Fried Chicken

“Fried,” “Chicken” and “Sandwich”: three alluring enough words on their own; together, they promise pure, unbridled pleasure.

These sweet, crunchy Korean fried chicken wings will stay crispy for hours. Covered and refrigerated, they will even stay audibly crispy until the next day.

Double frying means this recipe turns out the crispiest chicken wings ever. Feel free to sauce them any way you like.

Rice Chex cereal crushes up into a crunchy coating for these easy chicken fingers.

When a craving for fried chicken hits, I turn to this recipe, which tastes nothing like chicken that's been passed through a fast-food window—and that’s a good thing. The chicken is marinated overnight in kefir, so the lactic acid helps tenderize it while imparting a subtle buttermilk flavor. It’s fried in grapeseed oil, which is high in polyunsaturated fats and vitamin E, plus has a high smoke point, making it a nice substitute for olive or vegetable oils when frying (sautéing and stir-frying, too).

These fried and sauced chicken breast strips have all the spicy flavor of Buffalo wings—without the hassle of bones. Serve them with a tangy blue cheese dip and celery sticks.

In this spicy version of Korean fried chicken, juicy, boneless chicken thighs are dipped in a light batter to form an extra-crispy crust, then lacquered with a gingery hot sauce.

Our fried chicken thighs begin with a brown-sugar brine, make a pit stop in buttermilk marinade, and end their journey garnished with honey and sea salt.

This fried chicken from chef Suzanne Goin of LA’s A.O.C. gets a spicy boost in both the marinade and the breading.

The egg-enriched buttermilk mixture makes for an especially crunchy and craggy coating. This recipe is from Buxton Hall, one of Bon Appétit's Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

We like breadcrumbs here for an old-school cutlet feel, but panko would work just fine in their place.

This sandwich is engineered for maximum impact. Each element is awesome, but it’s the way they come together that puts it over the top. Mmmmm, yeah.

One of the highlights in the staff-meal rotation at Rustic Canyon is this garlic-ginger fried chicken.

If you prefer white-meat chicken, use skinless, boneless breasts that have been cut in half crosswise.

Once cooked, slick fried chicken with a potent spiced-chile oil, for an extra punch of heat and flavor.

These zesty chicken fingers get their flavor from a tangy buttermilk marinade and a breading spiked with smoked paprika.

I've worked on my fried chicken for many years, researching every recipe that I could lay my hands on, from early antebellum instructions to the Kentucky Colonel's secret technique. This recipe uses five fats, and each one contributes to the flavor of the result. To do the chicken right, you need an old black cast-iron skillet with a lid. Sure, you can make it in a deep fryer (like we do at the restaurant), but I prefer the old-fashioned way, which is nearly impossible to pull off in a restaurant. The skillets take up so much stove space that you can't make more than ten orders at a time. So this isn't the fried chicken you're going to eat at Husk. This is the way grandmas cook fried chicken in the South, and it's the way everyone should be making fried chicken at home. This recipe takes a lot of time and attention, way more than most conventional approaches (the chicken must be brined for 12 hours, so plan ahead). But it's good. Be sure to ask your butcher for the chicken skins to render for fat and to save the cooking fat, which makes mighty fine gravy. I've thrown that recipe in here too, to complete the meal just like my grandma would have.

Fried chicken is one of my biggest weaknesses, so naturally I've been perfecting this lighter version for years. I've managed to achieve the same crispy golden texture you get from frying from my oven. Yep, it's skinnier, easier, quicker, and (bonus) there's no greasy mess to clean up. Soaking the chicken overnight (sometimes two nights) in a buttermilk bath is a must for meat that's moist and juicy. To easily remove the skin from the drumsticks, use one paper towel to grasp the joint end and a second one to pull off the skin.

How does fried chicken achieve No. 1 status? Brined, boneless thighs are responsible for incredible dark-meat flavor, and the dredge technique creates an insanely crunchy coating.

An overnight soak in buttermilk and a few key spices makes for the most flavorful, tender fried chicken.