Grandpa’s Favorite Fried Chicken

A three year old Carolyn, our Queen of the Kitchen, with her Grandfather in Colorado.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to move home to Colorado and help my Mom take care of my Grandparents who at the time were 93 years old.  They were amazing people, and still living on their own and didn’t want to leave their home. But, as they were aging, they were having trouble taking care of themselves and keeping their house up. So, I was able to rent the house next door to them and help them out by cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner and taking care of things around their home. It was an amazing experience to be able to spend that time with them. My Grandmother loved to cook and was an amazing cook. She was a great influence on me, definitely a role model and someone to look up to in the kitchen. She taught me her love for food and the joy of feeding her family, and I have many fond memories of cooking with her.  

My Grandpa’s favorite meal was Fried Chicken and he had been eating it regularly for 93 years, so I didn’t see any harm in continuing that tradition on a weekly basis. But I didn’t have a good fried chicken recipe in my arsenal at the time, and my Grandmother was suffering from dementia and not able to share hers. A lot of her recipes were in her head and I still kick myself almost every day for not seeing what was coming and intentionally recording more of her recipes when I was cooking with her. Each week for the first few weeks that I was taking care of them, I tried a new fried chicken recipe! There were good weeks and bad weeks. One week I thought it would be a good idea to try a panko breading. My Grandpa bit into one of those drumsticks and panko went shooting across the kitchen like fireworks! Not the best texture or taste, but it sure was a lot of fun and we had some great laughs. I tried using a heavier liquid batter but found that really took away from the flavor of the chicken, the pieces were harder to bite into, and you would often only get a bite of breading. 

After testing about 20 different recipes and getting feedback from my expert Grandparents (Grandma may have had trouble figuring out who I was, but she still knew what good fried chicken tasted like!). I took the best parts from a few that I tried and came up with this recipe. The wet brine breaks down the meat making it unbelievably juicy on the inside, the dry rub provides incredible flavor, and the breading is very light, yet crispy and satisfying. The best part of this recipe is that if you are making this for a lot of people, you fry it in batches, and then finish in the oven so all the pieces are hot and ready at the same time. Take the time to brine the chicken and don’t skip a step or ingredient.  This recipe is kind of a lot of work, but I promise you, it is worth it. 

Grandpa’s Favorite Fried Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

4 lbs. Bone in, skin on Chicken Pieces (I prefer thighs and drumsticks)

Brine:

3 C Buttermilk

2 t Sugar

2 t Kosher Salt

1 t Franks Red Hot Sauce

Dry Rub:

2 T Johnny’s Seasoning Salt (or any red seasoning salt like Lawry’s)

2 T Paprika (regular, not smoked)

2 t Garlic Powder

1 t Cayenne

Grapeseed or Canola Oil for Frying

Kosher Salt

Directions:

Step 1:  Mix brine ingredients together in a large bowl.  Place chicken pieces in brine.  Cover with plastic wrap, put in the refrigerator and allow pieces to soak in brine for at least 8 hours, but not more than 24 hours.  If you can, mix the pieces around at least once.  I typically put the chicken in the brine the night before I plan to have it for dinner. 

Step 2:  Combine dry rub ingredients in a shaker (I use an empty spice container) and mix well. 

Step 3:  Place chicken pieces in a large colander over the sink and allow the buttermilk to mostly drain off.    Place about two cups of flour in a medium size bowl.  Generously season each piece of chicken with the dry rub, toss in flour until well covered, and set on a plate.  Pout about two inches of oil in your frying pan (I like to use my dutch oven) and heat to 325 degrees.  Working in batches, fry chicken for 3-4 minutes each side until golden brown.  Be sure to only fry about four pieces of chicken at a time so you do not crowd the pan.  If you crowd the pan, your chicken will not be as crispy.  Place a metal rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and put each piece of fried chicken on the metal rack.  (Note:  If you don’t use the rack, your chicken will be soggy on the bottom).  Once all of the pieces are fried and on the rack, bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Immediately after you pull it out of the oven, lightly sprinkle with kosher salt and serve hot.  

This chicken is delicious with mashed potatoes and gravy, some kind of fried veggie, and Apple Pie for dessert.  If you are going to put this much work into a dish, you may as well go all out and enjoy yourself.  You’ll have plenty of time to eat a salad tomorrow. 

Thank you! Love, Carolyn