(adapted nearly to the letter, minus the whole chickens from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home Cookbook)

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon cold water
• 1 cup plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
• 12 bay leaves
• 1 head of garlic, smashed but not peeled
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 3 large rosemary sprigs
• 1 small bunch of thyme
• 1 small bunch of parsley
• Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
• Two 3-pound chickens (or any combination of chicken parts you’d prefer – my dinner party refused to eat anything except chicken breasts, so there were a whole lot of chicken breasts instead of whole chickens)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 cups buttermilk
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Rosemary and thyme sprigs, for garnish

To Make:

• For the brine: Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and cool completely before using.
• Rinse the chickens and place the chickens in the cold brine and refrigerate overnight or for up to 12 hours. Be careful not to brine longer than 12 hours, as the chicken may then get too salty. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat the chicken dry, removing any herbs or spices sticking to the skin.

• Bring the  oil to 320 degrees F. in a 6 quart saute pan, or a cast iron skillet. Make sure you have a splatter guard as the oil likes to “pop” out of the pan and onto tender, exposed skin.
• Mix the coating ingredients together in a bowl, and then separate so you have a prep station of: coating, buttermilk, coating.  Just before frying, dip each piece of chicken into the coating, patting off the excess, then into the buttermilk and into the third bowl for coating. Place the chicken on a parchment lined sheet tray.

• When the oil has reached the proper temperature, carefully lower the pieces of dark meat into the oil. The temperature of the oil will decrease. Adjust the heat as necessary to bring the oil to proper temperature. Fry the dark meat for about 13 minutes, to a deep golden brown, cooked throughout and very crisp. Remove the chicken to a cooling rack above a cookie sheet (for any drippings/ease of cleanup). After your dark meat is finished, turn up the heat to 340 degrees F.

• Carefully add the white meat to the oil and fry for 6 to 7 minutes until cooked.
• Remove to the tray and turn off the heat under the oil. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes to cool slightly.