The Best Buttermilk-Brined Southern Fried Chicken Recipe

 

For me, as a kid growing up in New York, fried chicken came from one place, and one place only: those grease-stained cardboard buckets peddled by the Colonel himself. But times have changed, and as is often the case, revisiting those fond childhood memories results only in disappointment and disillusionment. That said, stylistically, it can't be faulted. So I figured that I could somehow manage to take what the Colonel started and bring it to its ultimate conclusion—that is, deep chicken flavor; a flab-free skin; juicy, tender meat; and crisp, spicy coating—I might just be able to recapture those first fleeting childhood tastes of fried chicken as I remembered them. Here's the result of my efforts.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• Kosher salt
• One whole chicken, about 4 pounds, cut into 10 pieces or 3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on breasts, legs, drumsticks, and/or wings
• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 cups vegetable shortening or peanut oil