Honey's Modern Buttermilk Fried Chicken

My grandmother whom we affectionately called "Honey Bun" made the world's best fried chicken. I decided to make some this week for the husband and served it with easy cheddar jalapeno beer biscuits and sauteed swiss chard with bacon and carmelized onions. And let me tell you... it was fabulous!! This time we only used breast meat, but the whole bird is always a crowd pleaser.
I've adapted the recipe a bit and make a tasty buttermilk brine. I cut the bone in chicken breast in half before submerging it in a bath of:

2 cups buttermilk

1 quart cold water

1/4 cup fine sea salt

4 bay leaves

1 garlic clove

1 stalk celery or 1tsp celery powder 

2 tbs sugar

1tbs onion powder

1 lemon, cut in half

1 orange cut in half

5 peppercorns.

Soak over night in the fridge.

Then it's time to fry.

INGREDIENTS FOR FLOUR DREDGE

4 cups of all purpose flouror Cup4Cup Gluten Free flour
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbs black pepper

4 tbs onion powder

4 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs paprika

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp celery salt

1 pinch dried sage

1 tsp dried thyme

  Meanwhile, I place a large, deep cast iron skillet on the stove and fill it with about 2 inches of peanut oil (no more than 1/3 full or your oil could boil over).  Heat the oil to 350 degrees.  Using a thermometer really helps!

While the oil is heating, set up your dredging station. Put half the flour mix in a bowl, then in a second bowl, mix 1 cup buttermilk with 2 beaten eggs, then place a third bowl with remaining flour mix (or you can use paper bags or ziplocs for easy cleanup).

 The Dredging Station

First Flour Dredge- shake off excess and then...

 Dunk in the buttermilk egg bath, shake off excess...

 Dredge in flour again- ziplocs or paper bags work great too!

Place on a cooling rack over cookie sheet and prepare to fry

I have a 13 inch cast iron skillet. If you don't have a huge pan, you could use two or just cook in batches and keep chicken warm in the oven while the second batch cooks.

Once the chicken has been dredged (be sure to shake off any excess flour mix- tongs work better than hands for dredging BTW), slowly lower the pieces in a pan being sure not to crowd it. Turn chicken frequently to ensure even browning, about every minute. It should take about 12-15 minutes to cook through until the chicken is 165 degrees.

14 minutes in and ready to come out of the bath.

 Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving. I fry up some thyme and rosemary branches for a few seconds as a garnish.

I made some super easy biscuits too using Bisquick brand cheddar biscuits (sometimes I'm just not in the mood to make from scratch!) and used beer instead of water, added 2 tbs organic shortening and chopped jalapeno. They were a huge hit!