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Alton Brown's Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Alton Brown's Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Alton Brown's Buttermilk Fried Chicken is absolutely the best fried chicken I've ever eaten!

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword Alton Brown's Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Marinating Time 12 hours
Total Time 12 hours 55 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 365 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 broiler-fryer chicken cut into 8 pieces
  • 2 cups low-fat buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 cup flour for dredging
  • vegetable shortening for frying

Instructions

  1. Place the chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours .
  2. Drain the chicken in a colander.
  3. Combine the salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture.
  4. Then, dredge the chicken in the flour and shake off the excess (by seasoning before you flour, you trap the seasoning under the flour coating, and you use a lot less seasoning than if you tried to put it in the flour and hope it catches on the chicken).
  5. Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan.
  6. Once the shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.
  7. Place the chicken skin side down into the pan. Put the thighs in the center (they take longer to cook and can use the extra center heat), and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan once the chicken is added.
  8. Cook the chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10-12 minutes per side. The internal temperature should be right around 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes).

Recipe Notes

Drain the chicken on a rack over a sheet pan, NOT on paper towels or brown paper bags which just cause the chicken to soak in their own oil.

 

If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it's a gas oven, which is very moist and will ruin your beautiful chicken crust!