Mix Marinade in a bowl until salt dissolves. Pour over chicken in ziplock bag, massage to coat chicken. Press out excess air, seal, refrigerate 12 to 24 hours, turning once or twice. Pour chicken and marinade into large bowl.
Breading mixture:
Whisk together Breading and all KFC Secret Herbs & Spices. Drizzle 4.5 tablespoons of Marinade into flour mixture. Use fingers to rub in so you get lots of pea sized lumpy bits all throughout (this creates extra super crunchy craggy bits). Spread out in a shallow dish or pan (easier to work with).
Prepare to cook (work in specified order of steps):
Preheat oven to 80°C/175°F and place rack on tray – to keep chicken warm.
Add oil to a wide, heavy based pot to a depth of 6 cm / 2.5 ” (my 26cm/10.5″ cast iron pot = 1.75L/quarts oil)
Heat oil over medium to medium high heat to 180°C/350°F – maintain temp as best you can (Note 5).
Breading:
Cooking order: Start with thighs and drumsticks, wings next and cook breast last.
Coat chicken well, pressing very firmly to adhere. Transfer to plate.
Coat 2 or 3 more pieces – just for one cooking batch, covering oil surface in single layer.
Frying:
Carefully place chicken in oil – it will bubble energetically but it will not spit.
Once chicken is in, oil temperature should drop to 150°C/300°C – adjust heat to target this.
DO NOT TOUCH chicken for 2 minutes – to let the crust bond with the chicken skin. After this, you can move them around but oil should be deep enough that you do not need to flip (but you can if you want!).
Thighs and drumsticks – cook for 8 minutes (wings for 5 minutes), or until deep golden brown and internal temperature at thickest part is 75°C / 167°F.
Breast – fry for 6 minutes or until internal temperature at thickest part is 65°C / 150°F (time depends on size).
Place onto rack and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining chicken, coating each batch just prior to cooking.
**My own notes**: So here she says let the coating adhere for 2 minutes, but I go longer. I will leave my coated chicken to dry on a rack for about 20 minutes. The extra time really lets that coating “cure” and stick to your chicken nicely. The rack is important because air will circulate around it.
The two fats I use for frying chicken are **peanut oil** or if I have it handy **lard**. Both work spectacularly well for deep frying chicken, and with **peanut oil** you can strain and reuse it fairly easily.
In addition to her marinade here, I add a little **pickle brine** and vinegar-based **hot sauce** to my marinade as I like the flavor they impart.
Finally **make sure the pot/vessel you use for frying is deep and has enough room at the top!** You do not want to overfill the pot you are frying in. You need a few inches of space to avoid the dreaded bubble-up/overflow. So think about your measurements and volume before you start this process. And remember that your oil temp will **drop** when you add stuff to it, so make sure you’re keeping that oil hot and check the temp of the oil after you add the chicken.
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Recipe source: [Recipe Tin Eats](https://www.recipetineats.com/fried-chicken/#wprm-recipe-container-42256)
1.8 kg/ 3.6lb bone in, skin on small thighs (< 200g/7oz), drumsticks, whole wings, breast (< 200g/7oz) (Note 1)
Buttermilk marinade:
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp salt
1 egg
Fried Chicken Breading:
2 1/4 cups flour , plain / all purpose
3/4 cup corn flour / cornstarch
Seasoning mix:
3 tsp salt
3/4 tsp celery salt
1.5 tbsp black pepper
1.5 tsp sweet paprika (ie. not hot or smoked)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper , optional
1.5 tsp onion powder
3 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp mustard powder
3/4 tsp ginger powder
1.5 tsp dried thyme
1.5 tsp dried oregano
To fry:
1.5 – 2 litres / quarts vegetable oil (or canola or peanut)
Instructions
Buttermilk Marinade Chicken:
Mix Marinade in a bowl until salt dissolves.
Pour over chicken in ziplock bag, massage to coat chicken. Press out excess air, seal, refrigerate 12 to 24 hours, turning once or twice.
Pour chicken and marinade into large bowl.
Breading mixture:
Whisk together Breading and all KFC Secret Herbs & Spices.
Drizzle 4.5 tablespoons of Marinade into flour mixture. Use fingers to rub in so you get lots of pea sized lumpy bits all throughout (this creates extra super crunchy craggy bits).
Spread out in a shallow dish or pan (easier to work with).
Prepare to cook (work in specified order of steps):
Preheat oven to 80°C/175°F and place rack on tray – to keep chicken warm.
Add oil to a wide, heavy based pot to a depth of 6 cm / 2.5 ” (my 26cm/10.5″ cast iron pot = 1.75L/quarts oil)
Heat oil over medium to medium high heat to 180°C/350°F – maintain temp as best you can (Note 5).
Breading:
Cooking order: Start with thighs and drumsticks, wings next and cook breast last.
Coat chicken well, pressing very firmly to adhere. Transfer to plate.
Coat 2 or 3 more pieces – just for one cooking batch, covering oil surface in single layer.
Frying:
Carefully place chicken in oil – it will bubble energetically but it will not spit.
Once chicken is in, oil temperature should drop to 150°C/300°C – adjust heat to target this.
DO NOT TOUCH chicken for 2 minutes – to let the crust bond with the chicken skin. After this, you can move them around but oil should be deep enough that you do not need to flip (but you can if you want!).
Thighs and drumsticks – cook for 8 minutes (wings for 5 minutes), or until deep golden brown and internal temperature at thickest part is 75°C / 167°F.
Breast – fry for 6 minutes or until internal temperature at thickest part is 65°C / 150°F (time depends on size).
Place onto rack and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining chicken, coating each batch just prior to cooking.
**My own notes**: So here she says let the coating adhere for 2 minutes, but I go longer. I will leave my coated chicken to dry on a rack for about 20 minutes. The extra time really lets that coating “cure” and stick to your chicken nicely. The rack is important because air will circulate around it.
The two fats I use for frying chicken are **peanut oil** or if I have it handy **lard**. Both work spectacularly well for deep frying chicken, and with **peanut oil** you can strain and reuse it fairly easily.
In addition to her marinade here, I add a little **pickle brine** and vinegar-based **hot sauce** to my marinade as I like the flavor they impart.
Finally **make sure the pot/vessel you use for frying is deep and has enough room at the top!** You do not want to overfill the pot you are frying in. You need a few inches of space to avoid the dreaded bubble-up/overflow. So think about your measurements and volume before you start this process. And remember that your oil temp will **drop** when you add stuff to it, so make sure you’re keeping that oil hot and check the temp of the oil after you add the chicken.
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