Oven Fried Chicken

I have tried a number of recipes for fried chicken in the past... but something always turns out wrong... either the outside is beautifully golden and crisp... but the inside is not done, or the outside is burnt and the inside is perfect. Or I'll finally get one or two pieces of chicken (out of the whole batch) fried correctly, but it's either way too salty, or doesn't have enough flavor.

At long last, I found a recipe that works for me! The flavoring is perfect (not too salty, not too bland) and frying it first for a couple minutes crisps the outside beautifully while putting it in the oven afterward ensures that the inside meat is cooked all the way through. Why didn't I think of that before??

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 2 chickens (3 pounds each), cut in 8 serving pieces
• 1 quart buttermilk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening

Directions

Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1-inch and heat to 360 degrees F on a thermometer.

Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will continue to brown in the oven). Don't crowd the pieces. Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan. Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees F before frying the next batch. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve hot.