Buttermilk & Herb Fried Chicken from Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest
My Grandma Nora’s sister, Great Aunt Bama, lived in the small town of London, KY, and grew up near Colonel Sanders himself. Whether or not she actually snagged the secret recipe for his beloved fried chicken, I’m not altogether sure. But sometimes when we visited her, she’d have fried chicken out on her kitchen counter, along with many other beautiful scratch-made goods. I like to think she’d be proud of my version of the classic.
- Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
4 TBSP salt
4 TBSP black pepper
1 TBSP + 2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 cup + 2 tsp garlic powder
Two 3.5 to 4 lb. whole chickens, cut up (the butcher will do this for you, but they’re also often sold this way)
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups buttermilk
1.5 TBSP hot sauce
Canola oil, for frying
4 fresh rosemary sprigsÂ
5 fresh thyme sprigs
4 fresh sage leaves
1 head of garlic, broken into cloves, cloves peeled
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/4 cup onion powder
You will also need a meat thermometer and kitchen string (if making the fried herb bundle).
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 TBSP of the salt, 2 TBSP of the pepper, 1 TBSP of the poultry seasoning, and 2 tsp of the garlic powder. Lay the chicken pieces in a roasting pan. Drizzle them with the olive oil and then rub the spice mixture all over them. Roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thighs registers 150 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let the chicken cool in the pan.Â
- In a large bowl, whisk the buttermilk together with the hot sauce. Add the cooled chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.Â
- Meanwhile, in a large cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed/deep-sided pan, heat about 1.5 inches of canola or vegetable oil to 350 degrees F. Using kitchen string, bundle together the rosemary, thyme, and sage. Put the bundle in the hot oil along with the peeled garlic cloves. When the herbs have crisped and the garlic is starting to lightly brown, transfer them to a paper towel-lined baking sheet or plate to drain. Set aside if you’d like to use them as a garnish; leave the oil in the pan.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, the cornstarch, the remaining ¼ cup garlic powder, the onion powder, the remaining 2 tsp of poultry seasoning, the remaining 2 TBSP salt, and the remaining 2 TBSP pepper.Â
- It’s best to work in batches with this, so remove half of the chicken pieces from the buttermilk, allowing the excess to drip into the bowl. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, pressing it down gently so the flour and spices stick.
- Reheat the seasoned oil to 360 degrees F. Fry the chicken pieces in the oil, being careful not to crowd the pan, and turning them once halfway through cooking, until they are golden brown and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of each piece registers 160 degrees F; 6 to 8 minutes.
- Transfer the fried chicken to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Let the oil return to 360 degrees F before you dredge and fry the remaining chicken (don’t dredge your chicken early, or the flour will soak into the meat, keeping it from getting a crispy, crunchy exterior.Â