Buttermilk & pimentón fried chicken

Chicken second courses

Watch a video of Julia making this recipe here: https://food52.com/blog/17500-julia-turshen-s-no-freakout-fried-chicken <br /> <br />I love fried chicken but have always avoided making it at home because I imagined vats and vats of oil (and what do you do with it afterward?) and batches and batches of chicken and all sorts of dredging mess and just general sweating while dealing with hot, dangerous fat. Yikes! But then I discovered a few small victories that changed it all. First, let the chicken sit overnight in seasoned buttermilk to ensure that it’s flavorful all the way to the bone, not to mention extremely tender because of all the acidity in the buttermilk (try soaking a whole chicken in buttermilk before roasting it—it’s awesome). Second, dredge the chicken in seasoned flour that’s cut with a bit of cornstarch to make the batter extra crunchy. Third, shallow-fry the chicken in a deep, big pot so that you’re protected from the oil and have room to maneuver (you don’t need to deep-fry to make great fried chicken), and use a good old-fashioned splatter screen while frying (they work!). Fourth, let the leftover oil cool in the pot, pour it into an empty bottle, screw on the lid, and toss it—easy and safe disposal. The last is that fried chicken doesn’t have to be a huge event for a big crowd. I like frying up a single chicken, cut into pieces. It’s the perfect amount for four people (if it’s just two of you, there will be enough to have some cold the next day . . . the best part of fried chicken). <br /> <br />From Small Victories by Julia Turshen (Chronicle Books, 2016).