I have always wanted to make fried chicken but I tend to shy away from making things that needs to be deep fried for a long time. When I saw this recipe in one of my favorite Ina Garten cookbooks, I knew this was up my alley. The chicken soaks overnight in buttermilk and then floured and lightly fried in oil. The rest of the time the chicken spends in the oven crisping up and the oil drips right off. This is the way I like my fried chicken. I don’t feel as guilty eating it cause I know it didn’t spend 15-20 minutes in oil. I made the chicken and served the BBQ Baked Beans with it. Delicious!
Oven-Fried Chicken
- 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
- 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.
Source: Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten
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