Spicy Southern-Fried Chicken

By Addie

A buttermilk marinade tenderizes the chicken and helps create a crisp, flaky crust while frying.

Ingredients

• Buttermilk Marinade:
• 2 cup(s) buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon(s) Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 teaspoon(s) dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon(s) cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon(s) cracked black pepper
• Fried Chicken:
• 1 (3 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon(s) baking powder
• 1 tablespoon(s) garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 5 cup(s) vegetable shortening

Preparation

Step 1

Buttermilk Marinade:
In a gallon-sized sealable plastic bag or a large bowl with a tight-fitting lid, combine the buttermilk, mustard, salt, dry mustard, cayenne, and black pepper. Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat. Seal and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Frying the chicken:
Preheat oven to 150 degrees F. In a 13-inch by 9-inch by 2-inch pan, whisk together flour, baking powder, dry garlic, and salt. Add chicken pieces and turn to coat thickly. Let the chicken stand 10 minutes, turning occasionally to re-coat with flour. Shake off excess flour before frying.

In a 10-inch by 12-inch heavy-gauge skillet with a deep-fry thermometer attached, heat the vegetable shortening over medium-high heat, bringing it to 375 degrees F. In batches of four, fry the chicken pieces, turning once when the coating is sealed and begins to brown—3 to 4 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium to lower the temperature to 325 degrees F. Maintain temperature and continue to fry, turning the pieces halfway through cooking time until chicken is golden brown and cooked through—about 20 more minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack on a baking sheet and place in oven to keep warm. Repeat the procedure for the remaining batches. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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REVIEWS:

I personallyLOVEDthis chicken…I used a deep fryer to cook it and the recommended 20 minutes was way to much so I deep fried it for 10 and baked it at 350 til it was finished. Unfortunately my family didn’t love it as much as I did, so most likely I won’t make it again.

Use this buttermilk recipe for fried squid…aka calamari! The buttermilk tenderizes the little buggers, now just think of a dipping sauce…spicy soy ginger, or some wasabi blended into thousand island dressing. Big $$$ at a restaurant!

Great recipe! I marinated it longer than the recipe said, and thought it came out pretty flavorful. Depending on how you like your spiciness, you could add more, but the flavor combination is very nice. I also only fried till browned, then cooked the rest of the way in the oven (20 minutes at 350 degrees) for less grease.

This was a good, easy recipe, but if you want more of the flavor, it some of the spices need to go in the flour mixture. I will be fixing this again. My family enjoyed it.