Cajun Dry-Rubbed Buttermilk Fried Chicken

(Copyright © 2009 Someday Gourmet)

Prep Time: 50 minutes + 8 hrs marinade

Cook Time: 90 minutes
Difficulty: Level II
Yield: 7-10 pieces

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs of any variety of bone in chicken (I prefer split chicken breasts and drumsticks
• 3 cups Buttermilk (low fat variety ok)
• 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups Panko Breadcrumbs
• 3-4 cups of oil
• 2 tbsp Coarse Salt
• 2 tbsp Black Pepper
• 3-4 tbsp Hot/Buffalo Sauce (optional)
• Cast Iron Pan (recommended)

Someday Gourmet's Sweet & Spicy Dry Rub

Equal parts of the following:

Recommend 1 tbsp of each per lb of chicken

• Cayenne Pepper Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• Seasoned Salt
• Black Pepper
• White Sugar

Instructions

24 hours before you plan to make the chicken, clean each piece and loosen the skin being careful not to pull it off completely.  Pat dry and rub in salt and pepper under the skin.  Place chicken in a dish or bowl to marinate and cover completely with buttermilk.  Refridgerate chicken in the marinade at least 8 hours.

Add enough oil to your frying pan to fill 3/4 inch.  Preheat oil over medium (6) heat for at least 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

In the meantime, mix the flour, breadcrumbs, and dry rub together thoroughly in a deep bowl.  Once the oil is ready, begin an assembly line:  drain the buttermilk from a piece of chicken, coat it in the breadcrumbs, add it to the oil.  Repeat.  Cook chicken in batches for 5 minutes on each side - it is not unusual for the chicken to become darker brown than expected.  Blackened, not so much.  That said...hang in there for the full 5 mins, it's worth it to have a nice crispy skin. 

As the chicken finishes cooking on both sides, transfer it to a large baking pan with a greased metal rack or alternatively onto a greased broiling pan (my favorite tool in my kitchen).  Once each piece is fried and transfered onto the baking sheet, place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve immediately with a knife, fork, and bottle of hot sauce.

Chef's Notes

• Do not cook more than 2 split breasts or 4 drumsticks at a time. Overcrowding may cause the temperature of the oil to drop too low causing the chicken to cook unevenly
• Don't forget to roll the chicken on its side for a while to crisp all sides of the piece.