Simply the Best Fried Chicken

Simply the Best Fried Chicken is simply that, the Best Fried Chicken. It's the buttermilk soak that does it!

Look out Colonel - Here"s the BEST Fried Chicken - No Secret Recipe 

What makes comfort food comfort food?   Usually, it’s something enjoyed from childhood, that makes it comfort food.  Or something that makes you feel all warm on the inside, that’s comfort food too.

A taste, a smell, a texture.

My comfort food is going to start with this recipe for Simply the Best Fried Chicken. This isn’t just any fried chicken recipe, with years of tweaking, I think, humbly, it’s simply one of the best.  It’s good hot, warm or cold, perfect to take to a tailgate party, on a summer picnic, or for Sunday night dinner.

Start with a buttermilk bath

There are a couple of tricks to making a really good fried chicken, but one of the most important ones is to soak the chicken in buttermilk for at least a couple of hours. This gives the meat great flavor and a slightly softer texture.

Season the chicken, not just the flour

The second thing is to season the meat well, I don't season just the flour, I put seasonings directly on the chicken pieces to ensure all the meat is properly seasoned and tasty even if you decide to remove the coating.

Cook slow and steady

Cooking the chicken at a steady, fairly low temperature is also key.  You don’t want to burn the outside and have raw chicken inside.  That's just not good. An electric skillet works well for moderating temperature. 

A proper drain

Finally, how to best drain the chicken.

The best method is to drain it by setting the cooked pieces of chicken on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet (the cookie sheet is there to catch the oil but if you don’t mind cleaning counters, you can skip it ).

Setting the pieces on paper towels or brown paper bags will soften the coating.  And quite frankly, why would anyone want to put their food on something that was in a public market, touched by how many hands?

YIKES.

While either method will render a chicken that tastes just fine, the coating won’t have the same crunch. Granted, if you refrigerate it to eat it cold, you will still lose the crunchiness of the coating, so if that is your purpose, to eat it cold, then go ahead and use any method to drain it.

Putting it in the oven to keep warm? The moisture generated by the oven heat will also soften the crust.  So it’s best, if you want it crunchy, to eat it as soon as you can after finishing it.

 

Simply the Best Fried Chicken served with Sautéed Leeks with Fresh Peas and Mashed Potatoes