Best EVER Fried Chicken

I can't tell you how much I love my fried chicken! lol It's crunchy, crispy and delicious. The chicken is brined for 2 hours for a succulent fried chicken. I use salted water to brine, but you can add white wine, bourbon or cognac for a more complex flavor. This is perfect for a picnic or lunch and goes SO well with icy cold ginger beer.

I would eat this everyday if I could

Ingredients

½ cup coarse salt (or 6 tablespoons salt)

2 lb chicken wings or 1 whole chicken, cut into serving pieces

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons dried oregano

1½ teaspoons dried basil

⅛ teaspoon dried thyme

½ tablespoon garlic powder

A pinch of cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs

½ cup buttermilk

Vegetable oil or Crisco for frying

Directions
 

1. In a large bowl or pot, dissolve 1/2 cup coarse salt in about 3 quarts of water (you don't have to be precise). Rinse chicken wings or pieces, and add to bowl. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. If you want to refrigerate overnight use 2 tablespoons instead of 1/2 cup. Remove chicken pieces, and rinse under cool water and dry thoroughly. Clear space in the refrigerator to accommodate a wire cooling rack.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour and seasonings, and place in a large Ziploc bag, shake well. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, then whisk in buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk use yogurt and milk 2:1 ratio, 2 being yogurt). Dip half the chicken pieces in the buttermilk mixture, then place in the plastic bag. Shake, and lay out on a wire rack. Repeat for remaining pieces. Put the rack on a rimmed baking sheet, and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to set.

3. Pour oil in a pan. Place over medium-high heat.

4. When the oil reaches 370 degrees (if you don't have a thermometer, wait until the oil almost starts to smoke - very hot oil is fine), arrange chicken wings or pieces in the pan, skin side down, cover if using whole chicken (after 5 minutes, remove the cover). Adjust heat level, if necessary, so oil bubbles at a moderate pace -- not too rapidly and not too slowly (medium to medium-high heat is best, depending on the heat conductivity of your pan). Rearrange pieces if some are browning more quickly than others. After 5 more minutes, turn the pieces over, cook another 3~4 minutes.

5. Remove the fried chicken to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Let drain for 5 minutes, and serve.