Delicious Southern Fried Chicken

1. The night before, or at least 2 hours before, boil water, kosher salt, dried or fresh parsley, lemon juice, whole peppercorns, garlic powder or fresh garlic cloves and thyme. Let it boil for a minute or two to dissolve the salt, then take it off the heat. If you are patient, which I am not, let the brine cool completely on its own. If you’re anything like me, let it cool a bit and then put it in the freezer for half an hour. Once cooled, pour the brine into a seal-able container and add the chicken. Brine it in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 2 hours.

2. Take the chicken out of the brine, rinse, pat dry, and lay it on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet.

3. In a paper bag, or large bowl, mix together the flour, seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper.

In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, water and hot sauce. Coat the chicken in the dry mixture and shake off the excess. Follow by coating it in the egg mixture and again in the dry mixture. Place the chicken on the same cookie sheet to let the breading set up while you’re preparing the oil.

4. In a deep skillet or a large pot, heat vegetable oil over medium heat until it reaches 350°F. Do not fill the pan or pot more than halfway full. Once the oil is up to temperature, place the breast pieces in carefully. Allow to cook for 2 minutes. Follow with the remaining pieces (or until the pan is full). If using a skillet, check to make sure it is not getting too brown too quickly. After about 8 minutes, if using a skillet, flip the chicken. The chicken should cook for about 15-18 minutes in total.

5. Remove the chicken from the oil using tongs or a kitchen spider, sprinkle with a bit of salt right after you take it out of the pan. Let it cool on a sheet of paper towel for a couple of minutes, then serve it up with some fries or pasta salad! (And some ketchup or hot sauce, if you so chose!)

Recipe adapted for my own taste from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc cookbook.