My great Aunt Florence made amazing fried chicken. Moist on the inside, crispy on the outside, and never greasy, it’s definitely one of my earliest “joy of food” memories. In fact, it was so good that I found most other fried chicken disappointing so I’d basically stopped eating it which was probably good for my health, but come on, what is life without out a little crispy chicken skin now and then?
Recently, though, I stumbled upon this “Make Ahead Fried Chicken” recipe from Melissa Clark in the New York Times and it sparked a memory. Now, this isn’t Florence’s fried chicken. It’s got a thicker coating which is what makes it great for a picnic or BBQ (it travels well and can stand up to the heat of summer), but it is still delicious. I served it with my Heirloom Tomato and Blue Cheese salad and roasted asparagus. Perfect for a night at the Hollywood Bowl.
Keep in mind that you need to marinade the chicken for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight. And when you are buying your chicken, look for one that’s not just organic (which only means that it ate organic food), but that actually got to run around. I think it makes the meat taste sweeter. The recipe says that it serves 4-6, but frankly, this stuff is so yummy that people will be going back for seconds so plan accordingly.
Picnic Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Marinade
- 3 lbs chicken
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
- 2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 quart buttermilk
- 2 torn bay leaves
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 thinly sliced shallots
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
- 2 teaspoon dried mustard powder
Coating
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- vegetable, corn or grapeseed oil
Instructions
- Make the marinade by whisking together all of the ingredients except the chicken and placing it in a large bowl or ziplock bag. Submerge the chicken in the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
- Make the coating by mixing together all of the dry ingredients. Place them in a paper bag, ziplock bag or large bowl. A bag is preferable since it’s nice to be able to “shake” the chicken in the mixture. If you use a paper bag, you may want to double bag to prevent seepage.
- Remove the chicken one piece at a time and either place it into the bag and shake or dredge it through the flour mixture in a bowl. Once it is coated, put it on a plate or baking sheet. Repeat until all of the chicken pieces are coated. Let the chicken rest for 30 minutes so that it can return to room temperature. Then, coat each piece again with the flour mixture, shaking off any excess.
- In a large Dutch oven or heavy skillet with a lid, pour in enough oil so that it covers the bottom by about an inch. Heat until the oil it is 350 degrees.
- Fry the chicken for 6 minutes in the dutch oven with the lid in place. Then, remove the lid, flip the chicken and continue frying uncovered for another 6 minutes or until the outside is a crispy dark golden brown and the juices run clear when pricked with a fork.
- Place the chicken on a wire rack set over a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain and cool. Leave the chicken at room temperature and serve within 8 hours of cooking.
