​I can never resist a piece of crunchy and golden fried chicken, and, as with most things deep-fried, it tastes even better when you make it fresh at home! My southern-style recipe creates a perfectly balanced bite; soaking the chicken in buttermilk keeps the meat moist and juicy while the spicy flour mixture results in an impossibly crisp and flavourful skin.

You will need:
+ 1 x 1.8kg chicken (jointed)
+ 600ml buttermilk
+ vegetable oil, for deep-frying
+ 2 cups (300g) plain flour
+ 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
+ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
+ 1 tablespoon baking powder
+ 2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
+ ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
+ whole-egg mayonnaise and store-bought chilli sauce, to serve

click here for the full recipe

Tips + tricks:
+ Buttermilk makes the perfect marinade because the acid in the milk helps to break down the  chicken and tenderise it just slightly.
+ It’s best to use a deep-frying thermometer to measure the temperature of your oil, you want it to reach 180C before you cook the chicken to help get that crispy skin.
+ I like to add baking powder to the coating of the chicken – as the chicken hits the oil the baking powder will react with the heat and explode slightly to create a super crunchy coating. 
+ Make sure to drain the chicken so that the oil doesn’t soak in and make the chicken soggy. I like to scrunch up balls of paper towel to help drain the oil without the chicken standing for too long.
+ To keep the chicken warm, place it on an oven tray in a preheated 160°C oven.
+ Serve your delicious fried chicken with a fresh cabbage or fennel slaw.

click here to watch me make it