Buttermilk Skillet Fried Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, about 3 1/2 lb, cut into 8 pieces
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
• 3 cups vegetable shortening or peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons bacon drippings

Before you cook

• Whisk the buttermilk, kosher salt, and hot sauce together in a large bowl.
• Add the chicken pieces and turn them until every piece is coated.
• Cover the bowl and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Stir the flour, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne, and fine salt together in a wide shallow dish.
• Set a wire rack over a sheet pan next to the dredging dish.

Steps

1. Lift one piece of chicken out of the buttermilk and let the excess run off for a few seconds.
2. Press the piece firmly into the seasoned flour, turning it and packing flour into every crease.
3. Set the coated piece on the wire rack and repeat with the rest of the chicken.
4. Let the coated chicken rest on the rack for 20 minutes so the flour turns pasty and grips the skin.
5. Put the shortening and bacon drippings in a 12-inch cast iron skillet and set it over medium-high heat.
6. Heat the fat until it reaches 335 degrees Fahrenheit on a thermometer, about 8 minutes.
7. Lay in the dark meat pieces skin side down, leaving space between them.
8. Add the breast pieces and wings so the skillet is full but not crowded.
9. Fry undisturbed for 10 to 12 minutes, adjusting the heat to hold the fat between 300 and 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
10. Turn each piece with tongs and fry the second side 10 to 12 minutes more.
11. Check the thickest part of a thigh with a thermometer and pull the chicken when it reads 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
12. Move each finished piece to a clean wire rack and sprinkle it lightly with salt.
13. Let the chicken rest 10 minutes before serving so the crust sets.