Oven-Fried Chicken

Every time my Grandma Ruby visited us growing up she would make us fried chicken. It was truly the highlight of her visits. When we lived close to her we would go to her house every Sunday after church and she would have it waiting for us. She always made lots and lots of legs too, because that was our favorite part. I tried to recreate her magic in my kitchen many times and failed. I just couldn't seem to get the frying down right....until now. This recipe by the Barefoot Contessa is to die for! It's so easy and tasty too. If you love fried chicken, you have to try this foolproof method.





2 chickens (3 pounds each), cut in 8 serving pieces
(or if you have small children like I do, just use all legs)
1 quart buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening

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 (I do 3 legs at a time), 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.

Serving ideas: goes great with your favorite type of potato, green beans, salad, corn bread