Picnic Fried Chicken

By Addie

For our family, it's not a picnic unless there's fried chicken! Chicken, deviled eggs and potato salad are all "musts" for a picnic as far as my husband is concerned. This is a "Golden Oldie" recipe for me—I've used it any number of times, both for leisure time picnics and as part of a meal I pack and take out to the field for my grain farmer. I enjoy cooking, especially giving a recipe a couple of tries and adjusting it or throwing it out. I always remember back to the way Mom or Grandma used to do things when I'm in the kitchen—the memory inspires me! (Taste of Home)

Ingredients

• COATING:
• 1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 pounds), cut up
• 3/4-1 cup buttermilk
• ...................................
• 1 1/2-2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• Oil for frying

Preparation

Step 1

Pat chicken pieces with paper towels; place in large flat dish. Pour buttermilk over chicken; cover, and allow to soak at least 1 hour or overnight in refrigerator.


Combine coating ingredients in large resealable plastic bag. Add chicken pieces, one at a time, and shake to coat well. Lay coated pieces on waxed paper for 15 minutes to allow coating to dry (will cling better in frying).


In an electric skillet or deep fryer, heat 1/2 inch oil to 350°-360°. Fry chicken, several pieces at a time, for about 3 minutes on each side. Reduce heat to 325°; cook chicken, turning occasionally, for 25-35 minutes or until juices run clear and chicken is tender. Remove to paper towels and keep warm. Yield: 4 servings.
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REVIEWS:

I just made this chicken last night and it was perfect! It was actually the first time I had ever made homemade fried chicken and I was so glad it went over well and I could add it to my recipe collection. The only thing I did different from the recipe was I was 2.5 lbs of chicken legs instead of a full fryer. I also only cooked each leg for about 5 mins on each side and they were still done all the way through and nice and golden. I didn't have an oil Thermometor so I just had my stove top on about medium high (7 out of 8 setting) to heat it up, then took it down to about 5-6 out of 8 setting. Next time I will try to cook it a little longer on each side just to make sure there is no blood in the center of the bones and maybe add some chili powder and reduce the flour to 1 and 1/4 cup to have a better spice to flour ratio.

I have this cooking at the moment. Looks fantastic. I'm thrilled to finally have a good fried chicken recipe!

WOW! I loved it and can't wait to make it again, the only change that I made was I used smoked paprika.

I made a pile of chicken wing drummettes for a party using this recipe and technique (with cooking time adjusted, naturally). They were gobbled up. The seasonings in the coating are very subtle so I may try to tweak them a bit next time I make this, but the method is foolproof.

My friends and family love the juciness of the recipe and so do I. MMMMMMM!

My husband thinks the combination of seasonings is outstanding. When he takes the notion to fry chicken, this is the recipe he uses. I am delighted when he wants to cook so naturally I agree with his assessment: it really is good.