oven-fried chicken

Scott is working in Atlanta for the week so before he left I made a dinner that he really likes - fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed carrots and biscuits with honey. Everything was so good except for the biscuits. I have not mastered a good, fluffy biscuit. I have found a fabulous recipe for fried chicken that we all really like though. It's Ina Garten's recipe in her Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook, with just a couple of modifications.

1 whole, cut-up chicken
buttermilk (Buy a half-gallon. Make a batch of pancakes first and then you will have just enough!)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening

Place chicken pieces in a bowl and pour buttermilk over to cover. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture.

Pour the oil or melt shortening into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1 inch and heat to 360 degrees on a thermometer. (I use a candy thermometer.)

Working in batches, carefully place a few pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for 5 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will continue to brown in the oven). Don't crowd the pieces. Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan. Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees before frying the next batch.

When the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve hot.

Besides the chicken turning out moist and flavorful everytime, the reason I love this recipe is because I can get the frying mess cleaned up and the side dishes prepared while the chicken finishes cooking in the oven. Be sure to remember your apron when you make this recipe!