I love fried chicken. And despite what most people think, fried food is really not that bad for you if you fry it properly. I use clean avocado oil every time, sometimes adding bacon fat or pork fat if I have it. And I get the oil to the right temperature: two key factors that will result in crispy chicken that isn’t bogged down with grease. What makes this recipe great is that I get all the benefits of crispy fried chicken without all the grease and without standing watch over it the whole time.
You can use any chicken parts for this recipe. Fry the chicken until it just turns golden brown and then finish it in the oven.
10 lbs. large chicken wings or chicken pieces
Avocado oil, for frying
For soaking:
1 quart buttermilk
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I use Frank’s Red Hot)
For the seasoned flour:
2 cups all purpose flour (I use gluten-free flour)
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
Open the bottle or carton of buttermilk and add 2 teaspoons of hot sauce. Close the container and shake to combine. Place the chicken pieces in a Ziploc bag, cover with the buttermilk, and seal the bag, letting the chicken soak in it for at least several hours. Overnight is best.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, granulated garlic, onion powder, basil and oregano. Mix well.
After the chicken has soaked in the buttermilk, remove the pieces one at a time, leaving the buttermilk on them as you toss the pieces into the seasoned flour. Shake off the excess flour, and then set the pieces aside on a metal baking rack placed on a sheet pan.
Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stock pot to a depth of 1-inch. Heat the oil to 360 degrees on a thermometer.
Working in batches, place the chicken pieces in the oil, being careful not to overcrowd them. Fry the chicken until it is golden brown on both sides, then place each piece back on the metal baking rack set on the sheet pan.
Once all the chicken has been fried, place the sheet pan in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until it’s fully cooked and crispy.
Feast!
Live the Live ™ 
A comment/question: I avoid all recipes that require deep frying in oil – not because of health concerns, but rather because I don’t know what to do with the oil afterwards! How do you get rid of a big pot of used oil?
LikeLike
I know that some towns have companies that come around and collect cooking oil for it to be recycled into heating fuel. We don’t have that in our neighborhood. So I have to do it the old-fashioned way. I save bottles with tightly sealing caps. Once the oil has cooled, I pour the used oil into the bottles and toss it in the trash. It’s better than pouring it down the drain or dumping it behind the shed in your yard! That’s why I like this recipe: you don’t need a large pot of full oil. You can use a smaller pan and fry small batches with a lesser amount of oil.
LikeLike