Picnic Basket Buttermilk Fried Chicken

By Addie

Recipe courtesy Debra Ponzek and Geralyn Delaney Graham, The Summer House Cookbook
Show: Sara's Secrets
Episode: Al Fresco Favorites

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken pieces (breasts, legs, and thighs)
• 3 cups buttermilk
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 cups vegetable shortening, for frying

Preparation

Step 1

With a cleaver or heavy knife, split the chicken breasts, then cut each breast 1/2 in 1/2 again.

Place the chicken pieces in a shallow container skin side down and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight, if possible.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and season both sides with salt and pepper.

Place the beaten eggs and flour in separate shallow bowls. Dredge the chicken pieces first in the flour, then the egg, and then the flour again.

In a 12-inch saute pan with deep sides, melt enough shortening so that it is 2 inches deep and heat the pan until the oil begins to smoke.

Fry the chicken for 2 minutes on each side, until the skin is golden brown. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake the chicken for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.

Serve warm immediately, or store in the refrigerator for the next day's picnic.
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REVIEWS:

I made a few changes. I used paprika, garlic powder and onion salt in with the flour. I also added 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and 1 heaping tablespoons of Dijon mustard in with the buttermilk. I then pulled it from buttermilk to flour to egg, back to flour and into deep fryer. It came out with similar KFC coating. I cooked for 7-10 minutes until it started to become golden brown. I salted and peppered the chicken and then baked in oven for 30 minutes. It came out amazing!

I JUST MADE THIS RECIPE TONIGHT AND THE ONLY THING I DID DIFFERENT WAS I USED BONELESS SKIN LESS CHICKEN BREASTS INSTEAD OF CUT UP SKIN CHICKEN AND I USED WESSON CANOLA OIL INSTEAD OF SHORTENING AND IT WAS AS GOOD AS IT COULD BE!

The chicken was succulent tender and I could go on and on with the adjectives.

The dredge was great - just had to add some seasoning salt.

This brought back memories of my mom's fried chicken. My family loved it.
Thanks

This was very messy to make. When I took it out of the fry pan the coating was coming off the chicken. After the mess of frying I remembered exactly why I don't fry. I prefer to oven fry my chicken. Much healthier too.

This recipe was messy to make and it tasted like any ordinary fried chicken.

Easy to make but the end result was disappointing. Not much flavor.

This chicken tasted just like my grandmas!

This was one of the most tender chicken dishes I have ever had. I really enjoyed this. It does have a bit of a tang to it from the buttermilk, I would suggest not marinating so long. I think it was

I made these as chicken tenders for my son's birthday party. They were incredible. There is a local restaurant that is famous for making the best fried chicken in Atlanta and one of my guests told me that mine was better. I pre-fried them the night before the party and just crisped them up in the broiler the day of the party. They were great hot or cold.

This was very very good and simple to do, i will do it again. I was skepitcal on the buttermilk... seeing I dont drink buttermilk, but it was excellent and is a now favorite of mine to do....thanks

I skipped the buttermilk step. Fried it longer and baked it longer. My grand children said "This taste just like KFC".It had just a good crispy coating.

I'm 13 years old and i love to cook! If you have any recipes please e-mail me at [e-mail]... a hint for this one use only chickin brests and cut them into strips...that way you get bredding and chicken with ALOT!!! of flavor!!

Not bad, a little messy. The chicken didn't cook all the way throughthe first time, had to add some time to the recepie. After it was done it tasted good and left a mess of the kitchen, which is always a good sign of good cooking.

I could do without the buttermilk, thank you

I made this for a picnic served cold and it turned out great. The next time I make it I will remove the skin, which came out soggy instead of crispy. Also, I would cook it for at least an hour.

I found this recipe to be of very high quality and taste.....The chicken was very crispy and tender.....just the way us southerners like it! Superb Recipe!

This recipe was messy to prepare. By dipping chicken pieces in flour, then egg, then flour again, it was difficult for even adherence. Also, it took much longer to cook than recipe instruction. However, it tasted really good but took more than 1 hour for chicken to get golden in oven.