Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Ingredients

1 (3 to 3 1/2 pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 cups buttermilk
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground marjoram
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon paprika
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. Place chicken and thyme in 13x9-inch glass baking dish. Pour buttermilk over chicken; stir until chicken is coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Heat oil in deep fryer to 350°F. Prepare a rack to drain the chicken by placing on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels; set aside.
3. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine flour, garlic powder, marjoram, salt, thyme, pepper, sage and paprika.
4. Lift chicken from buttermilk, letting excess buttermilk drain back into the baking dish.
5. Add several pieces of chicken at a time to the bag of seasoned flour. Shake gently to coat.
6. Remove coated chicken, dip again in reserved buttermilk. Repeat shaking in flour mixture to get a thick coating.
7. Place chicken pieces in a single layer in deep fryer basket and carefully lower basket into the preheated oil.
8. Fry chicken until meat thermometer has reached 165°F and coating is golden brown (about 15 minutes). Transfer chicken to rack to drain.
9. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces.

Serves: 6-8

TEST KITCHEN TIP: Divide the seasoned flour mixture into 2 or 3 resealable plastic bags. The buttermilk can make the coating wet so this way you will have a few bags of dry mixture to work with in order to coat all the chicken pieces thoroughly. To see step-by-step how-to fry chicken, visit our Everyday Good Thinking Blog, Southern Buttermilk Fried Chicken