What's for Dinner: Fried Chicken

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To prove that I don't try to turn every meal into a healthier version (when I can) for my family, I'll share last night's meal:

Fried Chicken. No oven-fried. No skimping on oil.
With smashed potatoes. And biscuits.

I hope the family enjoyed it, because it's not happening again for a very long time!

For the fried chicken, what you need is:

• 1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Onion powder, to taste
• Paprika, to taste
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• [about] 1 cup of buttermilk
• [about] 2 cups of flour
• Oil, to fry.

I actually used double the amounts listed above for seven to eight people.

I've never used buttermilk in my fried chicken before, but had some leftover, so I decided to use it up and see what the hoopla is about buttermilk marinated fried chicken. In the end, I do think that the buttermilk helped keep the chicken moist inside.

To make the fried chicken:

1. About two hours, at least, before you plan on frying your chicken, season your cut up chicken pieces with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Mix well. Add about a cup of buttermilk, coating all the chicken. Cover, and let it sit in the fridge for at least two hours. I marinated mine about 9-10 hours earlier.
2. [About] ten minutes before you are ready to fry your chicken, take the chicken out of the refrigerator.
3. Meanwhile, season your flour with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Mix well.
4. Individually remove the chicken pieces from the buttermilk, shaking off the excess, and coat in your flour mixture. You can repeat this step twice with all your chicken if you would like an extra crunchy crust, but just once was enough for a nice and thick crust.
5. On [medium to] high heat, heat up your oil. I'd say the oil should come up half way to the chicken.
6. Fry your chicken, until the crust is nice and golden brown on both sides.

Tip: Fry your chicken in batches, so you don't overcrowd the chicken and fry similar pieces together [ for even cooking time].

I meant to serve coleslaw with it today as well, but forgot to make it last minute.

Other suggestions to serve alongside the fried chicken: my baked seasoned fries, roasted red potatoes, this biscuit, or this cheddar bay biscuit [my version of the ones served at the Red Lobster chain]!

P.S. This post is a part of my "What's for Dinner" series, where I share what I've been cooking and my recipes. Grab and share my button:

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