Skillet-Fried Chicken

Last night I tried out a fried chicken recipe from my Feb. Bon-Appetit magazine. A lot of times I find the recipes in this magazine to be unnecessarily complicated, however, this chicken recipe was perfect!

I did use a package of chicken breasts cut in thirds and I cut the recipe in half since my meat weight was half of what the whole chicken in the recipe is. It tasted delicious!

2 Tbsp kosher salt, divided
2 tsp plus 1 Tbsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 3-4 lb chicken cut into 10 pieces, backbone and wing tips removed
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. conrstarch
peanut oil (for frying)

!hisk 1 Tbsp salt, 2tsp black pepper, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, and onion powder in a small bowl. Season chicken with spices. Place chicken in a medium bowl, cover, and chill overnight.

Let chicken stand covered at room temp for 1 hr. Whisk buttermilk, egg, and 1/2 cup water in a med bowl. Whisk flour, cornstarch, 1 Tbsp salt, and 1 Tbsp pepper in another bowl.

Pour oil into a 10″-12″ straight-sided skillet (not nonstick) to a depth of 3/4″. Heat over med-high heat until 350 degrees. Meanwhile, set a wire rack inside a large rimmed baking sheet.

Working with one piece at a time dip chicken in buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Dredge in flour mixture. Fry chicken, turning with tongs every 1-2 minutes and maintain a temp of 300 to 325 degrees, until skin is deep golden brown and a thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165 degrees, about 10 min for wings and 12 min for thighs, legs, and breasts.

Using tongs, remove chicken from skillet, allowing excess oil to drip back into skillet; transfer chicken to prepared rack. Let cool 10 min before serving.