SERVES 6 TO 8
This chicken is an ode to my days at Oleana restaurant in Cambridge. Ana Sortun would marinate her chicken with a heavy hand of sweet Turkish spices before frying. I now make this recipe for our annual Daffodil Days picnic, and often throughout the summer. It never lasts very long.
When I make this recipe at home, I prefer to use an outdoor deep-fryer, the kind many people use for a turkey. The chicken cooks quickly and evenly, and the fried food smell stays out of the house! Use a high-heat probe thermometer periodically to check the temperature of the oil and the chicken; this step helps ensure crispy juicy chicken every time. Or use a thermostatically controlled deep-fryer (specialty kitchenware shops sell them).
The chicken needs to marinate for at least four hours, or overnight, so keep that in mind as you plan a picnic that includes this recipe.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 (5- to 6-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces, or 8 chicken thighs or other cuts of your preference
Vegetable oil for frying
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon iodized salt (I use iodized salt in the flour dredge as I find that kosher salt does not blend as well)
Combine the buttermilk, sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon, paprika, cumin, nutmeg, and oregano in a large bowl or resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken pieces and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
Fill a deep-fryer with oil and heat to 350°F.
Place the flour and salt in a shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken 2 pieces at a time in the flour, pressing so that the flour clings to the buttermilk coating on the chicken. Let the dredged chicken rest on a parchment-lined tray until the oil has come up to temperature. Fry a few pieces of chicken at a time for 8 to 10 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat has reached at least 160°F. Using tongs, carefully remove the chicken from the oil and place on wire racks lined with brown paper or paper towels. Let rest for a minimum of 5 minutes before serving, or let cool completely before packing for a picnic.
NOTE: To keep the coating as crisp as possible, after the 5-minute rest period, transfer the chicken to unlined wire racks.