Best Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.

• 1 teaspoon celery seed
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 each bay leaf
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves garlic (finely grated)
  Ingredient note

  Source: 2 cloves garlic (finely grated)
• 1/2 each small onion (finely grated)
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1/2 small onion (finely grated)
• 2 cups buttermilk
  Ingredient note

  Source: 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon salt
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 4 each whole chicken legs
  Ingredient note

  Source: 4 whole chicken legs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
  Ingredient note

  Source: 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground celery seed
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1 teaspoon ground celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 Litre vegetable oil (for frying)
  Ingredient note

  Source: 1 Litre vegetable oil (for frying)

1. Put the 1 teaspoon celery seed, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, and 1 bay leaf in a spice grinder and grind. Add the spices, 1/2 small onion and 2 cloves garlic into a gallon sized freezer bag with the 2 cups buttermilk, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Seal the bag and shake to combine. Add the 4 whole chicken legs and seal the bag, pushing out as much air as possible, so the chicken is submerged in the buttermilk. Refrigerate overnight.
2. In a gallon sized freezer bag, combine the 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon ground celery seed and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper and shake to combine. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk brine and use paper towels to dry off the chicken and remove any extra bits of spices. Add the dried chicken pieces into the freezer bag with the flour one at a time and toss to coat. Shake any excess flour off as you transfer the chicken to a wire rack.
3. Strain the buttermilk brine through a sieve to remove the spices. Dip the chicken in the buttermilk mixture, then put each piece back in the bag with the flour and apply a second thicker coating of flour. Place the chicken on the rack and let it air dry for at least 1 hour.
4. In a large heavy bottomed pot, add the 1 Litre vegetable oil. The oil should be at least 2" deep. Heat over medium high heat until it reaches 340 degrees F. Carefully add the chicken to the hot oil. The temperature will fall a bit, and you want to keep the oil right around 320 degrees F for the duration of they frying, so adjust the heat source as needed. The chicken will take about 12-15 minutes to cook through and should be golden brown on the outside. You can use a meat thermometer to check and see if the chicken is cooked on the inside, but take the chicken out of the oil once before checking, or the juices coming out of the chicken will make the oil splatter.
5. As the chicken is done, remove them from the oil and drain on a paper towel lined wire rack. Let the fried chicken rest for a few minutes and serve.