Mother’s Day was very special this year since both of my sons planned trips home to be with me. As each resides on the west coast, one in LA, and one in San Francisco, there have been many Mother’s Days where I have had to be content with phone calls, cards (when they remember), and flowers.
Several years ago they surprised me with a trip to San Diego, although I thought I was just going out to visit my son in LA. Upon arriving he told me we would take the weekend to go to San Diego since I had never been there.
What I was not aware of was that my younger son who was living in Maryland at the time and teaching 4th grade had flown in and was waiting to surprise me when we walked into the lobby of the “W” Hotel in San Diego!
Needless to say, I was shocked! And elated! My older son even put together a film which he aptly named “The Shock of Sheila” commemorating our weekend together. If there is ever any doubt that I was surprised this video will confirm otherwise.
My husband was the mastermind behind the plan, and it was a Mother’s Day I will always remember. Needless to say, I feel very fortunate for the men in my life.
So back to Mother’s Day, 2011…with both boys coming in that could only mean one thing…I’ll be cooking something special for dinner.
The menu included my grilled baby back ribs with sweet-sour bbq sauce, cornbread, deviled eggs, salad, fried chicken, and blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream for dessert.
I don’t make fried chicken very often, but when I do it seems I’m always trying a different recipe. I searched the internet for recipes that marinate the chicken first in buttermilk, and found this one for the Best Buttermilk Fried Chicken!
I must admit it takes a little bit of prep so it isn’t something you will decide to make last minute, but your work will be rewarded when you sink your teeth into that first bite of this crispy, not greasy, yet very juicy and flavorful fried chicken.
The buttermilk brine adds moisture to the meat, as well as flavor and tenderness.
Allowing the chicken to rest for an hour after the second dredging brings the chicken to room temperature which helps the chicken cook more evenly. Additionally it lets the surface moisture evaporate which causes the chicken to crisp more as it’s fried.
Although the recipe below called for four whole leg quarters, you can choose whatever parts you like as long as you adjust the frying time.
I added some of Emeril’s Essence to the brine and flour as well to give it a little more kick. You can adjust all the spices to your own taste.
The recipe can easily be doubled, tripled or more depending on the amount of chicken you are making. I’m embarrassed to say I actually made 40 pieces of chicken! I told you I like to cook big, but also let’s face it cold fried chicken is sooo good, and you can’t make fried chicken salad unless there’s some leftover fried chicken laying around, right?
So whether you fry one chicken or four I think you’ll agree this Best Buttermilk Fried Chicken is right up there with the best of them!
Best Buttermilk Fried Chicken
( adapted from Marc Matsumoto’s food blog, NoRecipes, http://norecipes.com/about/)
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic finely grated on a microplane
½ small onion finely grated on a microplane
2 cups cultured buttermilk
2 tablespoons kosher salt (halve if using table salt)
1 tablespoon sugar
Emeril’s Essence (optional, and to taste)
4 whole chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks connected) or chicken parts of your choosing
1 and ½ cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon celery seed grounds
¼ teaspoon black pepper ground
Emeril’s Essence (optional, and to taste)
1 liter of vegetable oil for frying (or canola oil)
Put the celery seed, rosemary, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a spice grinder and grind. Add the spices, onion, and garlic into a gallon size freezer bag, or large container with the buttermilk, salt and sugar. Seal the bag, and shake to combine, or mix in container to combine. Add the chicken, submerged in the buttermilk, and refrigerate overnight, turning occasionally.
In a gallon sized freezer bag, combine the flour, onion powder, paprika, celery seed and black pepper and shake to combine. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk brine and use paper towels to dry off the chicken and remove any extra bits of spices. Add the dried chicken to the freezer bag with the flour one at a time and toss to coat. shake any excess flour off as you transfer the chicken to a wire rack.
Strain the buttermilk through a sieve to remove the spices. Dip the chicken in the buttermilk mixture and then put each piece back in the bag with the flour and apply a second thicker coating of flour. Place the chicken on the rack and let it air dry for at least 1 hour.
In a large heavy bottomed pot, add the oil. The oil should be at least 2 inches deep. Heart over medium high heat until it reaches 340 degrees F. Carefully add the chicken to the hot oil. The temperature will fall a bit, and you want to keep the oil right around 320 degrees F for the duration of the frying, so adjust the heat source as needed.
The chicken will take 12-15 minutes to cook through (less if you are frying wings, or small breasts), and should be golden brown on the outside. You can use a meat thermometer to check and see if the chicken is cooked on the inside, but take the chicken out of the oil once before checking, or the juices coming out of the chicken will make the oil splatter.
As the chicken is done, remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel lined wire rack. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes and serve.
If you are making a large quantity, remove the chicken to a paper towel lined tray and keep hot in a 250-300 degree oven til ready to serve.
