Spicy Buttermilk Herb Fried Chicken

Why This Spicy Buttermilk Herb Fried Chicken Works

During the long soak in buttermilk, the chicken slowly drinks in the liquid and salt. The buttermilk starts to loosen up the tougher parts of the meat, so the pieces stay moist and tender even after sitting in hot oil. Salt and spices spread all the way into the chicken instead of just sitting on the outside, so each bite tastes seasoned through the middle.

Once the chicken hits the flour and cornstarch mix, a dry, powdery coat sticks to the wet buttermilk on the surface. In the hot oil, that coating quickly firms up and becomes a crisp shell. Cornstarch keeps the crust light and crackly, while the flour gives it some body so it doesn’t fall off. As the outside browns, it seals in the juices, so the inside stays soft and juicy instead of drying out. Fresh thyme and rosemary go on at the end, when the chicken is still hot, so their oils warm up on the surface and cling to the crust.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the oil get too hot makes the outside of the chicken brown very fast while the inside stays raw and pink near the bone. The crust looks done, so the chicken comes out early, but the meat is undercooked and still a bit bloody inside.

Crowding the pan with too many pieces at once drops the oil temperature and stops the coating from sealing quickly. The breading then soaks up oil instead of crisping, so the chicken turns out greasy with a soft, heavy crust.

Skipping the long buttermilk soak leaves the meat tougher and less juicy. The chicken doesn’t have time to loosen up in the marinade, so after frying it can be chewy near the bone instead of tender all the way through.

Letting the buttermilk drip off poorly and going straight into the flour mix creates thick, gummy spots in the coating. Those clumps don’t fry evenly, so some areas get hard and doughy while other parts of the chicken stay almost bare.