Recipes / Mains / American Mains Buttermilk Fried Chicken An overnight buttermilk brine, a craggy double-dredge, and oil held steadily at 165°C. Patience at every stage, and it rewards all of it.
Time 1 hr 10 min
Serves 4
Difficulty Hard Ingredients Servings
− +
Quantities for 4 servings
8 chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks), bone-in and skin-on 500 ml buttermilk 2 tbsp fine salt, for the brine 1 tbsp hot sauce 300 g plain flour 3 tbsp cornflour 2 tsp smoked paprika 2 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp cayenne pepper 2 tsp fine salt, for the dredge 1 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper 1.5–2 litres neutral oil, for frying
Treat this list as a starting point rather than a shopping order. Swap what you haven't got, leave out what you dislike, add what you love — this is exactly the kind of dish that rewards poking around in the fridge.
Method 1 Whisk the buttermilk, 2 tbsp salt and hot sauce in a large bowl, add the chicken, and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and ideally overnight. The acid and salt season the meat all the way through and keep it juicy. 2 Combine the flour, cornflour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, 2 tsp salt and black pepper in a wide dish. The cornflour is what keeps the crust crisp rather than bready. 3 Spoon 4 tbsp of the buttermilk brine into the flour and rub it through with your fingertips until the mixture is shaggy with small clumps. Those clumps become the craggy bits — a smooth dredge gives you a smooth, dull coating. 4 Lift each piece from the brine, let the excess run off for a couple of seconds, then press it firmly into the flour, turning and pressing repeatedly so the coating is thick and uneven. Set on a rack and rest for 20 minutes, until the coating looks pasty rather than powdery. Skip this rest and the crust will slide off in the oil. 5 Pour oil into a heavy, deep pot to a depth of about 5 cm — no more than a third full — and heat to 165°C. Use a thermometer; guessing here is how chicken ends up burnt outside and raw within. 6 Fry 3 or 4 pieces at a time, skin-side down first, for 6–8 minutes a side. The temperature will drop when the chicken goes in: adjust the heat to hold it between 150°C and 165°C throughout. Crowding the pot is the single most common way this goes wrong. 7 The chicken is done at 75°C in the thickest part, well away from the bone. Drumsticks usually need a couple of minutes less than thighs, so check each piece rather than timing the batch. 8 Drain on a wire rack, never on kitchen paper, which traps steam and softens the underside. Season with a little more salt while hot and rest 5 minutes before eating. Tap a step to cross it off. Your place is saved on this device.
Cook’s notes No buttermilk? Stir 1 tbsp lemon juice into 500 ml whole milk and leave it for 10 minutes.
Let the oil cool completely, then strain it through a coffee filter into a jar — it's good for two or three more fries.
How it should look Photos of the finished dish, so you know what you’re aiming for.
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