Remove the dark meat from the buttermilk, shake off the excess and roll in the flour mixture. Shake off the excess flour, place in the hot oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes (adjust the heat as needed). Drain on paper towels.
• Reheat the oil to 360 degrees F. Repeat with the chicken breasts and wings, frying for about 15 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

BUTTERMILK BRINED CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• Add the chicken, buttermilk, 2 sprigs of rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to a large resealable plastic bag. Let marinate, refrigerated, for 4 hours or up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Add the potatoes, 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large bowl. Toss together until everything is coated. Pour onto a rimmed baking sheet and spread in an even layer. Reserve the bowl. Bake for 40 minutes.
• Add the broccoli to the same bowl. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a little lemon zest. The Add broccoli to the baking sheet with the potatoes and toss to combine. Return to the oven and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade one by one, shaking the remaining buttermilk off lightly, and add to the skillet. Cook until the thighs are slightly charred, 6 to 7 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side until fully cooked, another 6 to 7 minutes. Serve the chicken with a side of potatoes and broccoli. Garnish with fresh rosemary and lemon juice.

SOUTHERN-STYLE BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Whisk together buttermilk, mustard, salt and pepper, and cayenne in a bowl, and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken pieces, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 8 hours.
• When you are ready to cook the chicken, combine the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, and onion powder in the other plastic bag. Shake to mix thoroughly. Transfer one marinated chicken piece at a time into the dry ingredient bag, and shake well to ensure complete coverage. After all chicken pieces are coated, repeat the process by dipping them in the buttermilk marinade and shaking in the dry coating again.
• Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, making sure not to burn the oil. When oil is hot, fry chicken in batches until golden brown and juices run clear, turning chicken to brown evenly.

CHEF JOHN'S BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Toss together chicken pieces, black pepper, salt, paprika, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, white pepper, and cayenne in a large bowl to coat.
• Stir in buttermilk until chicken is coated. Refrigerate for 6 hours.
• Combine flour, salt, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, white pepper, and onion powder in a large shallow dish.
• Remove chicken from the buttermilk and dredge each piece in the seasoned flour. Shake off any excess and transfer to a plate.
• Heat peanut oil in a large Dutch oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Add all the chicken to the pan and cook for 10 minutes.
• Turn chicken pieces and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
• Remove chicken from the oil and transfer to a cooling rack set over a paper towel lined baking sheet. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken pieces in a bowl and toss them with buttermilk, 2 tablespoons salt and a healthy grind of black pepper. Cover and marinate for at least an hour and up to a day.
• Combine flour, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper in a large bowl or, ideally, a paper bag large enough to accommodate the flour and the pieces of chicken.
• Pour oil into a large, heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet with high sides and a lid, to a depth of a few inches. Heat oil over medium-high heat to 350 degrees.
• Set a rack on a baking sheet or tray. Place the chicken pieces in the paper bag filled with the flour mixture and shake well to coat, or toss them in the bowl with the flour mixture to achieve a similar result.
• Shake off excess flour and fry the pieces of chicken skin-side down, in batches so as not to crowd the pan, for about 5 to 15 minutes, covered by the lid. Remove the lid, turn over the chicken pieces, and cook for about 5 to 15 minutes more, uncovered, until they are cooked through and a deep golden brown. Color is as or more important than time: Watch your chicken and get it out when it's golden brown.
• Remove chicken to the rack to drain and rest, sprinkle with salt and serve warm or at room temperature.

TEA-BRINED BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN AND GRAVY

Steps:

• For the brine:
• 1. Put the water in a pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the stove, add the tea bags, and let them steep for 8 minutes.
• 2. Remove the tea bags, or strain the liquid if you used loose tea. Add the salt and sugar to the hot water and stir to dissolve them. Pour the brine into a heatproof container and cool it to room temperature, then refrigerate until completely cold.
• 3. Rinse the chicken with cold water. Place in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for 12 hours. After the chicken has spent 12 hours in the brine, make an ice bath in a large bowl with equal amounts of ice and water. Place the chicken in the ice bath for 5 minutes. (The ice will rinse away any impurities.) Remove the chicken and pat it dry.
• 4. Combine the buttermilk, hot sauce, and 1 tablespoon of the black pepper in a large container. Add the chicken pieces to the buttermilk mixture, cover, and let marinate for 1 hour at room temperature.
• 5. While the chicken is marinating, put the chicken skins in a small saucepan over very low heat, adding a small amount of water to prevent the skins from sticking and burning. Cook the skins, stirring frequently so that they don't burn, until their fat is rendered. Strain the fat; you need 1 cup.
• 6. Drain the chicken, quickly rinse under cold water, and pat dry.
• 7. Combine the flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, the remaining 1 teaspoon black pepper, the cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika in a large bowl and mix well. Add the chicken and toss to coat thoroughly. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes, then shake off any excess, transfer the chicken to a wire rack, and let sit for 15 minutes.
• 8. Meanwhile, put the chicken fat, lard, and canola oil in a large, deep cast-iron skillet. Add the bacon and ham and heat the fats over medium-high heat until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the fat reads 275°F. Turn the heat off and allow the bacon and ham to infuse the fats and oil for 10 minutes.
• 9. With a skimmer or slotted spoon, remove the bacon and ham from the skillet (discard them or eat as a snack). Set up a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels, or place a wire rack over the sheet and place alongside the stove. Heat the oil to 300°F. Add the breasts and thighs and cook for 3 minutes. Add the legs and wings and cook for 5 minutes more. (Remove the fat needed for the gravy at this point and start the gravy.)
• 10. Turn the chicken over, cover the skillet, and cook until the pieces of chicken are the color of hay, about another 5 minutes. Remove the lid, turn the pieces again, cover, and cook the chicken until golden brown, another 3 minutes. Add the butter and continue cooking, turning the pieces once, for another 2 minutes or so on each side. The chicken should be crispy and golden brown. Let the chicken rest and drain on wire racks or on a plate covered with paper towels for about 8 minutes, but no longer.
• 11. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with the gravy.

