Southern Fried Chicken from Viking Cooking School

Southern Fried Chicken (adapted from Viking Cooking Schools’ recipe)

prep time: 10 minutes

marinade time: 24 hours

cook time: 20-30 minutes

yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup buttermilk (I used low-fat because it’s all I could find – they suggest full-fat)
• 1 tablespoon garlic salt (I used two cloves fresh garlic, minced)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (4-lb) fryer (preferably skin-on) cut into 8 pieces (I used a pre-portioned griller pack from the grocery store that contained 4 legs and two breast halves, which I then cut in half again to make 4 small breast pieces)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, or to taste (I used the full 2 teaspoons, and it wasn’t too spicy for my kids)
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• healthy pinch of kosher salt
• 24 ounces vegetable shortening (such as Crisco®) for frying (I used 12 ounces of coconut oil and 12 ounces of palm kernel oil)

1. For the chicken: whisk together the buttermilk, garlic, salt and pepper.  Place the chicken pieces in the buttermilk mixture and completely submerge.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
2. Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, cayenne, paprika, black pepper and salt; place in a large plastic bag.  Lift a piece of the chicken out of the buttermilk mixture, allowing the excess buttermilk to drain off. Add one piece of chicken at the time to the bag, and shake to thoroughly coat.  Place on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to rest until ready to fry.  Continue with the remaining pieces of chicken.
3. Spoon the shortening into a large, deep cast-iron skillet or dutch oven.  Place over medium-high heat until the melted shortening regiserts 350F on a deep-fry thermometer.  The fat should come halfway up the sides of the pan. (Note: an even oil temperature is key to the success of this recipe; a deep-fry thermometer should be kept in the pot at all times. Make sure the temperature never drops below 325F or rises above 365F during the cooking process. As I stated – we did not use a thermometer, but I do recommend it the first few times you try this recipe).
4. Once the fat has come to 350F, fry the chicken in batches, skin side down, until golden brown and cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes. (Note: do not overcrowd the pan, or the chicken will not cook evenly).  Turn and fry until golden brown on the second side, about 6 to 8 minutes more.  Between batches, use a skimmer to remove all crispy bits floating in the oil.  (Note: if chicken is brown but not quite cooked through, place in a 350F oven to finish the cooking process, about 5 to 10 minutes).  Cook white meat to an internal temperature of 165F, and dark meat to an internal temperature of 175F.