Buttermilk and Herb-Fried Chicken With Hot Honey
Chef’s Notes: My Grandma Nora’s sister, Great Aunt Bama, lived in the small town of London, Kentucky, and grew up near Colonel Sanders himself. Whether or not she ever actually snagged the secret recipe for his beloved fried chicken, I’m not altogether sure. But sometimes when we visited her, she’d have fried chicken out on her kitchen counter, along with many other beautiful scratch-made goods. I like to think she’d be proud of my version of the classic.I use a couple of tricks here that help make this a fried chicken to beat all others. The buttermilk tenderizes and flavors the meat from the inside out, ensuring you get one juicy bite after another. Roasting the chicken first helps to lock in moisture and keep the chicken from burning, because it won’t need to fry nearly as long. I also fry a bundle of flavorful herbs and some garlic in the oil, right along with the chicken (a trick I learned from Tyler Florence). This not only helps add additional flavor to the meat, but also makes a tasty garnish when you’re ready to serve. I like to drizzle my chicken with a homemade hot honey, or use it as a dip, because I am a total sucker for sweet and spicy flavors and also happen to believe that more is more in the case of this chicken.
