I am a Thomas Keller fan. Although, his recipes can involve a number of steps and are considered time consuming, which are the two things that I avoid most in cooking, I always seem to make an exception for a Thomas Keller recipe.
Last Sunday, was the 4th of July and lucky for us, it was also our Sunday Supper gathering. This was a perfect time to serve up a great American tradition that has not graced our family table in a long time.
Thomas Keller brines his chicken for 12 hours in a herb-lemon brine which seasons the meat and helps it stay juicy. I would never have thought to brine chicken before frying. Now, I could not imagine not doing it.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Serves 4-6
Recipe from Thomas Keller
Chicken Brine:
5 lemons, halved
24 bay leaves
1 bunch (4 ounces) flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch (1 ounce) thyme
1/2 cup clover honey
1 head garlic, halved through the equator
1/4 cup peppercorns
2 cups (10 ounces) kosher salt
2 gallons water
Note: the key ingredient here is the lemon, which goes wonderfully with chicken, as do the herbs: bay leaf, parsley, and thyme. This amount of brine will be enough for 10 pounds.
Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, cover and bring to boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and cool completely, then chill before using. The brine can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
For Dredging and Frying:
Peanut or canola oil
1 quart buttermilk
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Coating
6 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Ground fleur de sel or fne sea salt
Rosemary and thyme sprigs for garnish
Directions:
Cut each chicken into 10 pieces: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 breast quarters, and 2 wings. Pour the brine into a container large enough to hold the chicken pieces, add in the chicken, and refrigerate for 12 hours (no longer, or the chicken may become too salty).
Remove the chicken from the brine (discard the brine) and rinse under cold water, removing any herbs or spices sticking to the skin. Pat dry with paper towels, or let air dry. Let rest at room temperature for
1-1/12 hours, or until it comes to room temperature.
If you have two large pots (about 6 inches deep) and a lot of oil, you can cook the dark meat and white meat. No matter what size pot you have, the oil should not come more than one-third of the way up the sides of the pot. Fill the pot with at least 2 inches of peanut oil and heat to 320 degrees F. Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet. Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper.
Meanwhile, combine all the coating ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer half the coating to a second large bowl. Pour the buttermilk into a third bowl and season with salt and pepper. Set up a dipping station: the chicken pieces, one bowl of coating, the bowl of buttermilk, the second bowl of coating, and the parchment-lined baking sheet.
Just before frying, dip the chicken thighs into the first bowl of coating, turning to coat and patting off the excess; dip them into the buttermilk, allowing the excess to run back into the bowl; then dip them into a second bowl of coating. Transfer to the parchment lined-lined pan.
Carefully lower the highs into the hot oil. Adjust the heat as necessary to return the oil to the proper temperature. Fry for 2 minutes, then carefully move the pieces around in the oil and continue to fry monitoring the oil temperature and turning the pieces as necessary for even cooking, for 11 to 12 minutes, until the chicken is a deep golden brown, cooked through and very crisp. meanwhile, coat the chicken drumsticks and transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet.
Transfer the cooked thighs to the cooling rack skin-side up and let rest while you fry the remaining chicken. Make sure that the oil is at the correct temperature, and cook the chicken drumsticks. When the drumsticks are done, lean them meat side up against the thighs to drain, then sprinkle the chicken with fine se salt.
Turn the heat and heat he oil to 340 degrees F. Meanwhile, coat the chicken breasts and wings. Carefully lower the chicken breasts into the hot oil and fry for 7 minutes, or until golden brown, cooked through, and crisp. Transfer to the rack, sprinkle with salt, and turn skin side up. Cook the wings for 6 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the wings to the rack and turn off the heat.
Arrange the chicken on a serving platter. Add the herb sprigs to the oil (which will still be hot) and them cook and crisp for a few seconds, then arrange them over the chicken.
Note: This may be the best fried chicken that you have ever tasted. However, cooking the chicken pieces throughly was a bit of a challenge for me. Thomas Keller suggests purchasing chicken from a farmers market to get small chicken as they are easier to cook properly. I will be making this fried chicken many more times and honing my skills at perfecting it.
Enjoy!
Tomatoes on the Vine 
It's wrong to want fried chicken before 8am, right?
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I've had the privilege of trying this recipe at a local restaurant, and it's amazing. Must eat hot hot hot!
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HELLO! What a great post girl, love this dish!
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Hey Velva the chicken looks amazing! I recently won a southern cookbook and fried chicken is going to be the first recipe I am going to try 🙂
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I love fried chicken!!!This sounds wonderful and looks so crispy and delicious.
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you really know your way around fried chicken! no one knows about brining anymore….I can only imagine how incredible it tastes…..Northerners don't know chicken….sigh
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Oh my gosh, Velva, this looks so delicious. What are you trying to do to me? I'm trying not to eat meat over here (smile). Really, this looks wonderful, Velva. Like my Georgia mama used to make…
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Wow! Thanks for sharing this! I wish I was at your house for July 4th:) I love fried chicken and have not had luck making it at home. I am really looking forward to trying this one out. I know I will love this chicken for sure.
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I've made buttermilk fried chicken before, but never thought to brine it – love it!I am going to see if my library has any Thomas Keller books! 😀
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Me too. We've had the pleasure at dining at both per se and the French Laundry. He is my hero. The chicken on your buffet looks absolutely perfect.LL
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you're eating GOOD, velva–this looks amazing. i keep hearing great things about keller's cookbook, and it sure looks like he delivers! 🙂
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This would go over so well at our house, I just haven't tackled frying yet. I'd love to master fried chicken, but I'm working my way up to it. 🙂
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Prefect fried chicken. I stated brining poultry and pork and I haven't been disappointed yet.Mimi
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This makes me want to cry.
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Okay, you had me at fried chicken. My mother in law makes it so good, I would love to make it like that one day. Your look great to me. I have to try fried chicken again, I don't think I've ever had it brined before! Have a great week.-Gina-
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