Shelly's Recipe

Lemon Brined Fried Chicken

Category: Chicken

for the brine:
1 gallon cold water
1 cup plus 2 t kosher salt
1/4 c plus 2 T honey
12 bay leaves
1 head of garlic, smashed but not peeled
2 T black peppercorns
3 large rosemary sprigs
1 small bunch of thyme
1 small bunch parsley
finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons, plus the lemon halves

two - 3 pound chickens (we halved the recipe so I used two breasts and five thighs)

for the coating:
3 cups flour
2 T garlic powder
2 T onion powder
2 t cayenne pepper

2 c buttermilk

vegetable oil

The night before fry time, you'll need to prepare the brine. In a large saucepan, combine a quart of the water with the rest of the brining ingredients. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the salt dissolves. Pour everything into a large storage container and add the rest of the cold water.

Put the chicken into the brine. Make sure it is completely covered. Refrigerate overnight.

To fry the chicken, remove it from the brine and pat it dry. Pour the oil into a large, deep skillet. You'll want oil an inch deep. Heat the oil to 330 degrees. While the oil is heating, prepare the chicken. Mix the coating mixture and put it in a shallow bowl. Cover a baking sheet with waxed paper.

Dip the chicken into the buttermilk then into the coating mixture. Pat the coating mixture onto the chicken to make sure it's well covered. Put the chicken pieces on the baking sheet. Working in batches, fry the chicken.

Do NOT crowd the chicken in the skillet. The original recipe said it'd take about 10 minutes a side. I found it took about 15 minutes. Turn the chicken once during frying. The internal temperature of the chicken should be at least 160 degrees. Remove the chicken from the frying pan and drain on paper towels.