BUTTERMILK BRINED FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the brine: Combine all the ingredients for the brine except buttermilk in a small pot and heat over medium, dissolving all the salt and honey.
• Remove from heat and cool by adding ice cubes and stirring.
• In a large mixing bowl combine buttermilk and cooled seasoned water. Rinse chicken and pat dry.
• Divide all pieces of chicken between two large ziplock bags.
• Pour half of buttermilk brine in each, close, and place in the refrigerator over night, up to 12 hours.
• 1-2 hours before you are ready to fry: Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry.
• Let the chicken come to room temperature, half an hour to one and a half hours, on a parchment lined baking sheet covered with paper towels.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix all of the ingredients for the coating together in a large bowl, transferring half to a second bowl.
• Fill a third bowl with the 2 cups of buttermilk.
• The easiest way to coat the chicken is to have a line set up: uncoated chicken, flour coating, buttermilk, 2nd bowl of flour coating, wax paper lined baking sheet for the coated chicken.
• Pour the oil into your pot.
• It should come at least two inches and no more than 1/3 of the way up the side of the pot.
• Turn the heat to low, clipping a frying/candy thermometer to the side of your pot.
• Dredge each piece in the coating, dust off all excess, dip into the buttermilk, and then into the second bowl of coating, letting the 2nd coating be clumpier but still patting to get rid of excess that might fall off in the oil.
• Place coated chicken on the wax paper lined tray.
• Turn the oil up to high and let it come to about 350°F.
• Let the coated chicken sit so that the coating will thicken while the oil gets hot.
• When it reaches temperature, very carefully place 4 pieces of chicken at a time in the hot oil and fry, adjusting the temperature as needed to maintain a frying temperature between 310° -325°F.
• I try to keep it around 320°.
• You start the oil at 350° because when you add the chicken to the hot oil, the temperature will drop.
• Fry dark meat first, as it takes longer.
• Fry the chicken for about 13-20 minutes, moving the chicken gently (you don't want to knock the coating off!) after the first five to prevent sticking and burning on the bottom.
• Be careful to monitor your chicken, watching the oil temperature closely and not letting the chicken get too dark.
• Remove chicken from the oil with a spider or slotted metal spoon when it is golden brown (metal tongs will knock off your precious coating), and place it on a cooling rack over a paper towel lined baking sheet.
• Sprinkle with kosher salt.
• Check the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer.
• Fully cooked chicken will read 160 degrees and can be served then if desired.
• If it is lower than that, it must be finished in the oven.
• Fry the second batch and then place it on the rack.
• Place the rack in the oven for ten minutes.
• Check the internal temperature to make sure the chicken is cooked through, let rest 10 minutes, and serve hot.
• If all the chicken is cooked through and you want to keep it hot, you can hold it in a 250 degree oven.

BUTTERMILK-BRINED FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine 3 cups of buttermilk, salt, and sugar in a large resealable plastic bag.
• Add all chicken pieces to the brine; seal bag. Chill overnight.
• Drain chicken; pat dry with paper towels. Discard brine.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, and 1/4 teaspoons each of salt and pepper. Place 3/4 cup buttermilk in a shallow dish. Coat chicken with flour mixture, dip in buttermilk; coat again with flour mixture.
• Meanwhile, heat peanut oil in large skillet or Dutch oven to depth of 1 1/2 inches and 350 degrees.
• Using tongs, carefully add a few pieces of chicken at a time to skillet. Maintain oil temperature at 325 degrees. Fry chicken for 12-15 minutes or until no longer pink, and coating is golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Keep fried chicken warm in a 300 degree oven while frying remaining pieces.

BUTTERMILK-BRINED FRIED CHICKEN WITH SAGE

Steps:

• Twenty-four hours before cooking, prepare the brine: In a large bowl, whisk 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water with the remaining brine ingredients until the salt has dissolved. Submerge the chicken pieces in the brine. Cover and refrigerate. (To save space, you can also put the chicken and brine in a large sealable bag.)
• When ready to cook, prepare the breading by whisking together 2 cups of the flour and 2 teaspoons kosher salt in a medium bowl. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs to break them up, then whisk in the buttermilk. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 cups of flour, the cornmeal, sage, mustard, paprika, thyme and 1 tablespoon kosher salt.
• Dredge the chicken in the plain flour, then in the buttermilk, then in the cornmeal mixture, taking care not to let the breading get too thick. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, set a large 12-to-14-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and fill with oil to 11/2 inches below the top. Heat until the oil reaches 325 degrees. Working in batches, fry the chicken pieces, turning them 3 or 4 times to create an even, dark-golden crust. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, about 10 minutes. (Place a splatter guard over the pan as you fry.)