Allow me to begin this post by stating that my mom’s fried chicken is a hard one to beat. I think I am getting there, however. In the past, I have soaked chicken for a couple of hours in salted water, rinsed, and drained. I then would season, coat in flour, put it in an egg wash, then back in flour, then fry it. Trust me, that recipe is really good. This past weekend allowed me to experiment with a new recipe, and you should try this one.

Growing up, my mom always fried her chicken in a cast iron skillet. After researching the skillet, and recently purchasing one, I thought of my mom’s recipe, and I could not get it off my mind. I decided not to use her recipe, however I did attempt (and succeeded) to make my own. Overall, I think the cast iron is key, along with the following information:

Ingredients:

• Whole Chicken, cut up (legs, thighs, wings, breast)
• Buttermilk
• Seasoning (I used garlic, kosher salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder)
• Cooking Oil (I used corn oil, but would recommend lard or Crisco or something of that sort)

Add the chicken to a large ziplock bag, season with pepper, and add a quart of buttermilk. Seal it and put place in a bowl to prevent any leakage. Soak the chicken overnight, preferably 12 to 24 hours.

Let the games begin. When you are ready to go, heat enough oil, preferably 1/8 of the bottom of the meat and bring to about 350 degrees. During this time, drain the chicken in a colander. Mix your seasonings and moderately season. Dredge the seasoned chicken in flour (I shake the pieces in a ziplock bag full of about 2 cups of flour). I placed them on a wire rack and let them set for about 10 minutes. The oil will be ready by then.

Place the chicken pieces like this; skin side down, thighs in the middle, legs, wings, and breasts on the edges. Cook them for about 10 minutes, carefully not to burn, flip, and continue on the other side. I attempted to take the temperature of the meat, however that did not do much to me. Instead, I went with my instincts, took the chicken out, and drained on paper towel.

I served this dish with our favorites, mashed potatoes and corn. Overall, my wife said this was the best chicken she has ever had, one of my boys ate two legs (unheard of), and the other ate close to an entire breast (unheard of). Based on those facts, I think I will make this dish again.