While I used to soak my chicken overnight, several years ago a Southerner taught me that dry rub overnight makes the skin extra crispy.
Ingredients
- Large cast-iron pan (the older the better)
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
- fresh-ground black pepper, generously grind
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- ¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces, backbone removed.
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- peanut oil for frying
- hot or orange blossom honey for garnish, if desired
Preparation
Make a blend of the salt, fresh-ground pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Rub all over chicken and place on rack in refrigerator overnight to let the skin dry. Remove from refrigerator ½ hour before frying.
Pout oil into cast-iron pan to approximately ¾ of the pan. Prop a deep-fry thermometer so it doesn’t sink into the oil. Heat oil to 350°.
Set a wire rack inside a large rimmed baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix buttermilk and egg with ½ cup water and 1 tablespoon kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper. (You may also add a splash of hot sauce.)
In a separate baking dish, use a whisk to incorporate flour with cornstarch.
Working with 1 piece of chicken at a time, dip chicken into buttermilk mixture and shake off excess. Dip into flour mixture to coat evenly and shake off excess. Place 5 pieces of chicken in the oil. Fry and, using tongs, turn the chicken every 2 minutes and adjust heat to keep a steady temperature of 300–325° until the skin is golden brown and the internal temperature is 165° (10 minutes for wings and 12 minutes for thighs, legs, and small breasts).
Using tongs, remove chicken from skillet, allowing excess oil to drip back into pan. Cool just slightly on cooling rack and serve with hot honey.
