Go Back

Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken

Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Keyword buttermilk, chicken, southern fried
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 8 pieces of chicken I cut up whole chickens from Hoe Hop Valley farm, and used the breasts, legs, and thighs. I also cut the breasts in half horizontally because they were large

Brine

  • 1 quart buttermilk I used Cruze Farm’s, if you can get it, I recommend it
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/8 cup kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
  • 1 Tbsp Frank’s Hot Sauce or other vinegar based hot sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Sriracha hot sauce
  • 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • cayenne or hot Hungarian paprika to taste optional
  • a few sprigs of thyme optional

Coating

  • 3 cups flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 3 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp Tony Chachere’s
  • 1-2 tsp kosher salt to taste
  • 1/2 tsp freshly grated black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • oil for frying you need enough to come about 1/3 of the way up the pot or 2 inches
  • {note: I have used both vegetable and canola oil successfully}
  • kosher salt for sprinkling

Instructions

For the brine:

  • Combine all the ingredients for the brine except buttermilk in a small pot and heat over medium, dissolving all the salt and honey. Remove from heat and cool by adding ice cubes and stirring. In a large mixing bowl combine buttermilk and cooled seasoned water. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Divide all pieces of chicken between two large ziplock bags. Pour half of buttermilk brine in each, close, and place in the refrigerator over night, up to 12 hours. I have left them in there longer, 14-15 hours, with no ill effects. {note: I have also halved the brine recipe and used one large ziplock for 8 pieces of chicken and it worked out well, a good way to save.}
  • 1-2 hours before you are ready to fry: Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry. Let the chicken come to room temperature, half an hour to one and a half hours, on a parchment lined baking sheet covered with paper towels.
  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Mix all of the ingredients for the coating together in a large bowl, transferring half to a second bowl. {note: The measurements given for seasonings here are approximate. I season my flour to taste. Yes, I taste the raw flour. It should taste salty & flavorful.} Fill a third bowl with the 2 cups of buttermilk. The easiest way to coat the chicken is to have a line set up: uncoated chicken, flour coating, buttermilk, 2nd bowl of flour coating, wax paper lined baking sheet for the coated chicken.
  • Pour the oil into your pot (preferably cast iron enamel like Le Crueset). It should come at least two inches and no more than 1/3 of the way up the side of the pot. Turn the heat to low, clipping a frying/candy thermometer to the side of your pot.
  • Dredge each piece in the coating, dust off all excess, dip into the buttermilk, and then into the second bowl of coating, letting the 2nd coating be clumpier but still patting to get rid of excess that might fall off in the oil. Place coated chicken on the wax paper lined tray.
  • Turn the oil up to high and let it come to about 350° F. Let the coated chicken sit so that the coating will thicken while the oil gets hot. When it reaches temperature, very carefully place 4 pieces of chicken at a time in the hot oil and fry, adjusting the temperature as needed to maintain a frying temperature between 310° -325° F. I try to keep it around 320°. You start the oil at 350° because when you add the chicken to the hot oil, the temperature will drop. Fry dark meat first, as it takes longer. Fry the chicken for about 13-20 minutes, moving the chicken gently (you don’t want to knock the coating off!) after the first five to prevent sticking and burning on the bottom. Be careful to monitor your chicken, watching the oil temperature closely and not letting the chicken get too dark.
  • Remove chicken from the oil with a spider or slotted metal spoon when it is golden brown (metal tongs will knock off your precious coating), and place it on a cooling rack over a paper towel lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Check the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer. Fully cooked chicken will read 160 degrees and can be served then if desired. If it is lower than that, it must be finished in the oven. Fry the second batch and then place it on the rack. Place the rack in the oven for ten minutes. Check the internal temperature to make sure the chicken is cooked through, let rest 10 minutes, and serve hot. If all the chicken is cooked through and you want to keep it hot, you can hold it in a 250 degree oven.

Serving suggestions:

  • hot sauce, honey, jams, biscuits, and waffles are all great friends of fried chicken! Slow cooked greens, green beans, and mashed potatoes all make great sides.
  • The buttermilk “Dream Biscuit” recipe can be found here,, where they are called “All Natural Sky High Biscuit Adaptation, a.k.a. Darth Vader Biscuits”. They are called such because I believe I’m the Darth Vader to the Biscuits Lady’s (of the Big Biscuit Barn in Ft. Oglethorpe, GA) Obi Wan Kenobi. Now, I am the master. My mom prefers to call them dream biscuits because they remind her of her mother’s. You can call them what you like, but they’re some of the best biscuits you’ll ever make.
  • As for the recipes for the potlikker greens, spicy chocolate soufflés, and ice cream…. they will be posted in the future!