INGREDIENTS
1 whole fryer chicken, cut into 8 or 10 pieces
Salt and pepper, or Lisa’s seasoning salt*
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
Flour, for dredging
2 to 3 sleeves of saltine crackers, crushed by hand for coarse crumbs
Peanut oil, for frying
*Lisa’s seasoning salt:
1 teaspoon dried tarragon, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, Mexican oregano
3 1/2 cups salt
3 tablespoons paprika, finely ground pepper, celery salt, nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons madras curry powder, garlic powder
Mix thoroughly and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
DIRECTIONS
Season the chicken pieces well with salt and pepper. In a bowl, combine the buttermilk and eggs until well incorporated. Dust each chicken piece in flour, then dip into the buttermilk-egg mixture. Press the chicken into the saltine crumbs. Set aside before frying.
Fill a large skillet 1 inch deep with peanut oil. Heat to 350°F (use a candy thermometer to test). The purpose of the oil is to brown the saltines; the chicken will fry and brown too quickly in the oil to cook the chicken all the way through.
Fry the chicken pieces until golden brown—this will happen quickly.
Remove the chicken from the hot oil and drain.
Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (to avoid overcooking the smaller chicken pieces while the breasts are cooking, remove the smaller pieces first, leaving the breasts for last).
