Oven Fried Buttermilk Chicken

My husband is certainly enjoying my pregnancy... probably more than I am. Specifically, he's taken the whole idea of 'sympathy cravings' to heart and added some pregnancy weight too (although I'm considered underweight with my pregnancy)! He's been a great sport catering to my love of cheeseburgers for the past several months and every now and then, he'll whisper to my belly asking our little one to start craving fried chicken - one of my husband's favorite foods. Well, it's my husband's lucky day because I whipped up some Oven Fried Buttermilk Chicken just for him!...

There are so many great fried chicken recipes out there and most involve similar steps. First you have to season the chicken, dip it in an egg wash or marinate it in a buttermilk bath, then dredge it in some flour before frying it up. I came across two good looking recipes and combined them in order to get the best of both wrapped into one recipe. The result is a super moist, flavorful and crispy chicken that's pretty spectacular!

Having the chicken marinate in a buttermilk bath with some hot sauce allowed the chicken to become really tender and impart a nice little kick of heat. The combination of salt, pepper and garlic powder added to the flour made the crispy coating even more flavorful too. Lastly, frying up the chicken and then finishing it off in the oven ensured the chicken was fully cooked and kept the coating hot and crispy. This chicken recipe makes for a great Fried Chicken dinner served with Sweet Cream Biscuits, mashed potatoes and buttered corn...

Oven Fried Buttermilk Chicken
recipe adapted from Paula Deen & Ina Garten

1 (1 to 2 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into pieces
1 quart buttermilk
1/2 cup hot sauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening

Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk and hot sauce over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1-inch and heat to 360 degrees F on a thermometer.

Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 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 F before frying the next batch. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve hot.